Seattle Startups Ten levels of energy Has raised US$35 million in Series C financing. NGP Energy Capital, With the participation of Google and other companies. The company promotes the purchase of renewable energy and helps support the establishment of solar and wind farms. The total funding to date is US$62.3 million.
When the funding news came, Congress was Negotiating legislation This can help the country achieve President Biden’s goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 2035. This effort requires a large-scale shift to renewable energy. Compared to LevelTen CEO and founder Bryce Smith when he launched the business in 2016, it lays the foundation for a very different market.
Smith is trying to get his clean energy startups off the ground because the newly elected Trump administration is promoting the development of coal power and other fossil fuels and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Despite this, Smith was able to raise millions of dollars in funding.
It turns out that the market is driven by the leadership of companies and utilities, not political leaders and legislation.
“The advantage of this is that we won’t really be affected by political whims,” he said. “These are voluntary efforts that continue to build.”
LevelTen supports renewable energy in three ways. It operates a market that allows companies, utilities, universities and other institutions to sign power purchase agreements with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. It operates a second market to help energy developers and financiers who want to directly buy, sell or invest in the physical infrastructure of wind and solar power plants. It enables organizations with electricity agreements to track their renewable energy agreements and their carbon footprint impact.
LevelTen reports that it facilitated more than $5 billion worth of renewable energy transactions, including power purchase agreements. And this industry is booming.
On Tuesday, the American Clean Energy Association released New number Track the growth of the industry. In the first half of this year, the United States added 9,915 megawatts of clean energy installed capacity, a year-on-year increase of 17%. This brings the total capacity of the United States to 180,216 megawatts, enough to power more than 50 million homes-more than twice the capacity of the United States five years ago. The association reported that there are more than 900 projects under construction or under development.
LevelTen operates in the United States, Canada and 19 European countries. It has 54 employees and offices in Seattle and Madrid.
Other investors in Series C financing include My Climate Journey (MCJ) Collective, and almost all existing LevelTen investors: Avista Development, Constellation Technology Ventures, Equinor Ventures, Founders’ Co-op, Prelude Ventures, Techstars, TotalEnergies Ventures and Wireframe Venture capital. Google’s participation has been described as in line with its goal of “supporting innovative solutions to help businesses of all sizes, including Google Cloud customers, gain access to 24/7 carbon-free energy.”
Does Smith think Biden’s goal of an emission-free power system is feasible?
“100% feasible,” he said. “The challenge is how we can do it quickly. We don’t have major technical obstacles to achieve this goal faster.”