XML 37 R14.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.20.4

Project Assets | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Oct. 31, 2020
Project Assets [Abstract] |
Project Assets | Note 7. Project Assets Project assets as of October 31, 2020 and 2019 consisted of the following (in thousands):
|  | 2020 |  |  | 2019 |  |  | Estimated Useful Life
Project Assets - Operating |  | $ | 99,351 |  |  | $ | 75,075 |  |  | 5-20 years
Project Assets - Construction in progress |  |  | 91,276 |  |  |  | 84,933 |  |  | 7-20 years
|  |  | 190,627 |  |  |  | 160,008 |  |  |
Accumulated depreciation |  |  | (28,818 | ) |  |  | (15,893 | ) |  |
Project Assets, net |  | $ | 161,809 |  |  | $ | 144,115 |  |  |
The estimated useful lives of these project assets are 20 years for BOP and site construction, and 4 to 7 years for modules. The Bridgeport Fuel Cell Project is being depreciated based on similar useful lives adjusted for time elapsed prior to the acquisition. Project assets as of October 31, 2020 and 2019 included eight and six, respectively, completed, commissioned installations generating power with respect to which the Company has a PPA with the end-user of power and site host with an aggregate value of $70.5 million and $59.2 million as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Certain of these assets are the subject of sale-leaseback arrangements with PNC and Crestmark. Project assets as of October 31, 2020 and 2019 also include installations with carrying values of $91.3 million and $84.9 million, respectively, which are being developed and constructed by the Company in connection with projects for which we have entered into PPAs or projects for which we expect to secure PPAs or otherwise recover the asset value and which have not yet been placed in service. Of this total, as of October 31, 2020 and 2019, approximately $4.8 million and $6.8 million, respectively, relates to projects for which we expect to secure long-term contracts and/or otherwise recover the asset value and which have not yet been placed in service. In July 2020, the Company repurchased the equipment leased by the Company’s subsidiary, UCI Fuel Cell, LLC, from PNC and terminated the lease agreement. Refer to Note 14. “Debt” for more information. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Company reviewed the Triangle Street Project and as a result of output and revenue projections given then-current development plans, recorded an additional impairment charge of $2.4 million. The Triangle Street Project is used by the Company as a development platform for the Company’s advanced applications. As a result, revenue generation is impacted by these activities. During the year ended October 31, 2019, the Company recorded project asset impairment charges for (i) the Triangle Street Project and (ii) the Bolthouse Farms Project, which are further described as follows:
| i. | Impairment charge for the Triangle Street Project: In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, management determined that it would not be able to secure a PPA with terms acceptable to the Company for the Triangle Street Project. Therefore, it was management’s intention in fiscal year 2019 to operate the project under a merchant model for 5 years and use the project as a development platform for the Company’s advanced applications. The project sells power through the Connecticut grid under wholesale tariff rates and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to market participants. As a result of management’s decision to operate the project in this manner, an impairment charge of $14.4 million was recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019. The amount of the impairment charge was determined by comparing the estimated discounted cash flows of the project and the expected residual value of the project to its carrying value.
| ii. | Impairment charge for the Bolthouse Farms Project: In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, an impairment charge for the Bolthouse Farms Project was recorded as management decided to pursue termination of the PPA given regulatory changes impacting the future cost profile for the Company and Bolthouse Farms. Since it was considered probable that the PPA would be terminated, a $3.1 million impairment charge was recorded, which reflects the difference between the carrying value of the asset and the value of the components that were expected to be redeployed to other projects. This project was removed from the Company’s backlog as of October 31, 2019 and the PPA was terminated.
The Company recorded a $0.5 million impairment of a project asset during the year ended October 31, 2018 due to the termination of a project. The impairments for fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2019 were recorded as “Cost of generation revenues” in the Consolidation Statements of Operations. Depreciation expense for project assets was $12.9 million, $6.8 million and $4.1 million for the years ended October 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Project construction costs incurred for long-term project assets are reported as investing activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The proceeds received from the sale and subsequent leaseback of project assets are classified as “Cash flows from financing activities” within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and are classified as a financing obligation within “Current portion of long-term debt” and “Long-term debt and other liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets (refer to Note 14. “Debt” for more information).

X
- Definition Project assets. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | fcel_ProjectAssetsAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | fcel_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Project assets. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | fcel_ProjectAssetsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | fcel_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration