Bloom Energy and Venture Capital

Senate Bill 124, which would help bring Bloom Energy to Delaware by including the company's fuel cells in the state's renewable porfolio standard, was released from the House Energy Committee yesterday. The News Journal reports that the Caesar Rodney Institute yesterday continued in its vocal opposition to the deal.

Writing in Town Square Delaware, John Moore of Acorn Energy reviews the deal and thinks it just might work. He also notes that Jack Markell is building ties to west coast venture capital firms:

On the whole I see it as a low cost option on a big opportunity. It seems that Governor Markell has credibility with Silicon Valley venture firms and he is successfully leveraging state and federal subsidies to create economic activity in Delaware.

Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins has now funded two large industrial enterprises in Delaware: Fisker Automotive and Bloom Energy. Moore notes that Bloom could create spinoff firms as it builds a network of connections between academia and related companies. Bloom Energy will fill in the last link in a chain linking research and development with capitalization and commercial production. Ties to investors that previously never invested in Delaware could help build on the new industries that are locating here.