As expected, Bloom Energy’s annual report to the Delaware Economic Development Office showed total employment running well below projections.
However, the fuel cell maker did point to positive signs at the Newark plant on the University of Delaware STAR Campus.
Bloom will eventually be required to give back some of the state aid package if it does not meet hiring targets by 2017. The targets would require Bloom to roughly quadruple the number of jobs at the site.
The controversial state aid package includes the installation of dozens of Bloom fuel cells that feed energy into the Delaware grid. Delmarva Power customers pay for the added cost that by some estimates runs about $50 a year for a residential customers.
Employment at Bloom grew by less than 10 percent over the past year to 224, with a total payroll of $27.3 million. Since the deadline for reporting employment the company has added 11 positions.
“While we are disappointed we did not meet the target, we remain committed to Delaware and to creating more long-term sustainable jobs in the state,” wrote Bloom Chief Commercial Officer William Kurtz.
Kurtz noted some positive developments in his letter, including the average pay of Bloom workers averaging $67,000, or 50 percent more than initial projections.
He went on to write that the company has seen delays in installing fuel cells, due to various permitting requirements. As the company gains experience, it expects to see shorter lead times.
The Bloom plant, which is headed by a former Toyota manager, also uses a just-in-time process and does not build up an inventory of fuel cells in anticipation of future installations.
Kurtz said demand for fuel cells has been growing, with the company announcing additional installations at companies like Walmart and AT&T. Bloom has one non-utility installation in Delaware at a JPMorgan Chase site.
“Just in the past two months, we have booked new orders equivalent to approximately 30 percent of our total installed fleet deployed cumulatively over the past seven years,” the Bloom executive wrote.
Bloom, according to Kurtz, has been able to make its fuel cells five times more efficient in the past few years.
Earlier the company, announced it is rolling out a new generation of fuel cells that can be installed on rooftops and smaller spaces, in some cases without the use of cranes or other heavy equipment. That is expected to allow the company to move into urban markets where fuel costs are higher and the need for back-up power is great.
The company has been offering tours of the Newark plant to Delaware officials and the media.
