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10 Hartford Business Journal • March 19, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS: Green Business/Energy CT fuel cell industry sees hope, challenges ahead Q&A talks with Joel Rinebold, chairman of the Connecti- cut Hydrogen-Fuel Cell Coalition and director of energy at CCAT, about the state and future prospects of Connecti- cut's fuel cell industry. Q. There have been ups and downs in the fuel cell industry over the past few years. Starting with a positive develop- ment, Congress recently extended the 30 percent investment tax credit for fuel cells, which expired at the end of 2016. How significant is the tax credit for the fuel cell industry and might we see an uptick in production as a result? A. The immediate effect of the investment tax credit will be lower costs, lower risk, and higher returns necessary for successful financing and project development. The long-term effect includes the stabilization of the domestic fuel cell industry workforce; increase in manu- facturing, siting, and installation jobs; and an increase of project revenues, tax payments to state and local gov- ernments, and business support for state supply chain companies. The national Fuel Cell Hydrogen En- ergy Association projects an increase of 20,000 jobs over the next five years as a direct result of the investment tax credit. Many of these jobs will be in Connecticut. Q. Moving to state government: While Connecticut has provided millions of dollars in economic support to fuel cell manufacturers, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protec- tion (DEEP) has thus far declined to greenlight state-directed purchases of electricity from proposed fuel cell projects. An ongoing request for proposals (RFP) is supposed to help, but fuel cell makers have publicly expressed concern this year. What is the problem? A. The clean energy RFP will help with fuel cell deployment that will provide clean and highly reliable power and state economic develop- ment with job creation. While the fuel cell industry is cautiously optimistic, it is concerned that new resources to be selected in this RFP may consist pre- dominantly of intermittent generation to be operated outside of Connecticut. There are expectations that the RFP process will recognize the additional value provided by fuel cells for clean and reliable power with high avail- ability located within Connecti- cut, negating the need for new transmission, bat- teries, or backup capacity necessary with other energy resources. Q. In addition to DEEP's role requir- ing utilities to buy power from certain clean energy sources, the agency also recently issued major recommenda- tions for the state's energy future, the Comprehensive Energy Strategy. It recommends that fuel cells should not be permitted to generate the most valuable type of renewable energy credits, called Class I, because some types of fuel cells emit carbon dioxide. What impact would it have on the in- dustry if fuel cells lost Class I status? A. Connecticut now appropriately recognizes the value of fuel cells as advanced technology with extraordi- nary high availability. Fuel cells are also seen as complementary to the opera- tion of intermittent renewable energy facilities, and with fuel and operational flexibility for long-term sustainability. If fuel cells are no longer qualified as Class I, Connecticut will miss a rare opportunity to retain and expand clean energy research and manufacturing jobs, and the ability to have dispatch- able and highly reliable energy capacity to meet demand in conjunction with wind and solar energy. Q. After choosing no fuel cell projects in a 2016 energy selection process, DEEP said solar and wind developers won out because they had cheaper bids and lower-cost energy projects. What is the fuel cell industry's take on how cost is, or should be, assessed in future selection processes? A. A well-balanced decision will recognize the value and cost of all re- newable technologies in a coordinated and equitable manner. All costs for back-up generation, battery storage, interconnection, extension of electric transmission and distribution lines, and the impact to natural and cultural resources must be considered. All values including job creation, high availability, local reliability, and ease of siting with a high energy density that preserves land resources also must be considered. When all costs and values are assessed, fuel cells are a clear winner for power- ing up the state and region in a clean energy economy. Joel Rinebold Chairman of Connecticut Hydrogen-Fuel Cell Coalition and Director of Energy at Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology By Patricia Daddona Special to the Hartford Business Journal C onnecticut's third-party electricity suppliers have been in the headlines plenty in recent years, as state regulators probed their business practices, levied fines against some of them and ultimately voted to ban variable-rate contracts and mandate more transparency. Virtually all of that hubbub stemmed from the residential market, where some homeowners complained they were shocked by high bills that resulted from variable rates in periods of high demand, such as a polar vortex in early 2014. Business customers, however, have not had many public spats with retail electricity suppliers, but a significant one has bubbled to the surface. A relatively small supplier hailing from Massachusetts has ruffled the feathers of the state's largest busi- ness advocacy group, the Connecti- cut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), which also runs an electricity aggregation service for its members, helping them secure contracts with suppliers that aim to lower costs and provide more cost certainty. In mid-January, CBIA petitioned the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), asking it to investigate Mint Energy LLC over alleged deceptive business practices that CBIA says resulted in higher costs for several of its customers, as well as hard feelings and a few lost members. CBIA — which serves about 1,000 customers per year through its Energy Connections arm — says it has never had a problem before. "In serving our customers for over 18 years, we have never encountered any issue within this network of li- censed suppliers that warranted regis- tering a formal complaint with PURA," the petition states. "However, our experiences with Mint, and its contin- ued mistreatment of our customers, PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | MARCIN MORYC, SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Rate Fight CBIA says electricity supplier's 'unethical' practices left business customers with higher energy bills