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.

Accelerating our Mission – doing more good, faster

Posted on by Kelly Yazdani

August’s energy crisis in California was a wake up call. Not the kind of wake up call that comes when you’re in a dead sleep, but the kind that comes when you are diligently and tirelessly working toward a goal and receive a push, creating a renewed sense of urgency.

We founded Voltus with a clear vision – to become the world’s leading provider of demand response. We bring this vision to fruition each day by turning large energy users’ behind-the-meter assets into cash-producing distributed energy resources. Voltus makes money when our customers make money. This process, to steal Arnold Palmer’s quote about golf, is deceptively simple, and endlessly complex. No two customers are exactly the same. Our business requires the perfect blend of repeatable processes and customization.

Voltus is the fastest growing demand response provider of all time, serving thousands of customers across nine major North American energy markets. Our team has accomplished this by being bright (e.g., creating game-changing technology for customers who have practiced demand response for decades), by being gritty (e.g. opening markets that wanted to stay closed), and by being good (e.g., we really, really like winning as a team). Last month, the FERC passed Order 2222, enabling distributed energy resource aggregators like Voltus to participate in all wholesale markets. This Order doubles our serviceable addressable market in the months and years to come. It will be the catalyst for continued record-breaking growth.

But, back to the California energy crisis. As the demand for electricity this past August pushed supply limits, initiating rolling blackouts for regions throughout California, the most vulnerable in our community were at risk. One of the reasons Voltus exists is to help prevent blackouts, and this was our moment to do exactly that. Our team and customers stepped up, working around the clock to provide every negawatt possible to the grid. The work we did literally saved lives. 

When the ash settled, we realized that we needed to accelerate our mission, to do more good, faster. More demand response is needed. Not just in California, where raging wildfires, climate change, and the widespread implementation of renewables place new stressors on the grid, but in New York City, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Texas, and, quite frankly, anywhere electricity is made and consumed. 

Our technology platform unlocks the clean energy transition, prevents future blackouts, and helps our customers turn energy management into a competitive advantage. The world agrees. Within 60 days of announcing our interest in raising additional capital to accelerate our mission, we closed $25M in Series B financing. 

Now we are eager to expand our team of Voltans. We have always hired according to the following standard: we must end the interview thinking, “Yes! (S)he is the exact person we need.” We’re looking for that feeling 64 times between now and Valentine’s Day. If you want to create the distributed energy platform that ushers in the clean energy transition, if you love to deliver cash to customers, or if you want to put your heart and soul into being a great teammate, please apply here. It takes an amazing team to make a change this ambitious.

Matt Plante, President

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Commercial, industrial, or institutional customer? Email info@voltus.co to get started. Eager to join our team of bright, gritty, and good Voltans. View open positions 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