Connecticut Deal Powers FuelCell Shares

 

Mar 28 - Business Week

FuelCell Energy (FCEL) said Mar. 27 that it won more than $200 million of business providing the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund with six power projects totaling around 68 megawatts, in the latest example of how alternative energy businesses continue growing.

So far the Danbury, [Conn.] company s power plants have generated more than 150 million kW of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer, onion, and milk processing as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. In its recent agreement with the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, FuelCell Energy will deliver more energy to entities in the state including the electric company Connecticut Light and Power, Stamford Hospital, Waterbury Hospital, and others.

Fuel cells provide power with virtually no emissions, quietly and economically. "These selections are a major milestone for the whole industry, firmly establishing fuel cells role in deploying ultra-clean energy capacity," FuelCell Energy CEO R. Daniel Brdar said in a press release March 27.

After the news investors bid up the company s stock by 20.6% to $8.68 per share in afternoon New York trading on the Nasdaq March 27. As experts worry about the threats of global warming and oil supply scarcity, alternative energy is still hot.

FuelCell Energy isn t the only company to trumpet its growing business recently. First Solar (FSLR) announced in February that its net income swung to a profit of more than $8 million during the three months ended Dec. 30, compared to a loss of $7.2 million during the same period a year ago. CEO Michael J. Ahearn has been trying to boost the solar cell company s production capacity, taking steps like expanding business in Ohio and building a manufacturing plant in Germany.

In another recent example, Evergreen Solar (ESLR) said in October that it agreed to ship around $100 million of solar cells to Mainstream Energy, which installs residential and commercial solar electric systems. In the past 12 months, Evergreen Solar had pulled together six contracts collectively worth $700 million.