A Zondits Rundown: French Electricity Utility, ENGIE, Acquires an 80% Stake in Californian Battery Maker Green Charge Networks
- ENGIE and Green Charge Networks were introduced through ENGIE subsidiaries Ecova and OpTerra Energy Services.
- In 2014, ENGIE (known as GDF Suez prior to April 2015) purchased Ecova to reinforce their expertise in energy data management combined with their multi-technical know-how in energy efficiency.
- In October 2015, Ecova acquired Retroficiency to expand data analytics for commercial buildings.
- ENGIE has an expanding network of North American customers and is making efforts to grow its renewable energy portfolio.
- The energy storage sector is increasingly viewed as a key to unlocking the potential of renewable energy.
- William Kriegel, chairman of Green Charge, said, “ENGIE has the capabilities to propel Green Charge forward in its next stage of growth in the emerging global energy storage marketplace.”
ENGIE Acquires Majority Stake in Green Charge Networks
Business Wire, May 10, 2016. Image credit: geralt
ENGIE announced today that it has acquired an 80 percent stake in Green Charge Networks (Green Charge), an industry-leading battery storage company based in California. Green Charge, utilizing its advanced patented software algorithms and analytics, deploys, owns, operates, and optimizes battery systems at commercial & industrial (C&I) and public sector customer sites in the United States. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With offices in Santa Clara, New York, and San Diego, Green Charge has developed a portfolio of 48 MWh of battery storage projects either deployed or under construction across more than 150 sites. To date, the company has helped customers across the country reduce their electric bills up to 30 percent while providing stability to the grid.
Green Charge will benefit from the support of a larger family of ENGIE businesses in North America, which span the continent, providing renewable and natural gas-fired power production, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries, retail energy sales to homes and businesses, and services to enhance energy efficiency.
“With Green Charge, ENGIE immediately gains a strong position in the growing battery storage market in the U.S. and further develops its offering of load management solutions at customer sites,” said Frank Demaille, President and CEO of the North American business unit of ENGIE. “The company’s stand-alone battery and solar + battery solutions complement our existing offer. In the U.S., ENGIE has developed a large customer base across all 50 states. Together with Green Charge, we’re able to offer an even greater range of leading-edge solutions for commercial, industrial, and public sector customers. This acquisition will also reinforce ENGIE’s strengths and skills in the activities of decentralized energy management, off-grid solutions, and power reliability, which are identified as areas for growth for the company around the world.”
Today in the United States, ENGIE offers a variety of energy efficiency, customized demand response, and renewable solutions to commercial and industrial customers, allowing them to optimize their load requirements and energy-related costs. Recently, the Group has invested in energy management solutions from companies such as Tendril, a Colorado-based company working on reinventing Energy Service Management thanks to an open, cloud-based software platform, and earlier this year through the acquisition of OpTerra Energy Services, a company which provides a comprehensive set of energy and sustainability management services to thousands of customers.
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