Bloom Energy Fuel Cell Cost-Effectiveness

Bloom Energy
Project completed February 2019

Bloom Energy (Bloom) required consulting services and technical assistance to help it meet its short‐ and mid‐term goals for the incorporation of its Energy Server Platform fuel cell product into various energy efficiency programs in the United States, with an immediate focus on Massachusetts. Bloom’s fuel cell is unique as it produces electricity at higher efficiencies than that generated by natural gas combustion turbines or other typical fuel cell technologies. The result is cost savings for customers and reduced carbon emissions for states.

On behalf of Bloom, Synapse Energy Economics developed a whitepaper to introduce this product to energy efficiency Program Administrators more generally, and a Massachusetts-specific cost‐effectiveness brief based on state-specific cost-effectiveness modeling. Our analysis found that the technology is cost-effective using the Massachusetts energy efficiency cost-effectiveness framework with a benefit-cost ratio greater than one, assuming a reasonable measure life. We also calculated the impact of including avoided health cost benefits on the benefit-cost ratio.