Growth to support Connecticut economy through new local revenue, direct and indirect jobs as the Torrington, CT facility expands annual production by 120% through bipartisan legislative approval.
Torrington, Connecticut, July 18, 2018 – FuelCell Energy, Inc.(Nasdaq:FCEL), a global leader in delivering clean, innovative and affordable fuel cell solutions for the supply, recovery and storage of energy, today announced that it will add over 100 new highly skilled, advanced manufacturing jobs at its Torrington, CT manufacturing facility to support a 120% production rate increase, expanding annual production to 55 megawatts from the current 25 megawatt run-rate. These jobs will be added over a period of approximately 12 months.
This growth is a result of FuelCell Energy’s recent award of two fuel cell projects by the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) as well as other awards and backlog of U.S. based projects secured by the Company.
“We are excited to commence our plan to expand production and welcome over 100 new employees to FuelCell Energy,” said Chip Bottone, President and Chief Executive Officer of FuelCell Energy, Inc. “With the support of Connecticut, last year we undertook the expansion of our manufacturing facility to better position FuelCell Energy for growth. We have seen steadily building momentum commercially, and the recent award from Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection of two projects totaling 22.2 megawatts provides the visibility we needed to commence hiring and increase our production.”
“I would like to add that we are grateful to the many state and local elected and appointed officials, and their staff members – from both parties – who stepped up to support Connecticut’s fuel cell industry. Their efforts have quite literally created more than 100 new high paying, highly skilled advanced manufacturing jobs at our facility alone.”
Fuel cells are one of the most space-efficient, clean energy technologies qualified under Connecticut’s Class 1 Renewable Portfolio Standard. In addition to producing clean energy, fuel cells provide economic development and tax benefits for local municipalities and the State of Connecticut.
“FuelCell Energy’s commitment to growing its manufacturing and creating jobs in Connecticut is truly a win-win for the state and the company. In addition to bringing high paying jobs to our community, we will see downstream impact on the supply chain as a result of this expansion,” said Catherine Smith, Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development.
“FuelCell Energy’s recent project awards from DEEP in collaboration with bipartisan legislative approval is synergistic in CT’s commitment to alternative and renewable energy sources that the state was seeking to cultivate when they invested in the company years ago,” said Senator Tony Hwang, Vice Chairman of Energy and Technology Committee. “FuelCell Energy and their supply chain vendors are CT-based businesses that benefit the state by providing clean energy, and high-tech manufacturing jobs that are crucial to CT’s economy. Fuel Cell technology will be an integral part of meeting our alternative and renewable energy goals while lowering consumer energy costs. Connecticut is the world leading innovators of fuel cell technology because of FuelCell Energy.”
“We are very pleased that Fuel Cell Energy was awarded these projects through DEEP’s RFP,” said Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank. “We’ve collaborated with FuelCell Energy before, and we’ve seen firsthand the positive impact these projects have on our environment, on grid resilience, and on Connecticut’s economy. Supporting further fuel cell development helps keep our state on the leading edge in clean energy.”
“FuelCell Energy’s growth in sustainability is a key driver of new investment in our business and related businesses in the state of Connecticut,” said Jeff DeMichiel, president of FCE supply chain company The Binding Source.
The Torrington factory was constructed in 2001 with an initial operating capacity of 50 MW per year. At the time, the company’s technology centered on 250 kilowatt fuel cell units with a cell life of three years. Today the factory is capable of producing 100 megawatts per year. The products being manufactured and delivered today are megawatt class fuel cells with electrical efficiencies of up to 60% and a cell life of seven years. Deployments range in size from 1.4 megawatt university and hospital campus installations to a 60 megawatt utility scale fuel cell park. Delivering clean innovative solutions for the global supply, recovery and storage of energy, our SureSource™ power plants have generated over 7.5 million megawatt hours on three continents.
