Last June, Level Ten Energy raised $20.5 million in its latest funding round. At the time, CEO Bryce Smith told CleanTechnica, “Historically, excessive market opacity, cost and risk prevented all but a select group of Fortune 500 buyers from signing utility scale power purchase agreements. This exclusionary problem is one we’re committed to addressing. The latest round of $20.5 million will be used to expand its suite of products/services, expand to Europe, and hire more team members both in its Seattle HQ and in Europe.” The graphic below illustrates the company’s business model.
Credit: Level Ten Energy
As promised, the company announced on October 3rd that it has begun European operations. “We’re committed to making the global renewable energy market more accessible, transparent, and efficient,” says Smith. “By opening our Marketplace to European developers and buyers, we’re following through on our mission to expand renewable markets by dramatically improving the transactions.”
In a press release, LevelTen said its Marketplace platform reduces the cost, complexity, and risk of renewable energy power purchase agreements by offering advanced analytics, standard documentation, and process best practices to both buyers and sellers. Since the platform’s launch, Fortune 500 companies have procured more than one billion dollars of clean energy using LevelTen’s technology.
In addition to its Marketplace platform, the company offers end-to-end procurement services that help corporate buyers research, procure, and monitor renewable energy investments from start to finish, bringing market transparency and rigorous standards to this fast-growing market.
20 Universities In The UK Sign Up For Renewable Electricity
Credit: The Energy Consortium UK
As if to underline what Level Ten Energy is saying about the expansion of power purchase agreements on the other side of the Atlantic, 20 universities in the UK have banded together to sign a 10-year PPA with Norway’s Statkraft, which operates wind turbine facilities in the UK. This marks the first time public sector energy users in the UK have come together to buy electricity from renewable sources.
James Rolfe, the chief operating officer at Anglia Ruskin University, tells iNews his university has joined others in declaring a climate emergency. “We aim to source all of our electricity from zero carbon sources by 2025, and this power purchase agreement makes a significant contribution towards this goal whilst delivering financial savings and budget stability,” he says.
The allure of PPAs is their ability to guarantee stable prices for electricity over a term of 10, 15, or 20 years, something that utilities which rely on fossil fuels cannot do. Turmoil in areas of the world where oil, gas, and coal are produced can send the cost of energy soaring. Well-managed companies cherish predictability, something that PPAs are very good at providing. The fact that many of them provide electricity below what most conventional utility companies can offer is just icing on the cake.
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