FuelCell Energy 2.5 MW Block System (formerly SureSource 3000)
Manufacturer: FuelCell Energy
FuelCell Energy's 2.5 MW carbonate system, two 1.25 MW modules on shared balance of plant at 13.8 kV
This model is part of SecondWatt’s fuel cell research catalogue. Specifications and price observations are included where supported by sources. Equipment availability and commercial terms require confirmation.
FuelCell Energy 2.5 MW Block System dossier: the SureSource 3000 rename and 2.8 MW legacy rating, carbonate specs, efficiency band and inspection guidance.
The 2.5 MW Block System is the current name for what was the SureSource 3000, and before that the DFC3000. The same 10.7% rating restatement applies: CARB certified the SureSource 3000 at 2.8 MW under Executive Order DG-048 in December 2017, and the current product is rated 2,500 kW. Commercially the machine is two 1.25 MW carbonate modules on shared balance of plant, which is why its heat and fuel figures are exactly double the smaller system.
Published specifications: 2,500 kW at 13.8 kVAC and 60 Hz, 50% electrical efficiency LHV at the beginning of operation and 85% total, 6.1 MMBtu/h of heat on natural gas and 6.5 on biogas, fuel input of 19.0 MMBtu/h at 18,315 SCFH, NOx and CO at 0.01 lb/MWh, CO2 at 886 lb/MWh electric-only falling to 517 with full heat recovery, a 72 by 60 by 25 foot 5 inch envelope, 62 dBA at 30 feet and 7.8 gpm of water in against 3.9 gpm discharged.
One detail matters for reading used listings. The legacy 3000 datasheet published electrical efficiency as a range of 49% falling to 44% LHV and carbon dioxide as 890 to 990 lb/MWh, while the current 2.5 MW sheet publishes a single 50% figure. A range is the more honest representation of a degrading stack, and a buyer assessing a mid-life or late-cycle unit should assume the lower end rather than the headline.
Why it matters
One product line has carried four names and three ratings, from DFC3000 through SureSource 3000 at 2.8 MW to the 3000 fuel cell system and now the 2.5 MW Block System at 2,500 kW. A listing that relies on the marketing name alone can describe machines that are a decade and 300 kilowatts apart, so read the nameplate and the module install dates before pricing.
Who buys it
Utilities and large campuses procuring multi-megawatt baseload distributed generation, and industrial sites with a matching thermal load. Site-specific derates are normal on this platform: the Amity High School installation in Woodbridge, Connecticut runs a SureSource 3000 at 2.2 MW of baseload power rather than its nameplate.
Role in the data center
Multi-megawatt baseload generation for campuses and utility distributed generation, at a 13.8 kV interconnection rather than the 480 V of the smaller system. A ramp rate of up to 20% per minute governs how quickly it follows load.
Key specifications
| Rated output | 2,500 kW net AC |
|---|---|
| Legacy nameplate | 2,800 (SureSource 3000, CARB DG-048) kW |
| Voltage and frequency | 13.8 kVAC / 60 Hz |
| Electrical efficiency | 50 at beginning of operation % LHV |
| Legacy published efficiency band | 49 falling to 44 % LHV |
| Total CHP efficiency | 85 % LHV |
| Heat output | 6.1 natural gas / 6.5 biogas MMBtu/h |
| Fuel input | 19.0 MMBtu/h (18,315 SCFH natural gas) |
| NOx and CO | 0.01 lb/MWh |
| CO2 | 886 electric-only, 517 with full heat recovery lb/MWh |
| Dimensions | 72 x 60 x 25 ft 5 in (21.9 x 18.3 x 7.7 m) |
| Water | 7.8 consumption / 3.9 discharge gpm |
| Ramp rate | up to 20 % per minute |
| Rated net output, FuelCell Energy 3000 (current sheet) | 2500 kW |
Technical summary
Rated output: 2,500 kW net AC at 13.8 kVAC, 60 Hz. Legacy nameplate: 2,800 kW as SureSource 3000, CARB-certified at that rating in 2017. Electrical efficiency: 50% LHV at beginning of operation; total 85% LHV. Heat output: 6.1 MMBtu/h natural gas; 6.5 MMBtu/h biogas. Fuel input: 19.0 MMBtu/h, 18,315 SCFH natural gas or 31,280 SCFH biogas. Hydrogen blend range: 0-50%. Emissions: NOx and CO 0.01 lb/MWh; CO2 886 electric-only and 517 with full heat recovery. Dimensions: 72 ft x 60 ft x 25 ft 5 in (21.9 x 18.3 x 7.7 m); 62 dBA at 30 ft. Water: 7.8 gpm consumption against 3.9 gpm discharge; ambient minus 20 to 120 degrees F. Ramp rate: up to 20% per minute; standards ANSI/CSA FC-1, UL 1741, IEEE 1547, CARB 2007 and 2013.
Major variations
Built from two 1.25 MW carbonate modules, and itself the building block of the 12.5 MW Block System at five systems or ten modules. Fuel configurations run natural gas, biogas or a hydrogen blend, with or without heat recovery, and site-specific derates below nameplate are common. The 2.5 MW rating replaced a 2.8 MW legacy nameplate, the same 10.7% restatement seen on the smaller system.
Configurations and options
The system is configured as two 1.25 MW carbonate modules on shared balance of plant, and five systems make the 12.5 MW Block. Fuel options are natural gas, biogas or a hydrogen blend to 50%, with heat recovery optional at 6.1 MMBtu/h on natural gas or 6.5 on biogas. Site-specific derates below nameplate are common, so the ordered rating and the achieved rating are separate numbers a buyer should ask for individually.
Compatibility and dependencies
Interconnection is at 13.8 kVAC and 60 Hz rather than the 480 V of the smaller system, so it lands on medium-voltage switchgear and needs a different protection scheme. The envelope is 72 by 60 by 25 ft 5 in, gas supply must deliver 19.0 MMBtu/h at about 18,315 SCFH, and water runs 7.8 gpm consumed against 3.9 gpm discharged. Ramp rate is up to 20% per minute, and noise is 62 dBA at 30 feet.
Pricing and availability
Trend: rising Lead time, used or refurbished: No used or refurbished unit listed as of August 2026.
Published cost benchmarks
Cost figures from filings and published studies. They describe budgets or project costs, not equipment prices.
- $1058.8M · 2.5 MW FuelCell Energy Block System
Supply, delivery and overhaul
30 units listed without public prices.
- Manufacturer-wide delivery estimate: 3 months
- fuel cell module (stack) replacement: 2 x 1.4-MW carbonate modules plus BOP replacement components: 7-year target cell design life (current production modules); legacy modules 5-year
- fuel cell module (stack) replacement: 2 carbonate modules plus BOP replacement components: 7-year target cell design life (current production modules); legacy modules 5-year
- Eight replacement carbonate modules plus conditional BOP replacements and long-term service
- 22 replacement1.4MW carbonate modules; recognized product revenue
Lifecycle and maintenance
Carbonate systems are designed around a 25 to 30 year system life with stack modules replaced inside it, at a 5-year target cell design life on legacy modules and 7 years on current production. The manufacturer publishes a 10% to 15% decrease in power and efficiency across the life of a module, and the legacy 3000 datasheet expressed the same thing as an efficiency band falling from 49% to 44% LHV. Balance of plant therefore outlives three to five module generations, which is why value concentrates in module age rather than plant age. Long-term service agreements run up to 20 years and include module exchange, and the agreement permits a new or a used replacement module.
Thermal and emissions profile
Fuel cells generate without combustion, and that is the whole regulatory argument for siting them where an engine or a turbine cannot be permitted. California's distributed generation certification regulation sets 0.07 lb/MWh NOx, 0.10 CO and 0.02 VOC for fossil-fuelled distributed generation, and current products certify far below it, at 0.003 lb/MWh NOx for Bloom, 0.01 for FuelCell Energy and 0.02 for HyAxiom. Sacramento's 2024 best available control technology determination classifies those limits as achieved in practice and allows a combined heat and power credit of one MWh per 3.4 million Btu of recovered heat. Carbon dioxide is not eliminated: a natural gas fuel cell emits 679 to 1,006 lb/MWh electric-only, falling to 496 to 567 with full heat recovery.
Common failure points
- Stack module end of life — Modules carry a 5-year legacy or 7-year current target cell design life and then need a maker exchange
- Electrolyte loss — Molten carbonate is lost over long exposure through volatilization of alkali chlorides
- Service agreement transferability — Without a transferable agreement the asset cannot be exchanged, serviced or warranted by anyone
- Sulfur and halide contamination — Testing at 5 ppm H2S produced rapid power loss, and organic sulfides and halides remain unsolved
- Second-life modules — The maker may fit a new or used replacement module, so a refurbished plant can hold aged stacks
- Long start-up — A cold unit is not a same-day restart and no published start duration exists
Inspection checklist
Module install date and hours: legacy modules carry a 5-year and current production a 7-year target cell design life. Nameplate generation: a 1.4 MW or 2.8 MW plate is legacy; the same lines sell new today at 1,250 kW and 2,500 kW. Service agreement: confirm a transferable long-term agreement exists and that the maker will novate it, or the asset cannot be serviced at all. Used replacement modules: the maker reserves the right to fit a new or used module, so a refurbished plant may hold second-life stacks. Efficiency band: the legacy 3000 datasheet published 49% falling to 44% LHV; assume the lower end on a late-cycle stack. Power walk-down: the maker publishes a 10% to 15% decrease in power and efficiency across the life of a stack module. Fuel history: obtain the gas analysis record, because chloride and sulfur exposure are cumulative and irreversible.
Procurement channels
Direct from FuelCell Energy, overwhelmingly as generation under long-term power purchase agreements. The tradeable unit at this scale is the project company, evidenced by sale-leaseback financings at Tulare and San Bernardino and the Bridgeport whole-plant transfer.
Regional notes
North American 13.8 kVAC and 60 Hz product with CARB 2007 and 2013 compliance. The predecessor was CARB-certified at 2.8 MW under Executive Order DG-048 dated 2017-12-19, which is the cleanest documentary anchor for the legacy rating.