Hello everyone,
I received a critical Email the other day from someone who demanded that I do a better job in covering Bloom Energy. It turned out the individual had mistaken our coverage with a story in Delaware Online.com.
Delaware Business Now’s story offered a bare-bones account of the recent earnings report. By contrast, the Delaware Online piece was a lengthy piece on the fuel cell maker. Both of us missed news of an upgrade of Bloom’s fuel cell array in northern Delaware.
As noted in the story link below, Dan Primack, who covers business and technology for the Axios Newsletter/website, reported that Bloom will spend $100 million to $150 million to replace fuel cells. Primack questioned whether the expenditure should have been reported in shareholder filings.
Meanwhile, the bloom is off the company’s stock price. After rising above $30, Bloom Energy shares have fallen to $16, close to the offering price of $15.
It was hard to explain the run-up in the Bloom stock price in the first place – the company that is not expected to post a profit anytime soon. Still, the earnings report shows Bloom chipping away at lowering the break-even point.
Lower costs would bolster the case for a breakthrough in markets that include backup power systems and microgrids that can supply electricity to hospitals and other essential services during outages.
In the meantime, Bloom is defending its Delaware operation, with a recent blog post from a senior executive praising the efforts of its Newark workforce, acknowledging setbacks and pointing to the economic contributions of the company, as well as a few job openings.
There was also the admission that Bloom fell short of the 900 or so jobs that had been forecast. Always looming in the background is a surcharge all Delmarva Power customers pay for Bloom fuel cell power, with Public Service Commission figures indicating that the yearly tab runs $50 or more per household.
One thing is certain. The surcharge will continue to be a controversial topic in Delaware. But as noted in a recent Public Service Commission ruling, the current agreement leaves little wiggle room unless Bloom opts to modify the terms. With a big investment coming, that seems unlikely.
Have a great day and check out the links to our wide-ranging coverage of the business community. – Doug Rainey, publisher.
