CPUC Staff to Bloom Energy: Your Fuel Cells Shouldn’t Get State Incentives

by Jeff St. John (GreenTechMedia) Will the fuel-cell maker lose its eligibility for California’s SGIP program? The debate rages on as regulators mull a decision. -- Bloom Energy, the deep-pocketed startup that’s garnered more than $400 million of the $1.4 billion given out by California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program, could soon see its fuel cells barred from the program entirely -- both because they emit too much CO2, and because they cost more than they're worth compared to the alternative technologies.

That’s the harsh assessment from a November report (PDF) from Energy Division staff at the California Public Utilities Commission. Issued just days after the commission’s controversial decision to allow the startup’s fuel cells to just barely squeak in under new Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) greenhouse gas emissions limits, the staff paper suggests new rules that could put an end to the deep-pocketed Silicon Valley startup’s participation in the landmark incentive program.

Bloom Energy is protesting them, saying that they’re based on outdated and inaccurate data on the efficiency, CO2 footprint and cost of its fuel cells versus other SGIP-eligible systems, such as behind-the-meter energy storage and on-site combined heat and power (CHP) systems. READ MORE / MORE