DANBURY, CT Beacon Falls Energy Park, LLC continues to move forward aggressively with development activity on its 63.3-Megawatt fuel cell facility. The project has achieved a number of development milestones to make the renewable energy project "shovel ready." The project will use fuel cells to be supplied by FuelCell Energy, Inc.(FCEL)- a Connecticut-based company with corporate offices in Danbury, Connecticut, and a newly expanded manufacturing plant in Torrington, Connecticut.

Major project activity includes the following:

"¢ Obtained approval from the State of Connecticut Siting Council;
"¢ Executed an Engineering & Procurement Agreement with Eversource Energy for the electrical interconnection and improvements to the existing Beacon Falls substation;
"¢ Filed a project Stormwater Construction Permit with Connecticut DEEP;
"¢ Identified and completed the natural gas pipeline routing and engineering and currently negotiating for a firm gas service with Yankee Gas;
"¢ Executed Tax Stabilization Agreement with the Town of Beacon Falls; and
"¢ Continues to move forward with ISO New England in the discussion and review of the Large Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Beacon Falls Energy Park submitted its bid in response to The New England Clean Energy Request for Proposals ("RFP") conducted jointly by Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts for energy projects to advance their clean and renewable energy goals. Beacon Falls Energy Park offers the many benefits of renewable, clean and affordable in-state generation to Connecticut. Many of the competing bids involve wind, solar or hydro-electric projects which would be developed and built to generate and bring electricity to Connecticut from as far away as Maine or even from outside of New England, in Maryland, New York, and Canada. 

When completed, the 63.3-megawatt Beacon Falls Energy Park will be the largest fuel cell facility of its kind in the world and the largest Class I renewable energy facility in Connecticut. The project will be built at a former sand and gravel mine in Beacon Falls, Connecticut. Fuel cells are classified as a Class I renewable energy source in Connecticut. Unlike intermittent renewable sources such as solar or wind, fuel cells generate continuous power and are not dependent on the weather or time of day.

Because of fuel cells' continuous availability they avoid the cost and pollutants incurred by intermittent projects which require peaking power generation when the sun does not shine or the wind is not available. The project will provide clean and highly reliable continuous energy to approximately 60,000 Connecticut residents and businesses and will be a robust addition to Connecticut's renewable energy portfolio.

Beacon Falls Energy Park will provide hundreds of manufacturing and construction jobs for companies in Connecticut.

"¢ The Project will provide over jobs 300 in Connecticut at FuelCell Energy, Inc.'s manufacturing plant in Torrington, Connecticut;
"¢ The construction of the Project will provide approximately 115 trade and professional construction jobs for O&G, a Connecticut company based in Torrington, Connecticut and its subcontractors;
"¢ Additional jobs will be available during the improvements to the switchyard - also located in Beacon Falls;
"¢ Yankee Gas Inc. will also be undertaking work on a four-mile pipeline extension to bring natural gas to the Beacon Falls Energy Park, and
"¢ FuelCell Energy,Inc. will also be providing long-term Operations and Maintenance services for the project from its Danbury corporate office and will be providing additional fuel cell component parts from its Torrington facility during the life of the project.