FuelCell Energy's Petition

On December 6, 2011, FuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCE) submitted a petition to modify D.10-04-028 and clarify that SCE should seek an alternate host site for the project. FCE is the vendor selected to provide the fuel cell for the CSU Long Beach project and it believes that with modest effort, SCE could locate an alternate host site at another campus or state institution and complete the project as authorized in D.10-04-028 and within the same budget.

According to FCE, D.10-04-028 contains no acknowledgement of the possibility that one or more projects might encounter siting issues and it contains no specific authorization to relocate the projects as needed. Further, FCE states that the decision does not instruct the utilities to seek alternate sites in order to achieve the objectives cited in the decision. FCE suggests the Commission modify D.10-04-028 and authorize SCE to pick an alternative site within the established budget limits and conditions set forth in D.10-04-028.

As FCE explains, SCE's original application identified potential "runners up" for project siting by describing how SCE chose the project sites from a list of eleven potential sites, which were narrowed down to four finalists. SCE's application stated that it notified the two sites that were not selected, California State Polytechnic University at Pomona and CSU Fullerton, that it would reconsider pursuing installation at one of these sites if the fuel cell project did not move forward at one of the selected host sites. (See A.09-04-018, Exh. SCE-1 at 14, fn. 12.)

FCE's petition provides specific language to clarify D.10-04-028 and address the current situation. The language proposed by FCE directs SCE to seek alternate host sites and authorizes SCE to complete the project at an alternative site, provided that the project may be completed within the budget limits and conditions in D.10-04-028.