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NGP Launches NGP Sustainable Real Assets to Invest in Clean Energy Project Development Platforms

Dallas, Texas – July 22, 2024 — (BUSINESS WIRE) — NGP is pleased to announce the closing of NGP Sustainable Real Assets, LLC (“NGP SRA”) with approximately $500 million of capital commitments from NGP’s dedicated energy transition fund, NGP Energy Transition IV, L.P., and co-investors. NGP SRA was formed to invest in real asset development platforms across the energy transition – including clean power, clean fuels, carbon, transportation and critical minerals. NGP SRA invests by partnering with exceptional management teams, often at the earliest stages of company formation, and provides capital and support to help build leading energy transition platforms.

Chris Carter, NGP’s Managing Partner, commented “Our strategy with NGP SRA combines NGP’s 35-year track record of partnership-oriented investing, having backed more than 300 development platforms across the energy sector, with our firm’s significant capital, expertise and resources dedicated to the energy transition. We see a big opportunity to deploy an investment model NGP has honed over the last three decades into these attractive clean energy subsectors.”

Phil Deutch, NGP Partner and Energy Transition Fund Head, remarked “We take great pride in our reputation as value-added partners and trusted sector specialists in energy. More than three decades ago, NGP pioneered the investment model that now dominates traditional energy project development. We are excited to commit our experience and capital to advancing energy transition projects while seeking attractive risk adjusted returns for our investors.”

Sam Stoutner, NGP Partner, added “We continue to see a mismatch between the supply of high-quality, shovel-ready clean energy projects, and the capital to build, finance and own those projects. In NGP SRA, we will focus on backing teams and projects earlier in their lifecycle and working with management to build scaled, diversified, derisked projects and platforms that can ultimately be handed off to lower-cost, longer-term pools of capital.”

NGP SRA has already closed investments in the three platform companies profiled below and continues to evaluate new opportunities to add to its portfolio. NGP SRA generally targets equity commitments of $50-$150 million per investment. To get in touch with the NGP investment team, please contact inquiries@ngpenergy.com.

Segue Renewables II, LLC (Segue)

Segue invests in development-stage energy transition projects and the infrastructure enabling them. Segue provides capital and expertise to originate, de-risk, optimize, and monetize projects. Segue Renewables II is the second partnership between the Segue management team and NGP.

Cloverleaf Infrastructure, LLC (Cloverleaf)

Cloverleaf develops clean-powered, ready-to-build sites for the largest electric loads. Leveraging management’s extensive expertise in the power and data center sectors, Cloverleaf collaborates

with regional U.S. utilities and data center operators to deliver scalable clean electricity through strategic investments in transmission, grid interconnection, land, onsite power generation and electricity storage.

CO280 Solutions, Inc. (CO280)

CO280 is the leading developer of Carbon Dioxide Removal projects in the pulp and paper industry. The company partners with pulp and paper companies to develop, finance, own and operate carbon removal projects that deliver a new standard of permanent, verifiable, and affordable carbon removal credits to the voluntary carbon market.

About NGP

NGP is a premier private equity firm that believes energy is essential to progress. Founded in 1988, NGP is moving energy forward by investing in innovation and empowering energy entrepreneurs in natural resources and energy transition. With over $23 billion of cumulative equity commitments, we back portfolio companies focused on responsibly solving and securing the energy needs of today and leading the way to a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy future.

For more information, visit www.ngpenergy.com.

Contact:
Sam Stoutner
Partner – NGP
972.432.1440
inquiries@ngpenergy.com

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Cloverleaf Infrastructure raises $300 Million from NGP and Sandbrook Capital

HOUSTONJuly 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Cloverleaf Infrastructure (“Cloverleaf”) today announced that it has secured capital commitments totaling over $300 million from private equity investors NGP and Sandbrook Capital (“Sandbrook”), alongside contributions from its management team.

Cloverleaf is a recently-formed developer of large-scale digital infrastructure sites powered by low-carbon electricity. The company is led by a team of seasoned executives with backgrounds from renowned independent power developers such as Pattern Energy and ConnectGen, as well as major data center operators such as Microsoft. Building on this extensive expertise in the power and data center sectors, Cloverleaf collaborates with regional US utilities and data center operators to deliver scalable clean electricity through strategic investments in transmission, grid interconnection, land, onsite power generation and electricity storage.

“The rapid growth in demand for electricity to power cloud computing and artificial intelligence poses a major climate risk if fueled by high-emission fossil fuels. However, it’s also a major opportunity to catalyze the modernization of the US grid and the transition to a smarter and more sustainable electricity system through a novel approach to development. Cloverleaf is committed to making this vision a reality with the support of leading climate investors like Sandbrook and NGP”, said David Berry, Cloverleaf’s CEO. Mr. Berry was previously Cofounder and CFO at clean energy and transmission developers ConnectGen and Clean Line Energy Partners.

Brian Janous, Cloverleaf’s Chief Commercial Officer and former Vice President of Energy at Microsoft, added, “The large tech companies have become dominant players in the electricity sector, and they are genuinely determined to power their growth with the lowest possible emissions. Achieving this objective doesn’t depend on disruptive new technologies as much as it does on dedicated teams working hand in hand with utility partners to maximize the use of the clean generation, storage, and other technologies we already have.”

The Cloverleaf management team also includes Chief Technical Officer Jonathan Abebe, who has held senior engineering and technical roles at the Department of Energy, Pattern Energy and Clean Line Energy and Vice President Nur Bernhardt, formerly Director or Energy Strategy at Microsoft.

Alfredo Marti, Partner at Sandbrook, remarked, “The sustainable development of digital infrastructure at scale is fundamentally a technical power problem. We have witnessed members of the Cloverleaf team effectively address this challenge for many years through a blend of creativity, specialized engineering, a partnership mindset, and astute capital deployment.”

Sam Stoutner, Partner at NGP, noted, “Having backed hundreds of energy companies in the US over more than 30 years, we believe the opportunity set for clean-powered digital infrastructure development is as compelling as anything we’ve seen before, and the convergence of exceptional talent from both the power and digital sectors at Cloverleaf is truly extraordinary.”

About Cloverleaf Infrastructure

Cloverleaf Infrastructure is a recently established platform focused on developing clean-powered, ready-to-build sites for the largest electric loads in the U.S., including real estate acquisition, grid interconnection, onsite storage and generation and low-carbon energy supply. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and Seattle, Washington.

About Sandbrook Capital

Sandbrook Capital is a private investment firm dedicated exclusively to partnering with world-class management teams to build impactful companies that are essential to transforming the world’s energy infrastructure.  The firm, founded by five partners with decades long experience in the renewable energy sector, is headquartered in Stamford, CT, with European headquarters in London, UK. For more information, visit www.sandbrook.com.

About NGP

NGP is a premier private equity firm that believes energy is essential to progress. Founded in 1988, NGP is moving energy forward by investing in innovation and empowering energy entrepreneurs in natural resources and energy transition. With over $20 billion of cumulative equity commitments, we back portfolio companies focused on responsibly solving and securing the energy needs of today and leading the way to a cleaner, more reliable, more affordable energy future. For more information, visit www.ngpenergy.com.

Media contacts

Kekst CNC: Daniel Yungerdaniel.yunger@kekstcnc.com ; James Hartwelljames.hartwell@kekstcnc.com

SOURCE Sandbrook Capital

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LevelTen Energy Closes $65M Series D Funding Round to Scale Transaction Infrastructure for the Next Phase of the Clean Energy Transition

Seattle, WA – July 16, 2024 – Today LevelTen Energy, the leading provider of transaction infrastructure for the energy transition, announced that it has secured approximately $65 million in a Series D funding round. The financing, which includes both new growth capital and the conversion of notes, was led by B Capital, a global multi-stage investment firm, with participation from Aster, Constellation, Equinor Ventures, Google, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, NGP, Prelude Ventures, and ZOMA Capital, among others.

The LevelTen Platform is the world’s largest online hub for carbon-free energy buyers, sellers, advisors, asset owners and financiers. Since its launch, the LevelTen Platform has facilitated over $14.8 billion in power purchase agreements (PPAs), asset sales, and other clean energy transactions. The company has raised more than $125 million since inception.

“The clean energy industry’s growth has been astonishing, but the climate crisis demands that we deploy even more clean energy at a much faster rate. Rapidly growing electricity demand is straining our infrastructure and threatening to undermine climate goals. Our existential need to keep global warming in check requires us to scale procurement and bring new technologies to mass markets even more quickly,” said Bryce Smith, founder and CEO at LevelTen Energy.

“When we founded LevelTen in 2016, our primary objective was to build a robust marketplace that simplified and scaled power purchase agreements, the long-term contracts that allow clean energy projects to get financed and built. I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made. The LevelTen Platform has facilitated the procurement of more than eight gigawatts of clean energy. To put that figure in perspective, the electricity generated by these projects is sufficient to power the entire city of Barcelona. In addition, our new LEAP™ (LevelTen Energy’s Accelerated Process) technology dramatically accelerates PPA contracting, reducing overall procurement timelines by 80%,” he said.

The LevelTen Platform provides the marketplaces, software tools, and industry intelligence clean energy players need to transact with efficiency and confidence. The Platform comprises  the LevelTen Energy Marketplace, which connects clean energy buyers and advisors with power purchase agreement opportunities, and the LevelTen Asset Marketplace, which facilitates the purchase or sale of the underlying wind, solar, storage, and other clean energy assets themselves. In April, the company expanded its Platform to support the transfer of federal clean energy tax credits — unlocking even more financing opportunities for development. The Platform’s data products (MarketPulse and PPA Price Index) provide the market with the most recent and extensive real-world information to inform pricing and procurement decisions.

LevelTen’s network includes more than 1,000 project developers across North America and Europe, 50 energy advisors, and a variety of retail electricity providers who use the platform to source clean energy supply on behalf of their clients and customers. Many of the world’s largest corporate and utility clean energy buyers consider the Platform vital to their operation, making LevelTen the global hub for clean energy transactions.

“At B Capital, we partner with leading climate entrepreneurs and innovative businesses shaping the future through technology,” said Jeff Johnson, General Partner and Head of Climate. “LevelTen is the world’s largest marketplace for clean energy and asset transactions and a pioneer in powering the renewable energy industry and beyond. We are thrilled to support LevelTen’s vision to further the energy transition by providing critical solutions for buyers, sellers and advisors around the world.”

New Solutions for the World’s Most Pressing Challenges

“Society has made strong progress in tackling climate change — but it’s still not enough,” said Smith. “The next phase of the transition to a carbon-free economy will require new marketplaces, new sources of market intelligence, faster access to capital, and significant investments in emerging technologies. With this renewed financial support from our investors, LevelTen will build on our past success, and provide new solutions to the energy transition’s most pressing challenges,” he said.

Further LevelTen innovations supported by the new funding include:

  • Unlocking the full potential of round-the-clock carbon-free energy supply. In December 2023, LevelTen announced the Granular Certificate Trading Alliance, a collaboration with AES, Constellation, Google, and Microsoft to develop a first-of-its-kind trading and management platform for “granular certificates” (GCs) — energy attribute certificates that verify the time and location of carbon-free energy (CFE) generation. This platform, under development in partnership with the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), will support the next wave of sustainability targets — including 24/7 carbon-free energy goals and emissions-first objectives.
  • Expanding into new geographies. LevelTen currently operates in 32 countries across North America and Europe. With the additional funding, the company will expand into new markets. Many of LevelTen’s multinational customers seek to reduce emissions globally. Launching the LevelTen Platform in new geographies will support even more organizations as they seek to meet ambitious Scope 2 and 3 emissions-reduction goals, creating a global solution to a truly global problem.
  • Supporting more types of buyers and sellers. As electricity demand rises, and as renewable portfolio standard requirements increase, utilities must move quickly to secure clean energy supply. LevelTen’s transaction infrastructure helps utilities move at the speed required to succeed in modern energy markets, which includes a wide array of corporate and utility buyers vying for a limited pool of new clean energy resources. In addition, as newer carbon-free technologies emerge, the LevelTen Platform will connect these new facilities with the offtakers and investors required to scale.
  • Decarbonizing heavy industry and supporting clean hydrogen. LevelTen Energy is already tackling the significant greenhouse gas emissions caused by industrial processes. According to the EPA, industrial activities created 23% of U.S. emissions in 2022, compared to the 25% resulting from electricity generation. It’s critical that we reduce these emissions. As such, LevelTen is excited to be a founding member of H2DI — a collaboration led by the Energy Futures Initiative, selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the H2Hubs demand-side support mechanism for clean hydrogen. LevelTen brings highly-relevant transaction infrastructure expertise, as well as the clean energy project development experience, to support the design and implementation of this $1B program to jumpstart industrial decarbonization.

About LevelTen Energy

LevelTen Energy is the leading provider of transaction infrastructure for the energy transition, delivering marketplaces, software, data and analytics that accelerate carbon-free energy deals and decisions. The LevelTen Platform is the global hub for carbon-free energy transactions and insights, connecting over 1,000 project developers in 32 countries with a vast network of corporations, advisors, traders, financiers and other organizations seeking to advance carbon-free energy development. The Platform includes marketplaces for power purchase agreements, clean energy projects, and tax credit transfers, and will soon support the trading of granular certificates. In addition to building and operating marketplaces, LevelTen Energy provides automated analytics and fresh data to inform key decisions for all market participants, as well as software to help users manage business before, during and after transactions. Visit LevelTenEnergy.com to learn more.

Disclaimer

Certain information set forth in this release may contain forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or result expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management’s estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

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Nextracker Acquires Ojjo to Expand Utility-Scale Solar Tracker Foundations Business

FREMONT, Calif., June 20, 2024 – Nextracker (NASDAQ: NXT), a global provider of intelligent solar tracker and software solutions, today announced it has acquired Ojjo in an all-cash transaction for approximately $119 million. The purchase price is subject to working capital and other customary purchase price adjustments. Ojjo is a U.S.-based renewable energy company specializing in foundation technology and services used in utility-scale ground-mount applications for solar power generation. Combining Nextracker’s industry-leading smart solar tracker system with Ojjo’s foundation technology will enable engineering procurement construction companies (EPCs) and solar power plant developers to benefit from a more complete, integrated solution for various soil conditions when developing, designing, and installing their projects.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ojjo to Nextracker,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker. “Our customers greatly value proven integrated solutions to improve project design, simplify procurement, and reduce risk for their projects. This partnership builds on our successful product collaboration with Ojjo. Their team brings geotechnical products and expertise in foundation systems that are especially well-suited to rocky sites, with control system intellectual property that is broadly applicable to a range of equipment. This acquisition furthers our successful global tracker foundation business with next-generation, differentiated technology.”

Building on a multi-year relationship with Ojjo involving testing, evaluation, and collaboration on joint customer solar projects, adding Ojjo’s patented foundations portfolio will provide Nextracker customers with a holistic solar tracker and foundations systems solution. Ojjo technology and foundation solutions will be offered with Nextracker’s NX Horizon™ integrated solar tracker systems and advanced software solutions, and will also continue to be available to customers for use with other compatible solar trackers.

“I am proud of what the Ojjo team created. Nextracker is by far the best partner to drive this technology to its fullest potential in the utility-scale marketplace,” said Mike Miskovsky, outgoing Ojjo CEO, who will be providing transitional support to Nextracker into the next fiscal quarter.

Strategic and Financial Benefits Summary
• Expands Nextracker’s addressable market opportunity for challenging soil conditions.
• Advances Nextracker’s existing foundations capabilities and is expected to accelerate the future development and innovation of new solar foundation solutions to meet customer demand.
• Creates value for Nextracker and Ojjo customers through integrated tracker and foundations systems offering, and a more cost-effective model.
• Expands sustainable light-on-land solution that eliminates pre-drill and refusals, and significantly reduces subsurface risk.
• Scales Nextracker’s patented technology portfolio to over 600 total patents issued and pending.

The transaction closed on June 20, 2024, and is not expected to be material to fiscal 2025 results.

_____________

About Nextracker
Nextracker is a leading provider of intelligent, integrated solar tracker and software solutions used in utility-scale and distributed-generation solar projects around the world. Our products enable solar panels in utility-scale power plants to follow the sun’s movement across the sky and optimize plant performance. With an operating fleet in forty countries, Nextracker leads the solar industry with solar tracker technologies that increase energy production while reducing costs for significant plant ROI. For more information, please visit www.nextracker.com and www.ojjo.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the acquisition of Ojjo by Nextracker, future financial and operating results of Ojjo and Nextracker, and benefits of the transaction and future opportunities for the combined company. These forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions and on the current expectations of Nextracker’s management. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements, including: the ability of Nextracker to successfully integrate Ojjo’s operations and employees; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the transaction; Nextracker’s ability to successfully grow its or Ojjo’s business; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; the retention of key employees, customers or suppliers; and legislative, regulatory and economic developments, including changing business conditions in our industry or markets overall and the economy in general. Other risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements are also described under “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Nextracker’s most recent Quarterly Report on form 10-Q, Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents that Nextracker has filed or will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There may be additional risks that Nextracker is not aware of or that Nextracker currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Nextracker assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Channels for Disclosure of Information
Nextracker intends to announce material information to the public through the Nextracker Investor Relations website investors.nextracker.com, SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, and public webcasts. Nextracker uses these channels to communicate with its investors, customers, and the public about the company, its offerings, and other issues. As such, Nextracker encourages investors, the media, and others to follow the channels listed above and to review the information disclosed through such channels.

Nextracker Acquires Ojjo Expanding Solar Tracker Foundations Business