First-of-its-kind partnership to install Bloom Energy Servers to meet surging demand for distributed generation
CHICAGO and SUNNYVALE, Calif. (July 29, 2014) — Exelon Corporation, the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, will provide equity financing for 21 megawatts (MW) of Bloom Energy fuel cell projects at 75 commercial facilities in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. The power buyers include new and repeat blue-chip customers, such as AT&T, which will use the fuel cells to power operations at nine sites.
As the first step in a long-term strategic partnership with Bloom Energy, Exelon will finance Bloom Energy projects through Bloom Electrons™, a service that allows customers to buy power as a service, rather than purchasing the equipment directly. This is the first investment by an energy company in Bloom Electrons, and it will support the program’s largest commercial deployment to date.
“As a strong proponent of customer choice and innovation, Exelon is always looking for ways to support business customers who want to take control of their energy usage,” said Chris Crane, president and CEO of Exelon. “This partnership with Bloom Energy is an extension of our Constellation business, and we are committed to meeting the growing demand for distributed generation with Bloom Energy’s clean, reliable, non-intermittent power solution.”
Exelon’s partnership with Bloom Energy builds upon the distributed generation business of Exelon subsidiary Constellation, a leading competitive retail supplier of energy products and services serving more than two-thirds of the FORTUNE 100. The business unit develops, owns and operates distributed generation for retail customers, including onsite solar, emergency generation and cogeneration. Constellation has been active in the distributed generation business since 2007 and will play a key role in the ongoing management of Exelon’s partnership with Bloom Energy.
“This partnership with Exelon demonstrates a significant commitment, as one of the largest and most important energy companies in the country commits to Bloom Energy’s reliable, resilient and distributed power,” said KR Sridhar, principal co-founder and CEO of Bloom Energy. “We look forward to building upon this first phase in our partnership.”
Exelon and Bloom Energy plan to complete the installations in phases over the next year. When completed, the fuel cells will produce enough clean, reliable electricity to power the equivalent of more than 11,000 homes each year.
Market leading Bloom Energy Servers use solid oxide fuel cell technology to produce electricity from natural gas. They rely upon an efficient electrochemical process that results in far fewer carbon emissions than other traditional power generation methods.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Credit Suisse was Exelon’s financial adviser, and Morgan Stanley advised Bloom on its partnership with Exelon.
About Exelon Corporation
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) is the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2013 revenues of approximately $24.9 billion. Headquartered in Chicago, Exelon does business in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Exelon is one of the largest competitive U.S. power generators, with more than 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity comprising one of the nation’s cleanest and lowest-cost power generation fleets. The company’s Constellation business unit provides energy products and services to approximately 100,000 business and public sector customers and approximately 1 million residential customers. Exelon’s utilities deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 7.8 million customers in central Maryland (BGE), northern Illinois (ComEd) and southeastern Pennsylvania (PECO). Follow Exelon on Twitter @Exelon.
About Bloom Energy
Bloom Energy was founded in 2001 with a mission to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world. Bloom Energy Servers are currently producing power for many Fortune 500 companies including Apple, Google, NSA, Walmart, AT&T, Staples, as well as notable non-profit organizations such as Caltech and Kaiser Permanente. Bloom Energy has more than 130 MW of Bloom Energy Servers installed in the United States. Last year, the company opened a large manufacturing center in Newark, Delaware and completed a number of mission critical projects. The company is headquartered in the United States at Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit www.bloomenergy.com.