Bloom Energy converting U.S. Fuel-Cell fleet to Natural Gas supplied by EQT
Distributed fuel-cell technology provider Bloom Energy will convert its fleet to natural gas supplied by U.S. production giant EQT.
The companies announced a certified trade agreement last week. The CTA deal contracts Bloom Energy to purchase certificates for “responsibly sourced natural gas” from EQT.
Bloom Energy will use the natural gas for its U.S. fleet of more than 700 fuel-cell installation sites, according to the release. This will help avoid an estimated 176,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions each year compared to the natural average leak rate, or the equivalent of taking more than 38,000 passenger vehicles off the road.
“As the energy industry works to make renewable and zero-carbon technologies more widely available, we must do everything in our power to reduce the carbon intensity of today’s energy production,” said Stephen Lamm, senior director of sustainability, Bloom Energy. “By transitioning our domestic fleet of fuel cells to certified natural gas, we believe we are taking an immediate and impactful step to help eliminate harmful methane emissions as we lay the foundation for a net-zero future.
The certificates purchased by Bloom from EQT represent natural gas production jointly approved under both MiQ Methane and the Equitable Origin EO standards for responsibly source gas development.
Pittsburgh-based EQT currently produces close to 4.5 percent of all natural gas in the U.S. Many of its operations are located above the prolific Utica and Marcellus shale plays in the eastern U.S.
Bloom Energy supplies distributed generation fuel-cell units for commercial and industrial customers. Gas-fired and Hydrogen-fired fuel cells emit far less carbon and other greenhouse gases than diesel generators.
