Twenty-Three Unanswered Questions About Deep Green

LANSING, Mich. -- What follows is a list of questions about the Deep Green data center that have not been answered publicly. Each entry cites a specific public record showing the information is missing. None of these are opinions, and all are gaps in the public record documented as of April 4, 2026.

The Contract

1. The price of electricity from the fuel cells.

BWL General Manager Dick Peffley told the BWL Board on January 27, 2026 that the cost of power from the on-site fuel cells is "still being determined and discussed."

The council is voting to sell city land for a project whose core economic term has not been finalized. The cost of this electricity determines whether BWL ratepayers benefit or subsidize the data center.

Source: BWL Board packet, March 24, 2026 (January 27 meeting minutes).

2. The terms of the 20-year power purchase agreement.

BWL and Deep Green are negotiating a 20-year contract. It has not been disclosed to the public, to the BWL Board in open session, or to the City Council.

A 20-year contract binds Lansing ratepayers across five mayoral terms. No council member has publicly stated that they have reviewed the terms of the power purchase agreement, and no portion of it has been released.

Source: WKAR, Jan 29, 2026; BWL Board packet, Nov 18, 2025, p. 39 (Peffley cites NDA).

3. The Bloom Energy service contract.

Bloom Energy would operate the fuel cells that BWL would own, but the service agreement has never been disclosed. Jerry Norris, a 35-year ISO auditor, urged the council to review it before voting.

This contract determines who pays when fuel cells degrade, who handles hazardous waste, what the performance guarantees are, and what happens if Bloom cannot perform. BWL ratepayers bear the ownership risk on equipment they have no contract authority over.

Source: CivicClerk, March 23 Council meeting (Norris testimony); BWL Board packet, Nov 18, 2025, p. 39.

4. The buy-sell agreement terms.

The agreement between the city and Deep Green for the parking lot sale has been redacted in public records. Council Member Adam Hussain asked at the March 23 hearing whether binding aesthetic commitments (windows, landscaping, public space) are in the agreement, and Deep Green's attorney could not confirm whether they were included.

The agreement governs environmental liability, exit provisions, insurance requirements, and what happens if Deep Green leaves. The council is voting on a document whose terms they cannot verify.

Source: CivicClerk, March 23 Council meeting (Hussain Q&A).

The Money

5. Who will claim the federal Investment Tax Credit, and under what ownership structure.

Fuel cells qualify for a 30% federal tax credit under Section 48E of the Internal Revenue Code. For 16 megawatts of Bloom fuel cells at $7,000-8,000 per kilowatt ($112-128 million), the credit is worth $34-38 million. The credit attaches to whoever places the equipment in service as its owner. BWL General Manager Dick Peffley told the City Council on February 9 that Deep Green would pay for the fuel cells "cash up front" and BWL would then "own and operate" them. The tax treatment of this arrangement (who is the original owner for tax purposes, whether the transfer triggers recapture, whether BWL claims direct pay or Deep Green claims the credit and passes the benefit through) depends on the contract structure, which is under a nondisclosure agreement.

The $34-38 million is a material number in a $120 million project, and which party captures it determines the real economics of the deal. If BWL claims direct pay, BWL must meet domestic content requirements and construction deadlines. If Deep Green claims it as the original owner, Deep Green's effective cost drops by roughly a third, which changes what BWL and the city are actually negotiating against.

Source: 26 USC §48E(j) (fuel cell credit); BWL GM Peffley, Lansing City Council meeting, Feb 9, 2026 ("cash up front... our plant to own and operate").

6. Whether Bloom's fuel cells meet domestic content requirements, and whether that matters for this deal.

If the tax credit is claimed through direct pay by a tax-exempt entity like BWL, the equipment must meet domestic content requirements for projects beginning construction after December 31, 2025, or the credit can be reduced or eliminated. Bloom Energy assembles fuel cells in Fremont, California, but also operates a manufacturing joint venture with SK ecoplant in Gumi, South Korea. Fuel cells are excluded from the IRS simplified safe harbor for domestic content, so qualifying requires a component-by-component cost analysis. No such analysis has been disclosed, in part because the tax structure itself is under NDA.

The domestic content rule can add or eliminate tens of millions of dollars from the deal economics depending on how the contract is structured. For tax-exempt recipients using direct pay, failing domestic content in 2026 means zero credit under the prevailing interpretation of the law.

Source: Bloom Energy Korea manufacturing JV; Grant Thornton analysis; McLane Middleton analysis.

7. Whether the construction timeline is achievable.

Legal analyses indicate that for tax-exempt entities using direct pay on new fuel cell projects, construction must begin by July 4, 2026 and the project must be operational by December 31, 2027. As of April 4 (ninety-one days before the July 4 deadline), the land sale has not passed, the rezoning has not passed, the power cost has not been determined, and the contract has not been signed.

The IRS considers construction to have begun only when at least 5% of total project cost has been spent on physical work, or continuous construction activity has started and been maintained. If the contract structure depends on direct pay, the deadline is real. If Deep Green is claiming the credit instead, different rules apply, and that is also information the council should have before voting.

Source: National League of Cities; Chapman and Cutler; BDO (IRS construction guidance).

The Developer

8. Deep Green has 1.13 megawatts of operational capacity worldwide.

That is one 1.1 MW facility in Swindon, England and a 28-kilowatt unit heating a swimming pool in Exmouth. The Lansing project is 24 megawatts.

The company asking for city land and industrial rezoning in downtown Lansing has never built or operated anything at this scale. The Lansing project is a 22x scale jump from their entire global portfolio.

Source: Data Center Dynamics, Jan 2024; Civo press release (Swindon).

9. Deep Green's sole identified financial backer lost £255 million last year.

Octopus Energy Group committed £200 million to Deep Green in January 2024. Last year, Octopus Energy swung to a £255 million annual loss after posting £83 million in profit the year before. Octopus is one of three UK suppliers that failed to meet Ofgem's new capital adequacy requirements when they came into force in 2025, with the shortfall reported in the hundreds of millions of pounds and growing as customer numbers expand.

If Octopus cannot or will not fund the project, there is no disclosed backup investor. Deep Green's US entity is a Delaware LLC with a virtual registered agent at a Grand Rapids mailbox, no US employees, and no disclosed officers.

Source: Data Center Dynamics, Jan 2024 (£200M investment); Sifted, Dec 2025 (£255M FY2025 loss); Ofgem Financial Resilience reporting, 2025 (capital adequacy shortfall); LARA entity search (Deep Green Technologies USA LLC).

10. Bloom Energy has never earned an annual profit in 25 years of operation.

The company has lost a cumulative $3.9 billion. Last year it brought in a record $2.02 billion in sales and still lost $88 million. Its stock dropped 12% on March 30 after an investment bank downgraded its rating, citing concerns about whether the company can deliver on its growth promises.

BWL would own $112-128 million in fuel cells manufactured by this company, and these fuel cells require specialized maintenance that only Bloom can perform. If Bloom runs into financial trouble, who keeps the equipment running?

Source: Bloom Energy FY2025 earnings release; Bloom Energy 10-K (SEC EDGAR); Motley Fool, Mar 30, 2026.

The Heat

11. Deep Green's waste heat covers roughly 12% of BWL's current steam system capacity.

BWL's REO plant currently heats downtown by producing up to 300,000 pounds of steam per hour. Deep Green claims its waste heat would deliver 290,000 MMBtu per year. In practical terms, that is roughly 12% of what the REO plant provides at peak.

The "free heat" has been presented as the project's central community benefit, but it replaces only one of three planned boilers for the post-conversion hot water system, and BWL still needs the other two. The steam conversion costs $100-125 million regardless of whether Deep Green is built.

Source: Deep Green public info page (290,000 MMBtu/yr); BWL Facilities (REO capacity); BWL Board minutes, Sep 23, 2025 (3 boilers at 15.3 MMBtu/hr each).

12. BWL has not published the design supply temperature for the new hot water system.

Steam buildings downtown were designed for 220-240°F. Modern district hot water systems typically operate at 120-180°F. The design supply temperature determines whether each of the 55 centralized customers needs internal building modifications to receive the new service.

If the supply temperature is too low for buildings designed for steam, each building owner may need larger radiators, bigger heating coils, or piping replacement. BWL has not published a per-building cost estimate. Comparable conversions describe the building-side work as the most expensive and disruptive phase of steam-to-hot-water transitions.

Source: BWL Steam & Hot Water page (no temperature specified); Ever-Green Energy project page (no temperature specified); BWL Board minutes, Sep 23, 2025.

13. Building owners have not been told what the conversion will cost them.

BWL is paying for the street-side infrastructure. The work inside each building (new equipment to receive hot water instead of steam, possible replacement of radiators and piping designed for higher-temperature steam) appears to be each customer's responsibility. BWL has not published any estimate of what this work costs per building. Comparable conversions at Cornell and other institutions report per-building costs ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on building age and configuration.

Lansing Community College has 11 buildings on the steam system. A review of every LCC Board of Trustees meeting from October 2025 through March 2026 found zero discussion of the conversion or its costs. The State Capitol has already installed its own geothermal system and may no longer need BWL heat at all.

Source: LCC Board of Trustees meeting materials (Oct 2025-Mar 2026, reviewed); MSU Spartan Newsroom, Sep 2020 (Capitol geothermal).

14. Whether BWL has evaluated alternatives to Deep Green's waste heat.

When Commissioner James asked about long-term heat sources at the September 23, 2025 board meeting, Dick Peffley said "electric heat, or natural gas if it was available." No comparative analysis of alternatives was presented. Industrial heat pumps, electric boilers, solar thermal, wastewater heat recovery, and geothermal were not discussed at that meeting, and no such analysis has been located in subsequent board packets.

The State Capitol, historically a BWL steam customer, installed its own geothermal heating and cooling system in 2022, using 272 wells drilled 500 feet below the Capitol grounds. The Capitol projected annual savings of up to $250,000 off the building's $800,000 yearly utility costs when the project was announced. A working geothermal example exists in downtown Lansing. If BWL evaluated it as an alternative heat source, that analysis has not been published.

Source: BWL Board minutes, Sep 23, 2025 (Peffley response to Commissioner James); MSU Spartan Newsroom, Sep 2020; Michigan Capitol preservation projects.

The Governance

15. Whether the BWL Board authorized Dick Peffley to sign a nondisclosure agreement with Deep Green.

No board vote has been found in any BWL Board packet or meeting minutes from April 2025 to present. The delegation resolution that would have given Peffley formal contract authority was pulled from the November 18, 2025 agenda after the League of Women Voters of the Lansing Area organized opposition, and it has not been returned to the agenda since.

Under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act (MCL 15.243), a public utility's promise to keep information confidential must be authorized by its top official. If Peffley signed the NDA without board authorization, the confidentiality promise may not be legally valid, and the contracts it shields may be subject to public disclosure.

Source: BWL Board packets (Nov 18, 2025; all 2025-2026 packets reviewed).

16. Whether the City Attorney reviewed the Deep Green deal and what the review found.

No written legal opinion on the Deep Green transaction has been found in any public record.

The City Attorney's office is responsible for advising the council on pending legal actions. The attorney also donated $1,200 to the mayor's political fund (federal tax filings, 2020-2024) and previously handled an ethics complaint filed against that same fund.

Source: City of Lansing public records (no legal opinion found); IRS Form 8872 filings for Schor Lansing Fund (EIN 46-1990008).

17. Whether BWL has filed environmental permits with EGLE.

Bloom Energy is designated by the EPA as a Large Quantity Generator of hazardous waste, including benzene, chromium, and lead. The EPA fined Bloom $1.37 million in 2020 for hazardous waste violations at its Delaware facility. The proposed site is 2.7 acres in downtown Lansing. No air quality permit application, hazardous waste management plan, or environmental liability assessment has been identified in the public record.

The site is surrounded by residential buildings, the Grand River, and Impression 5, a children's science museum.

Source: Hindenburg Research, Sep 2019 (EPA designation); A Better Delaware, Jan 2025 (EPA fine).

18. Whether an independent appraisal was conducted for the city-owned parking lots being sold.

No independent fair market value appraisal has been found in the public record for the three downtown parcels.

Downtown Lansing parcels with riverfront proximity sold without a documented market valuation. Without an appraisal, neither the council nor the public can assess whether the sale price reflects fair value or a subsidy.

Source: City of Lansing public records (no appraisal found); CivicClerk, March 23 Council meeting.

19. Whether the council will act on the ethics complaint filed against Council Member Jeremy Garza.

An ethics complaint was submitted to the City Clerk and all eight council members on March 27, 2026, asking Garza to recuse from the Deep Green vote. Garza is Vice President of UA Plumbers Local 333, which would receive $120 million in construction work and a potential 20-year maintenance contract if the project proceeds. Local 333 PAC has contributed $24,500 to Garza's campaign. The complainant requested the complaint be included as a communication at the April 6 meeting. No public response or opinion has been issued.

Under Michigan law (MCL 125.3815), a member of a zoning body with a financial interest in a rezoning must disclose it. The math is consequential: the land sale requires six of eight votes. If Garza recuses, the maximum possible yes votes drops to seven, meaning any two opponents can defeat the sale. If he does not recuse and votes yes without addressing the complaint, the vote itself becomes grounds for challenge.

Source: Ethics complaint filed March 27, 2026 with City Clerk and council members; MCL 125.3815 (zoning financial interest disclosure); Local 333 PAC campaign finance filings (MiTN).

The Clean Energy Question

20. Bloom's fuel cells do not count toward Michigan's clean energy mandate.

Public Act 235 of 2023 requires BWL to reach 50% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2040. Natural gas fuel cells do not qualify as either renewable or clean energy under the statute unless they capture and permanently store at least 90% of their carbon emissions, which Bloom's fuel cells do not do. Bloom's fuel cells run on natural gas. 91% of Bloom installations worldwide run on natural gas.

BWL is currently at approximately 21% renewable energy, with a $750 million clean energy buildout barely on pace to reach 53% by 2030. Every dollar spent on fuel cell infrastructure that does not count toward the mandate is a dollar not spent on solar, wind, or battery storage that would.

Source: PA 235 of 2023, §3(i)(ii) (90% CCS requirement); NBC Bay Area (91% natural gas); BWL response to council, Oct 2024 (21% renewable).

21. The fuel cells burn natural gas continuously, at a rate comparable to a small industrial plant.

That gas is supplied by Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility. At the fuel level, the "clean energy" data center is a new long-term natural gas customer for Consumers.

Based on Bloom Energy's published fuel consumption rates and current commercial gas rates, Consumers Energy would likely collect several million dollars per year in gas delivery charges from this facility. The exact figure depends on final fuel cell efficiency and delivered gas pricing, neither of which has been publicly disclosed. This financial interest has not been discussed in any public hearing or board meeting.

Source: Calculated from Bloom Energy fuel consumption data (Bloom annual report, SEC) at 16 MW continuous operation and current commercial gas rates; state utility commission records (BWL listed as Consumers gas customer).

The Stakeholders Not Consulted

22. Lansing Community College has not discussed the steam conversion at a board level.

LCC has 11 buildings on BWL's steam system, the largest customer cluster. A review of every LCC Board of Trustees meeting from October 2025 through March 2026 found zero agenda items, zero minutes entries, and zero public comments referencing BWL, steam, hot water, or the conversion.

LCC's building-side conversion costs, based on ranges reported at comparable conversions elsewhere, could reach into the millions for 11 buildings. LCC's elected board has not been told what this transition will cost or when it will happen.

Source: LCC Board of Trustees meeting materials (all available packets Oct 2025 through Mar 2026 reviewed).

23. Michigan DTMB has not publicly addressed the conversion's impact on state buildings.

The State of Michigan owns multiple downtown Lansing buildings on the steam system, including the Hall of Justice, Romney Building, and Michigan State Police headquarters. DTMB manages state facilities with a $1.7 billion department budget. No public record of DTMB planning or budgeting for building-side conversion costs has been found.

The State Capitol installed its own geothermal heating and cooling system, operational since 2022. If DTMB pursues similar approaches for other state buildings, BWL's centralized customer count could shrink further, which would weaken the value proposition for Deep Green's waste heat.

Source: DTMB State Facilities; MSU Spartan Newsroom, Sep 2020 (Capitol geothermal).

Methodology

Each item was verified against the cited public records as of April 3, 2026. "Not found in the public record" means the information was searched for in BWL Board packets (Sep 2025-Mar 2026), City Council meeting materials (CivicClerk), LCC Board of Trustees materials (Oct 2025-Mar 2026), DTMB public records, BWL's website, Ever-Green Energy's project page, Deep Green's public information page, Bloom Energy SEC filings, and relevant news coverage (WKAR, WLNS, City Pulse, Lansing State Journal). The ITC analysis cites statutory text, IRS guidance, and published legal analyses from six law and accounting firms. Dollar calculations use publicly available data and are shown with their inputs.

Previous posts on this site documented individual findings. This post compiles the unanswered questions across all of them. Every item is a gap in the public record, not an opinion about the project. The question at the end is for the council and for Lansing residents.