While some risks (namely economic ones) are always top of mind, climate and energy concerns are playing a larger role in business development and annual planning as more companies affirm their energy transition strategy and begin their journey to achieve those goals. As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2024, it’s not too late for business leaders to evaluate the major energy related risks and opportunities on your horizon and make a plan to tackle them.  

Extreme temperatures are a growing issue that threatens businesses and public health as unusual weather events place massive strain on energy grids. This past summer was the hottest recorded since global records began in 1880, says NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. As we head into spring, will we see any extreme weather such as unusually cold or warm temperatures? 

The rise in extreme weather events is just another alarm bell that underscores the importance of reducing human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. With 2024 underway, business leaders around the world should be thinking about how they will establish green energy goals or make progress against existing goals. Regardless of industry or company size, global executives need to build renewable energy efforts into their agendas for the remainder of the year.  

Successful energy transition journeys start with asking the right questions. Here are five considerations to help business leaders create a more strategic and viable path to a greener future:   

1. Do you and your business have a clear understanding of your energy goals and roadmap to achieving them? How will you address pain points along the way?  

2. How can engaging the right partners help drive your energy transition goals forward? 

3. Do you have the correct funding in place to make the investments required to achieve your green energy goals? 

4. What types of knowledge gaps do you need to fill in order to navigate energy challenges successfully?  

5. Are you exercising transparency in your progress toward the energy transition?  

How Calibrant can help you achieve your green energy goals 

Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is a complex issue but a net zero future is possible. Green energy goals for this year should not be aspirational. They should have a clear and actionable roadmap in place to ensure progress is achieved.  

At Calibrant, we specialize in providing comprehensive solutions and technological expertise to help our clients achieve their energy goals while remaining focused on their core businesses. By partnering with a trusted energy as a service provider like Calibrant, you can confidently take advantage of the technologies available today while keeping an eye on the horizon for emerging solutions.  

Join us in this journey towards a cleaner, more sustainable future. 

Thomas Biddinger is the Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Calibrant Energy.

While most businesses want to make the switch to renewable and clean energy, the process comes with many questions. Do we have the necessary skills and knowledge to implement an energy transition project? Do we have the resources available? And perhaps most importantly, can we afford it?

Until recently, impactful renewable energy transition projects required significant investments and time, something that businesses of all sizes struggled to balance with their core business priorities. Today, Energy as a Service (EaaS) provides an answer to this question. EaaS is a unique approach that accelerates the transition to renewable energy and provides major financial benefits for companies of all sizes, regardless of where they are on their energy transition journey.

Let’s examine some of the financial advantages EaaS models provide:

1. Reduced Upfront Cost
   • EaaS reduces the need for large upfront capital investments and costs by adopting a business model that allows customers to enjoy the benefits of a product without purchasing it or directly managing its use. This is especially advantageous for enterprises of all sizes that may shy away from a large capital expenditure in clean energy infrastructure that can take years to show a return on investment. EaaS enables businesses to access renewable energy solutions without incurring large upfront costs, boosting cash flow and allowing resource allocation for other key areas of their operations.

2. Access to Cost-Effective Technology
   • Renewable energy technology is increasingly cheaper than fossil fuels per the International Energy Agency, which notes that 60% of renewable energy projects that came online in 2020 were less expensive than the cheapest new fossil fuel power planets. EaaS provides businesses with access to new innovations and more cost-effective energy solutions that include solar, onshore and offshore wind power, and others. The lower upfront expenses of renewable energy make it financially feasible for businesses to acquire cutting-edge solutions that they might not otherwise believe they can afford. This democratization of renewable energy technologies enables businesses to remain competitive, decrease their environmental footprint, and plan for the future.

3. Predictable and Stable Costs
   • Predictability is crucial, especially as businesses navigate economic volatility. Knowing their energy bills ahead of time allows for better budgeting and long-term financial planning. EaaS gives access to renewable energy sources with set, predictable pricing, compared to traditional energy sources where prices fluctuate constantly. Businesses have grown to appreciate this steady financial basis to enable long-term growth, and also benefit from advanced analytics and software tools to identify areas of energy and cost wastage.

4. Reduced Maintenance and Operational Costs
   • EaaS delegates maintenance and operational duties to service providers, reducing operational expenses for customers. At Calibrant Energy, we ensure the seamless functioning and repair of renewable energy infrastructure. This partnership helps businesses save money by reducing the need for in-house teams and expensive maintenance contracts—funds that can be invested elsewhere to grow their business and support their workforce.

Putting EaaS into Action for Albany County

As a trusted EaaS provider, Calibrant Energy plays a pivotal role in helping businesses, schools, and municipalities achieve sustainability goals while balancing costs and risks. As a recent example of our work, Calibrant is serving as the long-term financing partner and operator for Albany County’s first major solar photovoltaic (PV) ground-mount array, featuring a 2.1-megawatt solar farm.

Owned and operated by Calibrant Energy, the solar farm will provide Albany County with nearly 2.6 million kilowatt hours of clean, renewable electricity each year. Albany will be credited for the power generated on county property, providing long-term benefits to county taxpayers into the future.

EaaS paves the way for sustainable energy, offering substantial financial advantages that foster a more climate-friendly future for businesses and communities across the globe. By reducing upfront costs, providing access to innovative technologies, ensuring predictable expenses, and relieving maintenance burdens, EaaS empowers businesses to embrace clean energy without compromising their financial stability.

Contact us if you’re interested in learning more about how EaaS can help build a sustainable financial future.

Thomas Biddinger is the Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Calibrant Energy.

As a society, we are facing an energy trilemma. To make energy transition strategies successful, we need to foster energy solutions that are reliable, affordable, and sustainable. Balancing reliability, affordability, and sustainability, however, is a complex challenge that does not have a one-size-fits-all solution.    

Addressing this trilemma will require creative strategies that use innovative technologies, strategic investments, and partnerships between corporations and governments. Corporate leaders will need to leverage the industry expertise of partners like Calibrant that can lend out-of-the-box thinking, new technology solutions, and flexible financing to reach their energy goals and stay on track to achieve net zero.  

Calibrant’s Four-Step Approach 

Calibrant’s mission centers around helping clients navigate this energy trilemma, developing a methodology that aims to eliminate the issue. To inform our strategy, we combine unparalleled expertise with innovative financing solutions and technologies, enabling organizations to reach their long-term decarbonization and energy goals.    

Our four-step approach addresses performance goals, sustainability advancements, flexibility, and value: 

• Step 1 – Initial site analysis creates tailored, multi-phased solutions, as each organization has unique needs and goals. 

• Step 2 – Calibrant’s large-scale capabilities leverage expansive technologies through a holistic approach. This helps organizations adopt energy-saving solutions while avoiding the stressors around affordability.     

• Step 3 – Our technical and financing expertise spans a diverse set of fields to determine the most cost-effective integration of clean energy solutions to meet individual needs.  

• Step 4 – Our ability to scale over time is crucial. It helps organizations endure inevitable challenges, such as legislation, supply chain inconsistencies, energy prices, and technology fluctuations.  

Meaningful energy goals cannot be achieved overnight. Calibrant’s approach highlights the importance of selecting and fostering a long-term partnership with experts to engineer and execute a successful strategy. Our method balances a company’s unique needs while achieving reliability of energy, affordability through unique financing options, and sustainability with cutting-edge technologies. Calibrant’s four-step approach is designed to produce enduring partnerships, establishing us as a longstanding and trusted advisor for companies and organizations across America. 

Calibrant’s Approach in Focus: NYC Jacob K. Javits Convention Center 

Our partnership with the Javits Center in New York City–America’s busiest convention center—provides a great example of Calibrant’s approach to tackling the energy trilemma in practice—and at a large scale.  

At 3.3M square feet, the center has been a major power consumer. Calibrant is helping the Javits Center deploy smart building energy infrastructure (such as solar panels, microgrids, and energy storage) with no upfront capital allocation required. The infrastructure is owned and operated by Calibrant, in an Energy as a Service (EaaS) arrangement. The project is an excellent example of how existing buildings and civic spaces can be transformed into smart, sustainable infrastructure, and the benefits resulting from this partnership are impressive.  

As the Javits Center continues reducing energy consumption, it stands out as a leader in helping to achieve the state and city’s clean energy and sustainability objectives.   

If you’re interested in identifying a solution to your energy trilemma, contact us. We’d love to hear from you and share more about how we can partner to meet your needs.   

Thomas Biddinger is the Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Calibrant Energy.

In the final installment of our three-part series focused on the energy transition trends we are following for 2H 2023, we discuss why we are excited about the rise of new distributed energy technologies.

The development of new distributed energy technologies

Successful growth of the energy transition industry is highly dependent upon the effectiveness and affordability of various technologies. In this regard, it’s an exciting, pivotal time for our industry with distributed solutions that were previously out of reach—such as fuel cells, carbon capture, and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure— becoming more accessible. As with community solar and energy storage featured earlier in this blog series, funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has propelled research, development, and activation across these technologies. At Calibrant, we are excited to help our partners take advantage of the power of these technologies to drive wholistic decarbonization strategies.

• Fuel Cells: The IRA included several clean energy tax credits to increase domestic renewable energy production through provisions for clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

• Carbon Capture: While it has yet to reach scale, carbon capture is a solution in the toolbox of distributed energy solutions available today. Carbon capture has been bolstered by IRA tax incentives and frequently cited by companies and politicians alike as an important pathway toward a net zero future. Thanks to increased funding and tax incentives, we are excited about the growth of smaller scale projects in this field.

• EV Charging Infrastructure: As we’ve outlined previously, we believe EV charging stations can become a standard offering for retailers, helping attract and retain new customers and create new sources of revenue.  Consumer adoption is helping to accelerate the shift toward electric vehicles and energy-as-a-service can help businesses to meet growing customer demand for EV charging infrastructure

As the range of energy transition technologies grows—and adoption follows—businesses need to carefully consider which solution will best help them to meet their long-term energy transition goals. By leveraging an energy-as-a-service partner like Calibrant, organizations can have confidence in their ability to take advantage of the technologies available today while keeping an eye on the horizon for technologies and solutions that are still being developed.

Thomas Biddinger is the Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Calibrant Energy.

With the Inflation Reduction Act underway alongside global efforts to limit the Earth’s warming, Calibrant is publishing a three-part series examining the top energy transition trends for the second half of 2023. In part two, we dive into the critically important topic of energy storage.

The rise of energy storage

Energy storage provides the flexibility our energy grids need to make clear, steady progress on the path to net zero. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind produce power intermittently. Power grids need to make sure they can capture and store that energy, releasing it for use when it’s needed.

According to BloombergNEF, energy storage capacity globally is on the rise as a total of 16GW was added last year. That’s equivalent to 68% growth year-on-year. There are a number of factors behind these stats, including declining costs driven—in part—by tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Lowering cost barriers for strategic investments like energy storage will increase demand and that’s certainly been the case in this sector, which had healthy interest even before the IRA became law.

With the massive investments from IRA elevating demand to new levels, the U.S. has firmly established itself as a leader in the energy storage market. In fact, the U.S. distributed energy storage market is expected to expand 13-fold, exceeding 100GWh cumulatively by 2031. Recent signs point to a strong future for this sector. A significant portion of the distributed storage market falls with the residential segment where  according to Wood Mackenzie, capacity installations increased every quarter in 2022, indicating sustained demand. Looking beyond the residential segment, community, commercial and industrial storage installations saw their second highest quarter on record in Q1, a 145% increase from last year.  

We will be keeping an eye on evolving policy and market dynamics. Changes here could yield significant upside, but that’s not guaranteed. As with many other industries and sectors, supply chain challenges continue to be a drag on otherwise healthy near-term growth. The market is adjusting to project delays and cancellations due to battery supply limitations and material pricing pressures. These forces may suppress deployment in the near term but manufacturing capacity for storage is increasing despite the challenges. We remain optimistic that global investments in raw material supply and processing should help ease supply chain cost pressures into 2024, creating opportunities for more projects to be energized.

At Calibrant, we remain excited about energy storage as a promising area for growth in the distributed energy space where we are well-positioned to assist clients with developing, managing, and operating energy storage assets.

Thomas Biddinger is the Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Calibrant Energy.

With the Inflation Reduction Act underway alongside global efforts to limit the Earth’s warming, Calibrant is publishing a three-part series examining the top energy transition trends for the second half of 2023. This week, we kick things off with community solar – a space that is often overlooked but holds massive potential.

The growth of community solar

Community solar helps expand access to green energy solutions for individuals, businesses and other groups who can buy or lease portions of the solar panels. Community solar is one solution among many that will play a role in combating emissions and keeping pace with green energy goals. These off-site solar arrays make it possible for renters, those without suitable rooftops or people who are not able to make the upfront investment to install solar panels to access green energy. The Department of Energy’s National Community Solar Partnership is working to increase the number of community solar installations in the US to 20 GW by 2050 – enough to power five million households.

As with many other industries, community solar has faced some recent headwinds due largely to post-pandemic supply chain constraints, but we are optimistic about this sector over the long term. Indeed, community solar is forecasted to see continued growth, with a projected CAGR of 20% from 2022 to 2027 per Wood Mackenzie. .  We are seeing a significant uptick in community solar interest in New York where Q3 2022 installation volumes in the state accounted for more than 60% of the national market.

The growth in community solar is making a difference. By 2027, assuming current market conditions, Wood Mackenzie expects community solar to account for 40% of annual non-residential capacity. That growth will not be led by New York alone. We will see an increase in activity in states such as Virginia and New Mexico with projects coming online in 2023 to bolster near-term growth for the sector. Chances are, there is a project under consideration or development in a community near you.

No two community solar projects are identical. They vary greatly by location, size, and scope – designed to align with the space available and deliver against the needs of the local power market. They are also highly dependent upon local laws and regulations, which makes planning and coordination essential from beginning to end of each project. That’s where Calibrant comes into the equation and excels. As an established energy-as-a-service provider, we provide bespoke solutions and help deliver client partners access to resources and flexible pricing options to help ensure community solar continues to be part of the solution to our nation’s energy transition needs for decades to come.

Thomas Biddinger is the Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Calibrant Energy.

Healthcare institutions face a growing need for facilities modernization and expansion while managing an increasing deferred maintenance budget that collectively exceeds $200 Bn. At the same time, energy resiliency is coming to the forefront as the frequency and severity of weather events continue to increase, testing the resiliency of utility systems on healthcare campuses. These needed infrastructure investments are competing with new, revenue-generating care delivery projects in a time of unprecedented financial pressures.

In our latest webinar, learn strategies to improve energy resiliency through a comprehensive approach to energy management and deployment of new distributed energy technologies. Also, learn about project implementation options that preserve capital, transfer operating risk to 3rd parties, and create cash events through monetization of existing assets.

Renewable electricity growth is accelerating faster than ever worldwide and last year saw a new record set for installations of solar panels and wind turbines. But beyond solar and wind power, the sector is being bolstered by the emergence of new clean energy technologies that will further diversify our energy sources and drive new efficiencies. In turn, this has sparked a new market for the delivery and management of these new technologies that are set to provide immediate cost savings, lower emissions, and increased resilience for commercial, industrial, and public sector customers.

Just a few years ago, the distributed generation space was relatively limited to solar only options for commercial, industrial, or public sector customers. It is certainly a much different story today with options extending much further to include solar, battery storage, fuel cells, combined heat and power systems, or electric vehicle charging to name a couple, while carbon capture offers enormous potential, particularly as a decarbonization solution for industrial facilities.

At Calibrant, we are focused on delivering and managing a range of these new energy technologies as a partner for companies and institutions looking for long-term renewable energy solutions. We have a long track record of deciphering how to integrate multiple technologies while cost-effectively meeting each customer’s specific priorities around performance, sustainability, resiliency, and value.

“The renewable energy sector is riding a wave of excitement right now as new technologies are emerging and becoming more cost-effective and scalable.”

Of course, integrating new technologies will require new financing approaches. Through our parent companies, Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Siemens Financial Services, we’ve been at the forefront of offering the latest financing solutions under our Energy-as-a-Service model that requires no upfront capital investment from the customer. The renewable energy sector is riding a wave of excitement right now as new technologies are emerging and becoming more cost-effective and scalable, and we are thrilled to use the Calibrant platform and our capabilities to form partnerships that will accelerate the energy transition.

Thomas Biddinger is the Director of Business Development & Partnerships at Calibrant Energy.

As climate leaders and corporations gathered to discuss the future of energy transition at Climate Week NYC last month, one thing was clear: technology is taking a leading role in corporate climate roadmaps. Once out of reach for a majority of small and mid-sized enterprises, green energy technologies are becoming increasingly accessible and a smart investment to decrease energy use and boost productivity. Rich data combined with unique financing solutions make is easier than ever for companies to take action.

Last month, I spoke at the Nest Summit alongside leaders from Siemens Infrastructure and Siemens Financial Services to discuss the intersection of advanced technology and innovative financing solutions on the road to decarbonization.

Here are three things to keep in mind when selecting and investing in a green technology solution for your business:

There’s no one size fits all plan to decarbonization

Each business has an individual set of priorities and goals when it comes to adopting and implementing a decarbonization plan. The market trends in each sector vary dramatically and each business will require unique use cases and present a varying risk appetite. The technologies selected should match a company’s individual requirements and needs; it’s important to first understand the business before determining whether solar, energy storage or other technologies are a good fit.

It’s one thing to have the latest and greatest technology, but will that technology actually serve you and your business in the long run? This is a question Calibrant often addresses with clients through the due diligence process before planning and starting a project. It’s more than just saying “yes” or “no” to the question of wanting to adopt clean energy solutions. Bridging the gap between ideal scenarios and the sometimes-unpredictable implementation of technologies is where companies like Calibrant come in to create a financeable path to the technology. Through analysis, testing, evaluation of operational data, running sensitivity analysis and  considering the total cost of ownership; Calibrant identifies the right technology mix for the specific customer application and creates a financing structure around it.

We have the technology, now we need an affordable path to implementation

We’re at an exciting moment in time for green energy technology because we’ve overcame a lot of the hurdles when it comes to the availability and effectiveness of the technology. This is particularly true for solar energy which is nowadays a mature/proven technology, but also energy storage which has proven over the last decade to be an instrumental part of the technology stack complementing intermittent power generation.

By leveraging innovative technologies like solar generation, battery energy storage or microgrids along with flexible financing solutions like Calibrant’s no-upfront cost financing model, companies have never had a greater opportunity to explore clean energy solutions.  

“Bridging the gap between ideal scenarios and the sometimes-unpredictable implementation of technologies is where companies like Calibrant come in to create a financeable path to the technology.”

Picking the right partner is essential to success

Executives today are being told by lots of different parties that they can and should be taking on the responsibility of implementing renewable energy into their business models. Today, partners like Calibrant can ease a lot of this pressure. There is increasing demand for companies looking to operate under long-term models to avoid CapEx in lieu of operating experiences. Third party partners can guarantee outcomes and provide piece of mind to companies so they can focus on their business bottom line rather than on the technology and financing required to implement an energy transition strategy.

Successful projects take a wholistic approach, considering a toolbox of technologies before selecting the ones best suited to the business. To achieve true progress, it’s not enough to have a solution and go looking for a problem. Custom solutions that supercharge green energy goals require the right partner who can see around corners and serve your business over the long run. Decarbonization doesn’t happen overnight, but having an actionable plan with predictable results is possible today. You might just find that making the energy transition is easier, and more beneficial than you first thought.

Yanni Kapranos is the Chief Technical Officer at Calibrant Energy.

After countless “infrastructure weeks” and promises from politicians across the aisle to tackle the climate crisis, we are now seeing the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill move through Congress with billions of dollars earmarked for the nation’s clean energy network.

However important, this historic bill is only the start of what is needed to address the climate crisis at the required scope and scale. In addition to the public sector’s commitment to address energy challenges, we need to activate the private sector to further advance the green energy transition and transform the way communities are powered and built.   

At Calibrant Energy, we’re focusing our efforts on a critical component of our clean energy future – distributed energy delivered through the Energy as a Service (EaaS) model. EaaS provides businesses of all sizes access to fully integrated and managed green energy solutions with no up-front capital investment and no operational or performance responsibilities. The unique feature of the model is an inherent flexibility to incorporate a wide array of green energy technologies.  

Today, this could mean the deployment of solar, potential integration with battery storage and hybrid systems, microgrids, combined heat and power, along with centralized heating and/or cooling infrastructure upgrade solutions. Tomorrow, the picture could look very different with an entirely new emerging energy solution. The Biden Administration recently said it wants solar power to be 40% of electricity generation by 2035, up from 3% today. While the mix of utility vs. distributed energy has yet to be determined, we see this as a promising opportunity to increase the adoption of distributed solar.

“EaaS provides businesses of all sizes access to fully integrated and managed green energy solutions with no up-front capital investment and no operational or performance responsibilities.

The next decade will be both critical and transformative for the global energy market. EaaS models will play an increasingly important role in accelerating the energy transition by allowing businesses and institutions to incorporate more green energy technologies and have those built, financed, delivered and operated on their behalf without distraction from core business operations.

In addition, new clean energy technologies are emerging that will further diversify our energy sources and drive new efficiencies, allowing for the delivery and management of those new technologies with immediate cost savings, lower emissions, and increased resilience for our partners.

In the future, entire cities will be built with clean, connected and community-based energy models, with customers both generating and consuming energy. Bringing this vision to reality will require greater cooperation among governments, businesses, investors, and citizens as well as increased technical and financial support.

Distributed energy systems such as those delivered by Calibrant give businesses and communities the power, customization, guidance, and financing to transition their energy infrastructure with the newest, clean energy technologies to make clean cities a reality.

Chris Archer is the Head of Americas at Green Investment Group and is also part of Calibrant Energy Board of Directors.