With rolling blackouts, wild fires, and a record heatwaves a stark reminder of just how fragile California’s power grid has become, microgrids “stepped up during the mid-August rolling blackouts, delivering flexible load and providing backup electricity, as extreme heat left the state short on power,” as noted by Microgrid Knowledge. Even hurricanes are a big reminder of how fragile other power systems have become. “Similar to the wildfire situation in California, microgrids, smart grids, renewable energy, and storage systems can help make energy systems more resilient. Communities are less dependent on vulnerable transmission lines and central power stations,” added Triple Pundit.
Big investors have taken an interest in such technology, as well. In fact, Inclusive Capital Partners’ Jeffrey Ubben is betting on wider adoption of clean energy. According to CNBC, “His fund is the lead investor in a company being formed through a partnership between Schneider Electric and private equity firm Huck Capital. The new venture will develop and run on-site microgrids for commercial and industrial buildings.” From here, as demand for resiliency grows, and we see bigger demand for microgrids, some of the top companies to watch include CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK), Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE), Edison International (NYSE:EIX), and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE).
CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) BREAKING NEWS: CleanSpark, Inc., a diversified software and services company has completed a strategic acquisition of GridFabric, LLC. Further, CleanSpark is pleased to announce that the principals of GridFabric, Mr. Ben Dupont and Mr. Matt Hale will be joining the CleanSpark team. The Company’s website can be found at www.gridfabric.io.
GridFabric creates software solutions that help power utilities and IoT (Internet of Things) products that manage energy loads. The GridFabric team created the original open source Open Automated Demand Response, standard released by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). OpenADR 2.0b is now the basis for the standard to be developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission. GridFabric’s core products are Canvas and Plaid. Canvas is an OpenADR 2.0b Virtual Top Node built for testing and managing Virtual End Nodes (‘VENs’) that are piloting and running load shifting programs. Canvas is offered to customers in the Cloud as a SaaS solution or as a licensed software.
Plaid is a licensed software solution that allows any internet connected product that uses energy (i.e. Solar, Storage & Inverters, Demand Response, EV Charging, Lighting, Industrial controls, Building Management Systems, etc.) to add load shifting capabilities by translating load shifting protocols into their existing APIs. Companies that implement Plaid get a Certified OpenADR 2.0b Virtual End Node (VEN) as though they built it from scratch. GridFabric has facilitated dozens of Plaid integrations with companies of all sizes, ranging from major utilities to companies offering custom IOT energy solutions, saving customers time and money.
CleanSpark will utilize GridFabric’s communications protocols as an integral part of our Demand Response offerings integrated into mPulse. Within the coming months, the two companies will be launching a solution for the Standard for Smart Energy Profile Application known as IEEE 2030.5. This standard has been selected as the default protocol for the California microgrid industry.
“We believe that the acquisition of GridFabric further positions CleanSpark to continue to outperform our competitors by more rapidly advancing our Demand Response programs integrated into our industry leading mPulse distributed energy controls platform,” stated Zachary Bradford, CleanSpark’s Chief Executive Officer. “Retaining GridFabric’s software technology and expert staff is a logical extension of our business model. This transaction will provide multiple opportunities to deliver additional value and add revenue streams through mPulse driven Demand Response programs to our existing customers. Understanding the widely accepted OpenADR standard, we quickly recognized the need for a provider. After an extensive evaluation process, we believe we secured the premier provider in this space, further enhancing CleanSpark’s technological advantages. GridFabric also brings a significant ‘built-in’ client base that we believe will immediately provide cross-selling opportunities for CleanSpark’s core product lines,” concluded Bradford.
“This acquisition immediately adds to CleanSpark’s revenue stream by layering-on an additional value-added SaaS product that may be implemented independently from, or in conjunction with our mPulse platform,” said Lori Love, Chief Financial Officer of CleanSpark. “We anticipate that the acquisition alone will add close to $1M in revenue over the span of the coming year, and significantly more in the following years as we provide resources to the GridFabric team to grow. Perhaps more importantly, this acquisition brings existing, recurring revenue and positive cashflows immediately,” said Love.
Other related developments from around the markets include:
Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world's leading supplier of solar microinverters, announced that Solargain, one of Australia's largest and most experienced solar energy providers, has selected Enphase microinverters as the premium inverter solution for its turnkey retail solar offerings in Australia. Solargain, with headquarters in Perth, Australia, has more than 70,000 solar installations across the country, supported by a large service department dedicated to providing the highest levels of pre- and post-installation service to its customers. ISO 9001 certified and Clean Energy Council accredited, Solargain, with more than 20 years in operation, has developed a reputation for quality solar in Australia. Solargain's track record for operational excellence is complemented by its focus on innovating the residential solar experience. For example, the company was selected by IKEA as its Australian partner to support IKEA's in-store and online solar offering with best-in-class technology and fulfillment. Australian consumers purchasing a Solargain-IKEA solar system can select Enphase IQ 7+™ microinverters to deliver panel-level system monitoring, enhanced safety, and maximum performance for homes with complex roofs, small roofs, and partial shading.
Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE) reaffirmed its comments on its relationship with NextEra Energy Resources, LLC and offered the following comment: On our last earnings call, we disclosed that NextEra and Bloom had entered into a new business relationship and we described their company as a ‘financing partner.’ NextEra purchased a six megawatt (MW) fuel cell project on Long Island from Bloom. As set forth in our periodic financial reports and consistent with our past practice, Bloom uses the term ‘financing partner’ to refer to the purchaser of our fuel cells for use by an end consumer. In addition, NextEra contacted us recently to discuss future collaborations, which resulted in our two companies being actively engaged in discussions regarding several future projects.
Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Board of Directors of Edison International declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.6375 per share, payable on October 31, 2020, to shareholders of record on September 30, 2020.
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) Renewable Energy shared an update on progress to construct the largest wind turbine rotor test rig of its kind. The test facility is being constructed at LM Wind Power’s WMC Technology Center in Wieringerwerf, the Netherlands – located on the border of the IJsselmeer, approximately 70 kilometers north of Amsterdam. A consortium comprising of GE Renewable Energy, LM Wind Power and TNO was established to construct this test rig under the three-year STRETCH project, with partial funding from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. The rotor test rig will allow for verification of the strength and the dynamic behavior of wind turbine rotors under the enormous mechanical loads caused by large blades. Knowledge gained in the project will be used to improve existing design tools which, after verification through digital twin concepts, will contribute to the design of larger rotors.
Legal Disclaimer / Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Winning Media is only compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation. Pursuant to an agreement Winning Media has been paid three thousand five hundred dollars for advertising and marketing services for CleanSpark, Inc. by a third party. We own ZERO shares of CleanSpark, Inc. Please click here for full disclaimer.
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