Another Southern utility company is partnering with Bloom Energy. Bloom, based in San Jose, CA, operates a production site in Newark. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Early this month, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, Charlotte, NC announced it will acquire a portfolio of distributed fuel cell technology projects from Bloom Energy. Earlier, Southern Co. bought a majority stake in Bloom’s fuel cell systems that feed power into the Delmarva Power grid.
Duke’s purchased approximately 37 megawatts of Bloom Energy Servers and has already secured long-term power purchase agreements with customers primarily located in California, Connecticut, Maryland and New York.
“Commercial and industrial customers want resilient, clean energy at predictable costs and solutions tailored for their business needs – and with this technology, we can provide just that,” said Swati Daji, Duke Energy’s senior vice president of customer solutions and strategies. “We are excited to give our customers a more affordable, reliable, innovative generation source with Bloom Energy’s innovative fuel cells, and we look forward to further developing and customizing more options in the future.”
Duke Energy One, a non-regulated subsidiary of Duke Energy, formed a potential long-term strategic alliance with Bloom Energy, marking another step forward in expanding energy products and services available for commercial and industrial customers.
Bloom Energy Servers use solid oxide fuel cell technology to produce electricity around the clock.
Customers benefit from low-emission, baseload power 24/7 and fewer intermittent interruptions in power flow for their facilities and operations, a Bloom release stated.
“Duke Energy’s investment is a significant validation of the Bloom Energy Server value proposition,” said Randy Furr, chief financial officer at Bloom Energy. “Now, more than ever, commercial and industrial customers need power that is reliable, resilient and affordable. As one of the largest electric power holding companies in the U.S., Duke Energy understands that dynamic perfectly, and we are delighted to be partnering with the organization.”
Over the next 18 months, the two companies will deploy the servers at more than 30 sites across a portfolio of customers, including hospitals, technology companies, data centers and universities.
