Gregg Dixon featured on THE TORCH with Chris Wedding

Posted on by Kelly Yazdani

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” -Teddy Roosevelt

Gregg Dixon sat down with Chris Wedding of ENTREPRENEURS for IMPACT to talk DERs, COVID, hiring, and the personal habits that contribute toward success. Read the entire interview here.

Voltus Raises $25M To Grow Leadership Position In Distributed Energy Resources In Financing Round Led By NGP Energy Technology Partners III

Posted on by Kelly Yazdani

SAN FRANCISCO, October 29, 2020 – Voltus, Inc., the leading distributed energy resources (DER) platform, today announced it has raised $25 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by NGP Energy Technology Partners III (“NGP ETP III”) and included existing investors Prelude Ventures and Ajax Strategies.

The funding will be used to create more jobs, develop additional products, and enter new markets, allowing Voltus to increase its leadership position delivering cash to commercial and industrial customers via innovative DER solutions.

Since its founding in 2016, Voltus has increased the market potential for DERs, entering every North American market and becoming the first aggregator of retail customers in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), in addition to being the first to offer capacity, ancillary services, and energy DER products in these same markets. In total, Voltus has secured over 2,000 megawatts of DERs, making it the fastest-growing provider of such services in industry history.

The Series B financing comes on the heels of FERC Order 2222, which ensures the equal treatment of DERs in wholesale markets in the United States, doubling Voltus’s market opportunity.

“A 15-year plus leader in energy technology investing, NGP ETP III is focused on committing capital to compelling companies focused on energy transition and is very pleased to be partnering with Voltus and to lead the Series B financing. Voltus has a leading DER technology platform, an extensive customer network in key target markets, a world-class team, and a proven track record,” said NGP ETP III CEO Philip Deutch.

Reflecting on the future impact of the Voltus mission, Voltus CEO Gregg Dixon said: “I’m deeply proud of our team’s accomplishments, but the success Voltus has experienced is just the tip of the iceberg. Our technology platform unlocks the potential of DERs for everyone, the benefits of which amount to $200 billion per year globally and a much more resilient and sustainable grid. DERs are the skeleton key to the energy transition, delivering the backstop and balancing resource for intermittent renewables.”

Tim Woodward, Managing Director of Prelude Ventures and Voltus Board Member, describes the impact of this raise: “The Voltus platform connects every type of DER, from energy storage to demand response to distributed generation, in every market . . . today. This round of financing will dramatically accelerate Voltus’s mission.” Veery Maxwell, Partner at Ajax Strategies and fellow Board Member also expresses her support, “This additional capital will take Voltus’s record-breaking growth to the next level. I look forward to working hand in hand with the Voltus team to level the regulatory playing field and achieve their ambitious goals.”

About Voltus, Inc.

Voltus represents the “potential of us” to better manage energy through simple, cost and risk-free distributed energy resources programs. Our commercial and industrial customers generate cash by allowing us to maximize the value of their operational flexibility in energy markets. Voltus makes money when our customers make money by sharing the cash generated from working together. What’s more, there are significant community benefits that accompany working with Voltus – a cleaner, more reliable energy future and dollars invested back into your business instead of being wasted on a larger energy bill. To learn more, visit www.voltus.co.

About NGP Energy Technology Partners III

One of the most experienced energy technology investors in the United States, NGP Energy Technology Partners III (“NGP ETP III”) invests in innovative technology companies seeking to transform global energy markets. NGP ETP III targets growth capital investments in companies with products, services or technologies serving the renewable energy, power, energy storage, energy efficiency, environmental, and transportation sectors. For additional information, please visit www.ngpetp3.com.

NGP ETP III is affiliated with NGP Energy Capital Management (“NGP”). Founded in 1988, NGP is a premier investment franchise in the energy industry, with over $20 billion in cumulative equity commitments organized to make strategic investments in the energy and natural resources sectors. NGP’s 32-year history gives it unique insight into the drivers of value creation in all facets of the energy industry. For more information visit www.ngpenergycapital.com.

Voltus Media Relations

Kelly Yazdani
Director of Marketing
703-340-9353
kyazdani@voltus.co

New FERC Order expands the reach of demand response

Posted on by Kelly Yazdani

This past Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruled to unify the treatment of distributed energy resources. Up to this point, states could opt-out, banning the participation of distributed resources in the wholesale power markets serving their local customers. What this meant practically for large commercial, industrial, and institutional organizations was that sites in certain states could not capitalize on their operational flexibility. According to Gregg Dixon, Voltus CEO, this historic FERC ruling “eliminates the antiquated local barriers that have prevented these distributed energy resources from delivering and receiving value in every wholesale power market in the United States.” Put simply, states can no longer opt-out.

Jon Wellinghoff, the former FERC Chairman commonly referred to as the “godfather” of demand response, also puts this ruling into perspective. “This ruling is the single most important decision in FERC history. By cementing the place of distributed energy resources in wholesale markets, we have taken a leap toward ensuring reliable grids and a clean energy future.” Wellinghoff, who refers to demand response as the “skeleton key” of the clean energy transition, speaks openly about the need for this balancing resource to allow for the widespread adoption of renewable energy.

Yet our work is not done. It will be 90 days before this ruling is written into law, and wholesale market operators then have up to nine months to submit compliance filings on how to modify the tariffs to enable these resources. Voltus is working closely with the appropriate grid operators to expedite implementation, expanding the financial opportunities for multi-site customers, as well as single-site organizations within these localities. Despite these short-term limitations, Dixon writes that the long term vision for Voltus is clear: “Our team and platform are ready to accelerate the energy transition, unlocking the value of distributed energy resources in every state.”

Interested in cashing in on your operational flexibility? Reach out to our team at info@voltus.co to learn more about the opportunities available to your organization.

New Year’s Resolution – Double Your DR $s with Voltus – Guaranteed!

Posted on by greggdixon@voltus.co

Our experts want to help you with a single new year’s resolution: double your dollars in demand response in 2020 with these five tips:

  1. Jon Wellinghoff, former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and “Father of Demand Response”: “In New York City, Texas, and all of PJM, you’ll want to ‘stack’ multiple demand response programs. If you’re only in one program, you’re missing out on many new programs. I’m aware of up to six programs being stacked at a single facility in Pennsylvania!”

  2. Ed Sayers, Vice President of Energy at Simon Property Group: “Optimize your enrolled kW. DR works off of a simple formula: kW x $’s = earnings. Squeeze every kW you can by reevaluating your operational flexibility and enrollment levels. As you invest in energy controls or new equipment you’ll often find that you can enable more kW, with quicker response times. That’s more cash.”

  3. Alex Laskey, founder and former President of Opower: “For American businesses, transmission capacity charges are increasing significantly. Too few companies manage these, but doing so will help you double the value you’ll get from curtailing loads. For Canadian businesses, spend a little money to reduce your Global Adjustment charges. Those fees are simply too large to manage without expert advice.”

  4. Dennis Quinn, General Manager of CashGen at Voltus: “Get back your backup generator. The opportunity to use your generator in demand response programs has returned. These resources are the highest quality power for your facility and a high quality type of demand response.”

  5. Phil Giudice, former Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and CEO of Ambri: “Demand response continues to grow, so understand every program available to your facility. For example, the Southwest Power Pool now offers demand response. Illinois customers have access to a lucrative, quick response demand response program. And customers in Ohio have more demand response choice than ever before.”

Are you resolved to double your dollars in demand response in 2020? Email us for a detailed review of your portfolio (info@voltus.co – not .com) and we’ll show you all the options to guarantee you hit that New Year’s resolution.

Jon Wellinghoff’s New Year’s Resolution – Double Your DR $s

Posted on by Voltus

Our experts want to help you with a single new year’s resolution: double your dollars in demand response in 2019 with these five tips: 

  1. Jon Wellinghoff, former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and “Father of Demand Response”: “You’ll want to “stack” multiple demand response programs. If you’re only in one program, you’re missing out on many new programs. I’m aware of up to six programs being stacked at a single facility.”

  2. Ed Sayers, Vice President of Energy at Simon Property Group: “Optimize your enrolled kW. DR works off of a simple formula: kW x $’s = earnings. Squeeze every kW you can by reevaluating your operational flexibility and enrollment levels. As you invest in energy controls or new equipment you’ll often find that you can enable more kW, with quicker response times. That’s more cash.” 

  3. Alex Laskey, founder and former President of Opower: “Take advantage of “out-of-market” demand response. You can double the value you get from curtailing loads. In nearly every North American power market, businesses incur peak demand charges. Moreover, transmission capacity charges are often greater than generation capacity expenses. You’ll want to avoid these.” 

  4. Dana Guernsey, Vice President of Product and Energy Markets at Voltus: “Get back your backup generator. The opportunity to use your generator in demand response programs has returned. These resources are the highest quality power for your facility and a high quality type of demand response.”

  5. Phil Giudice, former Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and CEO of Ambri: “Negotiate contract terms carefully. Look beyond simple top line revenue sharing percentages. Details matter and vary by program, market and geography. Some customers are surprised when it comes to unfamiliar terms such as “gross up.” You can increase your earnings 10% to 30% per year by making sure you get a piece of all of the profitable opportunities available.”  

Are you resolved to double your dollars in demand response in 2019? Email us for a detailed review of your portfolio (info@voltus.co – not .com) and we’ll show you all the options to guarantee you hit that New Year’s resolution.