Arthur A. Bottone
Analyst · what you're seeing there. Are there any projects that you're now getting closer to signing the finish line
Thank you, Mike. Please turn to Slide 7, Operations Update. The 70-megawatt ramp we are undertaking at our North American manufacturing facility in Torrington, Connecticut during the second quarter of 2013 represents a 25% increase over the previous 56-megawatt rate. The facility in its current configuration is capable of producing about 90 megawatts annually, so ramping to 70 megawatts requires the addition of some direct labor, but only minimum capital expenditures. The production ramp will yield higher margins as we gain operating leverage through supply chain volume and utilization of fixed overhead. The added benefit of this production increase is the creation of well-paying, flexible and sustainable advanced manufacturing jobs in the region. I would like to add a few other comments regarding the outlined isolated manufacturing issue. Our business model, which is continuously monitoring and operating all of our power plants in the field, provided us with the ability to identify this issue. While unfortunate, we have revised and improved our manufacturing process based on our investigation and focus on continuous improvement. We have learned from this episode and expect it to be put behind us as we repair the last few identified stacks. Finally, our integration of the previously announced acquisition of Versa Power Systems, a leading developer of solid oxide technology to be used in sub-megawatt stationary advanced military and storage applications, is going as planned. We purchased the remaining shares of Versa Power Systems to position our company to benefit from the large adjacent market opportunities that complements our commercialized molten carbonate products for megawatt applications. We are in discussions with some of our existing global partners and others to develop a global technology footprint and supply chain to commercialize this technology. Further details will be announced later in 2013. Please turn to Slide #8, North American Market Update. Construction on the 14.9-megawatt turnkey fuel cell park in Bridgeport is on schedule. United Illuminating, the local utility that owns the electric grid in Bridgeport, is currently performing interconnection work involving 3 substations. In late February, we met with senior executives from Dominion at our manufacturing facility, and we then toured the Bridgeport construction site. The site work is proceeding on schedule. We are now preparing site pads for 5 power plants. The first fuel cell module will be delivered in April. It is very gratifying to see this vacant remediated brownfield site being converted into a valuable asset for the community and the project owner. Our sense of excitement about the project apparently extends to utilities employees as well because United Illuminating and Dominion each recently featured the project in their internal company magazines. High levels of activity in our sales pipeline point to numerous near-term opportunities for new orders in multiple states. We are continuing to work on opportunities associated with 3 state-level programs in Connecticut. I am optimistic that seeing activity under the low emissions renewable energy credit program as there is clear need for the technology and the LREC program offers attractive economics. We have several megawatt-sized projects with a broad range of customers under development nearing closure and submittal in the program's next round. We believe that significance of closing the Bridgeport fuel cell park project will enable additional projects in Connecticut's Project 150 program. We're actively working on nearly 20 megawatts under this program with potential project investors. We continue to develop these projects to closure based on the experience and broad-based support established from the Bridgeport project. The activity in California is at the highest level we have seen in the past few years. We have multiple large projects for universities, municipalities and industrial applications that are in the final stages of development. We have been selectively adding sales and support resources to take advantage of the opportunities in the market. New Jersey has a new market expansion opportunity, very attractive to us in terms of financial incentives for clean distributed generation, with combined heat and power capability such as we offer. We've recently added resources and have originated a robust pipeline of projects for our megawatt-class solutions with large, well-known prospective customers. We recently announced a contract to demonstrate the tri-generation stationary fuel cell power plant near Vancouver, Canada using landfill gas as a fuel source. In addition to generated ultra-clean electricity, the plant will supply high-quality heat in the form of hot water to a greenhouse operator and renewable hydrogen for the vehicle fueling or industrial applications. Few clean energy technologies developed today are capable of utilizing landfill gas on-site, making landfill applications a large potential market for our DFC power plants. As this project illustrates, our core technology is highly versatile and is unique in its ability to solve customers' energy and environmental challenges such as the safe and cost-effective disposal of landfill gas, while simultaneously generating multiple revenue streams. This makes an attractive solution across multiple vertical markets, gives it broad commercialization potential and supports revenue diversification. Please turn to Slide 9, Asian Market Update. POSCO Energy is rapidly moving forward with the construction of the 59-megawatt fuel cell park in South Korea. Partial power production will begin this year and the historic park is expected to be completed and fully operational in early 2014. The photo in the accompanying power plant presentation shows a number of the 21 DFC3000 power plants that will comprise the finished park. Each will generate 2.8 megawatts of ultra-clean reliable power, plus heat that will be supplied to the district heating system. 10 plants are currently in the process of being installed. DFC power plants and fuel cell parks like these are helping South Korea utility companies meet clean energy mandates under the government's ambitious Renewable Portfolio Standard. The current RPS program is accelerating demand for fuel cell power plants due to its compliance requirements, both in terms of megawatts needed and financial attractiveness. As such, POSCO has a tremendous pipeline of potential projects in Korea and has also expand its activity in Asia. Multimegawatt fuel cell parks are showcasing the sustainability of our DFC technology for power grid applications, while illustrating the attractiveness of large-scale distributed generation fuel cell projects to developers, electric utilities, gas companies and investors. We have just returned from South Korea, Friday, after a very productive and strategic meeting with the senior POSCO officers and leaders of POSCO Energy's fuel cell business. This partnership has tremendous growth opportunities in addition to the execution of our licensing agreement signed in late 2012, which includes the design of the fuel cell component manufacturing into Pohang, South Korea campus. Increased production volume gives us additional leverage with our suppliers, contributing cost reduction and we gain a second source of supply, while to income from Asian sales by POSCO Energy will contribute to our bottom line profitability. Following the successful installation and operation of 2 demonstration units, POSCO has begun expanding its 100-kilowatt building applications program in South Korea. This program is an addition to the RPS program that has significant growth potential, and we just received the joint development contract to accelerate commercialization. This smaller scale unit uses the same fuel cell components as the megawatt class plants, growing volume for any of the DFC products will lead to product cost reductions for both FuelCell Energy and POSCO Energy. Please turn to Slide 10, European Market Highlights. We are establishing an installed base, utilizing the direct selling and service business model and building market awareness in Europe with the help of our FCES, GmbH joint venture partner, Fraunhofer IKTS and business partner, Abengoa. Our strategy has involved seeing the market with high visibility installations, most recently with the stationary fuel cell power plant to be installed with an environmentally advanced 38-story office tower in central London as we announced in December. Another plant in London serving the Crown Estates is presently undergoing commissioning. Once operational, there will be a showcase installation due to its location in a building in the heart of London and is both a Class A office space and popular destination for shoppers and tourists. Germany-based FuelCell Energy Solutions with administrative offices in Dresden and manufacturing operations in Ottobrunn is manufacturing components for the London plants. We will leverage European manufacturing capacity with additional European order volume. In January, FuelCell Energy solutions entered into a multi-year service agreement for a stationary fuel cell power plant owned by ewz, one of the largest utilities in Switzerland. FCES will operate and maintain the plant from our European-based operation centers. Relationship with the European utilities such as ewz carry with them the potential for future megawatt-class sales. Although the financial impact of this contract may be small, it illustrates the large potential of European market. Our European sales pipeline for megawatt-class power plants is growing. I've been meeting with members of the German Federal Government who value the attributes of our technology and are supportive of our efforts. I'm pleased with the pace of progress and optimistic about closing near-term opportunities. We are in discussions with Fraunhofer IKTS leadership regarding further adjacent business opportunities and projects. We're also in discussions with Abengoa regarding expanded business opportunities that we outlined in our original agreement. These were both envisioned as a natural progression of our plans to penetrate both the European and Latin American markets. Please turn to Slide 11, Summary. We are building on a solid foundation for global growth supported by our strong backlog and demonstrated by the construction of 2 major fuel cell park projects on 2 different continents. The production ramp will increase our revenues, expand margins and contribute to profitability. We are creating jobs and earning attention and support from government officials. During this process, we will stay focused on quality and continuous improvement. Our European presence expanded with another high-profile project in England, a service agreement with a major Swiss utility, plus production in our German manufacturing facility and we entered into a promising new market in North America with a landfill gas application in Canada. High-profile projects in Asia, the U.S. and Europe are catching the attention of prospective customers and policymakers. I'm encouraged by the strong activity levels in our global megawatt sales pipeline and optimistic about our continued growth prospects. I want to recognize our talented team of associates for their achievements, and I sincerely thank our investors for their continued loyalty and support. Operator, we'd be happy to take questions at this time.