FuelCell Energy Closes Tax Equity Sale-Leaseback Financing for the 1.4 MW San Bernardino Fuel Cell Project with Crestmark
August 31 2021 - 8:30AM
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCEL) -- a global leader in fuel
cell technology with a purpose of utilizing its proprietary,
state-of-the-art fuel cell platforms to enable a world empowered by
clean energy—today announced that the Company closed on a tax
equity sale-leaseback financing transaction for the 1.4 megawatt
SureSource 1500™ biofuels fuel cell project with the City of San
Bernardino Municipal Water Department (SBMWD) in California with
Crestmark Equipment Finance (“Crestmark”), a division of MetaBank®.
Crestmark’s commitment totals $10.2 million through a ten-year
sale-leaseback structure and further demonstrates the market’s
interest in FuelCell Energy’s differentiated ability to use on-site
biofuels, to eliminate flaring and deliver carbon neutral
decarbonization energy platforms.
“We are excited to team up again with Crestmark
and add this important financing solution that enables us to
recycle capital for additional clean energy and decarbonization
projects and initiatives,” said Michael Bishop, Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer of FuelCell Energy. “This is
our second sale-leaseback financing transaction executed with
Crestmark and we are pleased to expand our relationship with their
organization. Crestmark has a deep understanding of the quality
solutions delivered by our products, including carbon neutral
projects directly leveraging on-site biofuels.”
“Crestmark is pleased to support FuelCell Energy
and their management team in the deployment of such an important
critical-use application,” commented Jon Ellis, Vice President of
Alternative Energy Finance at Crestmark. “Crestmark is focused on
the alternative energy market and has designed targeted funding
solutions for the industry. This project, and the scalable and
renewable power solution FuelCell Energy delivered, are a solid fit
with our efforts in this industry.”
Key project highlights include:
- The SureSource 1500™ platform is
co-located with the SBMWD water reclamation plant and operates on
the City’s anaerobic digester gas, which is treated by FuelCell
Energy’s proprietary SureSource TreatmentTM system, cleanly
producing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week carbon neutral renewable
electricity. The San Bernardino Fuel Cell Project has contracted to
sell the clean electricity from the facility to SBMWD under a
20-year Power Purchase Agreement.
- The SureSource TreatmentTM system
developed with FuelCell Energy’s extensive experience with on-site
biogas treatment enables the on-site cleaning of biofuel and use of
it without injection into the common carrier gas pipeline. Gas
treatment requirements are reduced compared to pipeline injection
because of the ability of SureSource fuel cell systems to utilize
low-Btu biogas reducing cost and creating more value for the
generator of the biofuels. Additionally costly pipelines to
interconnect to common carrier gas pipelines is eliminated.
- Beyond the obvious benefit of
producing carbon neutral electricity, the SureSource 1500™ platform
uses biogas produced on-site as a waste product of water treatment
that would otherwise be vented or flared. This approach prevents
energy waste and the production of harmful local GHG emissions thus
improving air quality. The platform converts the biogas to hydrogen
to produce clean, renewable, power, as well as thermal energy to
support more efficient operation and conversion of wastewater gas
to biofuels at the SBMWD.
- Servicing a population of
approximately 200,000 residents, the SBMWD delivers more than 15.5
billion gallons of water per year and provides wastewater
collection and treatment at the water reclamation plant. The use of
waste gas to produce clean, carbon neutral renewable power and heat
on-site enhances the sustainability of the facility by avoiding
scope 1 and 2 emissions and reducing grid power consumption.
About Crestmark
Crestmark, the Commercial Finance division of
MetaBank®, N.A., provides innovative financial solutions for
businesses nationwide. The MetaBank mission is Financial Inclusion
for All® and the company works to increase financial availability,
choice, and opportunity for all. Crestmark’s financing solutions
include asset-based lending, accounts receivable financing, lines
of credit, term loans, factoring, government guaranteed lending,
machinery/equipment financing and equipment leasing. Crestmark has
extensive experience in helping many industries including
transportation, manufacturing, staffing, petrochemical, renewable
energy, medical receivables, government contractors,
hospitality/hotels, insurance agencies, and technology
hardware/software. The Crestmark division is headquartered in
Michigan, with additional offices in California, Louisiana,
Tennessee, and representatives nationwide; and a Canadian foreign
representative office. www.crestmark.com
About FuelCell Energy
FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) FuelCell
Energy is a global leader in sustainable clean energy technologies
that address some of the world’s most critical challenges around
energy, safety and global urbanization. As a leading global
manufacturer of proprietary fuel cell technology platforms,
FuelCell Energy is uniquely positioned to serve customers worldwide
with sustainable products and solutions for businesses, utilities,
governments and municipalities. Our solutions are designed to
enable a world empowered by clean energy, enhancing the quality of
life for people around the globe. We target large-scale power users
with our megawatt-class installations globally, and currently offer
sub-megawatt solutions for smaller power consumers in Europe. To
provide a frame of reference, one megawatt is adequate to
continually power approximately 1,000 average sized U.S. homes. We
develop turn-key distributed power generation solutions and operate
and provide comprehensive service for the life of the power plant.
Our fuel cell solution is a clean, efficient alternative to
traditional combustion-based power generation, and is complementary
to an energy mix consisting of intermittent sources of energy, such
as solar and wind turbines. Our customer base includes utility
companies, municipalities, universities, hospitals, government
entities/military bases and a variety of industrial and commercial
enterprises. Our leading geographic markets are currently the
United States and South Korea, and we are pursuing opportunities in
other countries around the world. FuelCell Energy, based in
Connecticut, was founded in 1969.
SureSource, SureSource 1500, SureSource 3000,
SureSource 4000, SureSource Recovery, SureSource Capture,
SureSource Hydrogen, SureSource Storage, SureSource Service,
SureSource Treatment, SureSource Capital, FuelCell Energy, and
FuelCell Energy logo are all trademarks of FuelCell Energy,
Inc.
Contact:
FuelCell Energy,
Inc.ir@fce.com203.205.2491
Source: FuelCell Energy
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