SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, July 10,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Microgrid Solutions
("AMS") today announced it has raised over $34 million in a Series B funding round amid
projections by utility executives that distributed energy resources
(DERs) will create the biggest stress on the grid in the coming
decade. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners ("EIP"),
a collaborative utility-funded investment firm, Southern Company
(NYSE: SO) and DBL Partners, who also led AMS's Series A round. Participants in the
round included energy technology and infrastructure companies GE
Ventures, AGL Energy Limited (AGL) and Macquarie Capital, as well
as reinvestment by other early investors, including former
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The round brings
AMS's total funding to $52 million.
"The future of energy is increasingly distributed," AMS CEO
Susan Kennedy said. "We're
incredibly proud to have earned the backing of some of the largest
and most advanced energy companies in the world. This powerful
group of investors gives AMS access to a global network of
expertise, customers and resources." AMS will use the funding
to scale deployment of its Armada™ building-to-grid DER
optimization platform and expand into new markets.
"One of the greatest challenges facing utilities, customers and
grid managers around the world is managing distributed energy
resources," said Hans Kobler, EIP's
CEO and Managing Partner. "The smartest investments in grid
infrastructure in the coming decade will be focused on the
economics of DER management," added Michael
Donnelly, EIP partner and Chief Risk Officer, who will serve
on the AMS board of directors.
"AMS's Armada platform stands
out among DER software solutions because it focuses on extracting
maximum financial value for both utilities and energy consumers,"
said Mark Lantrip, President &
CEO of Southern Company Services. "What we like about
AMS's software platform is that it
makes distributed resources part of the utility solution instead of
the problem."
Increasing penetration of distributed solar, wind and electric
vehicles causes power fluctuations, voltage issues and costly
demand charges for customers and grid managers. Recent reports
indicate that nearly 60 percent of utility executives believe the
proliferation of consumer-owned distributed generation technologies
will have a significant impact on grid reliability and power
quality through 2020, caused by issues such as increased voltage
violations and backflow of power into distribution substations. As
electricity customers rapidly add new distributed energy resources,
from solar photovoltaics (PV) to electric vehicles, utilities see
opportunities to tap into these resources to balance the grid,
improve efficiency and reliability, and increase revenues.
"Optimization of these distributed resources is the missing link in
the value chain between end-use customers and the grid," Lantrip
added.
AMS's Armada platform uses
cloud-based analytics and advanced energy storage to provide
continuous financial optimization of customer-sited energy
resources for end-use customers, and aggregates behind-the-meter
resources into fully optimized, dispatchable portfolios for utility
service. AMS plans to use the new funding to expand its platform
services to new markets.
"We see DER management as a major growth market," said
Nancy Pfund, managing partner of DBL
Partners and one of the earliest investors in Tesla, SolarCity and
AMS. "AMS's software platform is
tapping into billions of customer dollars invested in clean energy
to transform the electric grid."
The successful close of Series B follows several significant
developments for AMS in 2017:
- Southern Company Subsidiary PowerSecure Announces Strategic
Alliance with AMS
- eCurv and AMS Receive Grant from Massachusetts DOE for Peak
Demand Reduction Project
- AMS to Build 16 MWh Distributed Energy Storage Project for
SDG&E
- Kilroy Realty and AMS to build 11 MWh Hybrid Electric Building®
Fleet
- AMS to Design, Install and Operate 40 MWh of Advanced Energy
Storage Systems at U.S. Walmart Stores
- AMS Wins $3.24 Million Department of Energy Grant to Advance
Grid Integration of Solar Energy in Texas
About Advanced Microgrid Solutions | Advanced Microgrid
Solutions (AMS) is pioneering the use of advanced energy storage
for energy management and utility services. AMS designs, optimizes,
aggregates and manages distributed energy resources and energy
storage assets. AMS's
building-to-grid™ asset management software Armada™ provides
continuously optimized resource management, cost reduction and
revenue generation for large-scale energy users and utilities. To
learn more, visit www.advmicrogrid.com and follow us on twitter:
@advmicrogrid.
About Energy Impact Partners | Energy Impact
Partners is a collaborative strategic investment firm that invests
in companies optimizing energy consumption and improving
sustainable energy generation. Through close collaboration with its
strategic investor base, EIP seeks to bring the best companies,
buying power and vision in the industry to bear on the emerging
energy landscape. EIP's partners include Southern Company, National
Grid, Xcel Energy, Ameren, Great Plains Energy, Fortis Inc., AGL,
Avista, Madison Gas and Electric Co., TEPCO, PTT Public Company
Limited, and OGE Energy Corp. For more information,
visit http://energyimpactpartners.com/.
About Southern Company | Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is
America's premier energy company, with 46,000 megawatts of
generating capacity and 1,500 billion cubic feet of combined
natural gas consumption and throughput volume serving 9 million
customers through its subsidiaries. The company provides clean,
safe, reliable and affordable energy through electric operating
companies in four states, natural gas distribution companies in
seven states, a competitive generation company serving wholesale
customers across America and a nationally recognized provider of
customized energy solutions, as well as fiber optics and wireless
communications. Through an industry-leading commitment to
innovation, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are inventing
America's energy future by developing the full portfolio of energy
resources, including carbon-free nuclear, 21st century coal,
natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency, and creating new
products and services for the benefit of customers. The company is
continually ranked among the top energy companies in Fortune's
annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings.
Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.
About DBL Partners | DBL Partners is a pioneer of
double bottom line venture capital, a new and growing field
of investing that seeks to optimize both financial return (First
Bottom Line) and positive social impact, including environmental
and regional economic benefits (Second Bottom Line). Based in San
Francisco and Palo Alto, the firm
focuses on cleantech, IT, health care and sustainable
products and services. The firm's portfolio companies, which
include Pandora Media (NYSE: P), SolarCity
(NASDAQ: SCTY), Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA), SpaceX,
Revolution Foods, and many others have created more than 30,000
jobs. More information about DBL Partners is available
at www.dblpartners.vc.
About GE Ventures | GE Ventures identifies, scales and
accelerates ideas that will help make the world work better.
Focused on the areas of software, advanced manufacturing, energy
and health care, GE Ventures combines equity investing, new
business creation, licensing and technology transfer to deliver an
innovation platform designed to drive growth for partners and GE.
For more information, visit http://www.geventures.com/, or
follow on Twitter (@GE_Ventures) and LinkedIn.
About AGL | AGL is committed to helping shape a
sustainable energy future for Australia. We operate the country's largest
electricity generation portfolio, we're its largest ASX-listed
investor in renewable energy, and we have more than 3.5 million
customer accounts. Proudly Australian, with more than 180 years of
experience, we have a responsibility to provide sustainable, secure
and affordable energy for our customers. Our aim is to prosper in a
carbon-constrained world and build customer advocacy as our
industry transforms. That's why we have committed to exiting our
coal-fired generation by 2050 and why we will continue to develop
innovative solutions for our customers.
About Macquarie and Macquarie Capital | Macquarie
Group (Macquarie) is a global provider of banking, financial,
advisory, investment and funds management services. Macquarie's
main business focus is making returns by providing a diversified
range of services to clients. Macquarie acts on behalf of
institutional, corporate and retail clients and counterparties
around the world. Founded in 1969, Macquarie operates in more than
70 office locations in 28 countries. Macquarie employs
approximately 13,597 people and has assets under management of more
than $367 billion.
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/advanced-microgrid-solutions-raises-34-million-in-series-b-energy-leaders-see-der-optimization-as-major-growth-market-300485024.html
SOURCE Advanced Microgrid Solutions