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The market for developers of large-scale power projects has gotten a
lot more crowded in the past year, as utilities across the United
States stepped up efforts to buy renewable energy to meet state
mandates.
Some of these newcomers are independent startup companies with executives who have some experiences in the energy business. Agile Energy, a new entrant, fits that profile.
Glen Davis, who left Ausra earlier this year, said Friday he expects to close the first round of equity financing soon to build his development team. I caught up with Davis after he spoke at the Solar Energy Investment and Finance Summit in San Francisco.
Davis, who didn't want to talk numbers before he finalizes the round, worked for power producer AES Corp. before he started Agile in 2004 with Rob Morgan, another AES veteran. The two worked on a gas-fired power plant initially and later a few photovoltaic projects before joining Ausra in 2006.
The two led Asura's efforts in securing power purchase agreements with utilities such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in California and in corporate fundraising. Mountain View, Calif.-based Ausra changed its business model from a project developer to a solar steam equipment supplier earlier this year.
Davis and Morgan left Ausra in January this year to re-start Agile.
Agile would focus primarily on developing projects that are 20 megawatts or under and make use of solar panels, Davis said. Projects of that size would be large enough to entice investors and likely avoid issues such as finding suitable land and access to transmission lines, he said.
Lots of companies are eager to do business with utilities, from solar panel manufacturers to long-time power producers that are subsidiaries of large energy companies.
An example of a startup: Two-year-old NextLight Renewable Power has signed a deal to sell PG&E power from a 230-megawatt project.
An example of established player: PSEG Solar Source, part of a parent company that includes utilities in its portfolio, recently announced 2 projects of 27 megawatts total in Ohio and Florida. PSEG Solar already has power sale deals with utilities for those projects.
