Bloom Energy Currently costs 12.8 cents per kilowatt Hour

There are press releases, technical highlights and datasheets on Bloom Energy site

Reader MVetsel provides calculations based on the datasheet and technical sheet –

Okay, so all of the critical information can now be gleaned from the data sheet. The efficiency is 52% excluding any heat produced and based on my generous assumptions (below), this would produce electricity at roughly $0.13/kwh if the excess heat is not recaptured.

Here are the calculations:

193.7 kW h (kilowatt hours) [input to produce 100 kWh of output]

MMBtu/100kwh 0.661
Efficiency 51.63%
Nymex $/MMBtu $5.29
$/kwh $0.0350

Cost $800,000
lifecycle 15
Interest 5%
Yr cap cost $77,074
Uptime 95%
Up hours/yr: 8,322
kwh/yr 832,200
Cap. Cost/kwh $0.093

Total cost/kwh $0.128

It appears that the goal in 5-10 years of $3000 for a 1 KW home unit would be three-eighths of the current cost. This would be 4.8 cents per kwh.

There are several other companies with very similar technology and costs. Bloom Energy has to outcompete those companies and get lower prices and higher production volume and develop new capabilities like being able reverse the fuel cell process and generate methane (as mentioned in a patent). So far Bloom Energy is just another fuel cell startup, although better funded than most.

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