Investment
Vulcan Impact Investing Makes its Mark with Rural Kenya Solar Mini-grids
Vulcan's impact investing team lay out the challenges they have faced, and the solutions they've come up with, in the two years it has owned and operated 10 off-grid, solar-powered mini-grids serving communities in rural Kenya.
Read more →Off-Grid Renewable Energy Bringing Universal Electricity Access to Africa
Widely available and cheaper than ever, PV solar is spreading rapidly across sub-Saharan Africa as a first generation of local clean energy entrepreneurs taps into support from U.S. and multilateral public-private partnerships,
Read more →Tabuchi America Joins Electric & Gas Industries Association to Launch ¨Solar Plus Storage¨ Loan Program
The US subsidiary of one of the world's largest solar inverter manufacturers, Tabuchi has partnered with energy efficiency and renewable energy advocacy EGIA to launch the $300 million GEOSmart SolPower residential solar-plus-storage financing program, the largest of its kind to date.
Read more →Military, Utilities Key to Microgrid Growth, Multi-Stakeholder Ownership Models
U.S. installed microgrid capacity will more than double out to 2020 as growing participation on the part of utilities and the military in microgrids owned by multiple stakeholders fuel growth, according to GTM Research.
Read more →India's Fast Growing Number of Cloud Data Centers May Spur Microgrid Investments
Leading cloud data center hosting companies, including AWS, IBM and Microsoft, have been opening up new facilities across the sub-continent, opening up prospects for hybrid and renewable microgrid deployments. Doing so would yield twin benefits: securing power supplies and contributing to achievement of India's renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
Read more →PwC Identifies 3 Key Strategic Elements for Microgrid Market Success
Microgrid market participants will be well served if they incorporate a ¨total solution¨ approach, along with two other key elements, in their strategic business plans, according to PwC.
Read more →El Hierro – The leading example for renewable integration on islands?
El Hierro is a frequently cited example for renewable integration on islands, but microgrid expert Martin Baart " couldn't disagree more ," here's why: There is no business case Duration of project implementation There is no use of leading technologies…
Read more →NY Prize Pushing Community Microgrids Beyond Feasibility Studies
NYSERDA is now accepting applications for detailed designing, engineering, and business plans for microgrids in the state of New York. The RFP is the second stage of the NY Prize , which made $40 million in state funds available to…
Read more →Mobile Phone Adoption In Africa Can Provide Tools, Demand, and Lessons for Off-Grid Electrification
Hundreds of millions of phones ( a nd smartphones ) have been activated in Africa . But the aspiration of portable and renewable off-Grid solutions for all households still appears far-fetched . In countries like Nigeria, many urban household s…
Read more →Africa And The Policy Push For Mini-Grid Growth
In Africa’s quest for power sufficiency, there is a vehicle, a driver and the passengers. With the private sector/investor’s interest being the driver, governments & policies, the “vehicle” must be optimized. African governments (through policies) are the most potent vehicle…
Read more →"It's Like The Early Days of the Internet," Blockchain-based Brooklyn Microgrid Tests P2P Energy Trading
[wpsm_quote author="Scott Clavenna - CEO of Greentech Media on Blockchain" float="left" width="30"]“When the internet was first introduced, it was hard to conceive of the drastic impact it would have on the world. We’ve got all the parts to do some…
Read more →SDG&E to Add as Much as 140MW of Preferred Energy Resources
California's leading renewable energy utility aims to tap into new energy storage, renewable energy, distributed generation, energy efficiency and demand response (DR) systems capacity as it continues its drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts.
Read more →Rural Electrification to Fuel Microgrid Market Expansion
The market for microgrids – grid-connected, off-grid or hybrid – will expand at a 10.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to an estimated $34.94 billion from 2016-2022, according to new market research from Markets and Markets.
Read more →Southern Co. Ups Its Microgrid Capabilities with PowerSecure Acquisition
The latest in a string of strategic moves indicative of a strategic shift in direction, Southern Co.'s $431 million all-cash offer to acquire PowerSecure sent the latter's shares soaring.
Read more →The Investment Case for Mini-Grids and Off-Grids in Africa
Since the mid-1990s, external finance to Africa’s power sector has averaged only around US$600m per year of public assistance, plus a similar volume of private finance, according to the World Bank. Africa’s critical need for development requires rapid and effective…
Read more →Microgrid Business Models Gain Traction In Kenya As Africa Leapfrogs Electric Grid
Kenya Microgrid Company SteamaCo Is Deploying Renewable Energy, Pay-As-You-Go Microgrids In Rural Africa One of the most interesting aspects of distributed energy is that rural areas in developing countries have a major advantage. Not only do they have the most…
Read more →Obama Doubles Renewable Energy Funding
Barack Obama has announced this weekend that the budget for renewable energy funding will be doubling within five years in an attempt to commit to pledges during the Paris Climate Summit in 2015. Making climate change the focus of his ‘Weekly Address’ emphasising his vision for a renewable future in the US, the President stated that he will be sending the proposal to Congress this week.
Read more →Caterpillar Takes Equity Stake In Africa Microgrid Company Powerhive
Part of a $20 million round of Series A VC funding, Caterpillar Ventures is taking an equity stake in Powerhive, a pioneering developer and vendor of smart microgrids that network residential and commercial solar PV-energy storage systems in rural Africa.
Read more →Energy Efficiency Financing More than Doubles in 2015
Corporate funding in the energy efficiency sector more than doubled to nearly $1.2 billion in 2015, with debt and public market financing accounting for nearly 60% of total venture capital (VC) and corporate funding of energy efficiency companies, a good sign the market is maturing and that bankers and investors are becoming more comfortable with risks and rewards.
Read more →New CalCharge Leader Aims to Create Energy Storage Industry Hub
Founded in 2014 by the non-profit California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF), CalCharge is leveraging its growing roster of member companies and working relationships with three San Francisco Bay area national labs to create an energy storage R&D and industry hub…
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