Goldman Sachs, Cleanhill Back Energy Storage Tech Player EPC Power as Climate Law Sets the Stage for Growth
Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s sustainable investing business and energy transition-focused private equity firm Cleanhill Partners announced today a majority stake investment in power conversion solutions company EPC Power.
According to the investors, the investment and recapitalization of the company positions EPC Power position the company to participate in the rapid growth in renewable energy storage solutions market.
Founded in 2010, San Diego-based EPC Power provides utility-scale smart inverters, which can be used for applications in stand-alone energy storage, solar energy storage and data center backup power.
According to Cleanhill managing partners Rakesh Wilson and Ash Upadhyaya, EPC Power “stands out for its industry-leading technology, which directly supports the renewable energy transition while preserving grid reliability and performance.”
The transaction follows the signing by President Biden last month month of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes the U.S.’ largest ever set of climate-focused investments, allocating nearly $370 billion to areas including renewable energy and industrial decarbonization solutions. The Act includes the first-ever tax credit to stand-alone energy storage, anticipated to create significant financial incentives for inverters and other storage-related technologies, according to EPC Power.
Alexander Mass, managing director of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said:
“EPC Power is uniquely positioned to play a critical role in the evolution of the U.S. solar and energy storage value chains and is now well capitalized to continue its trajectory of rapid growth. As the only scaled supplier of smart inverters that are designed, engineered and 100% manufactured in the U.S., EPC Power is a natural continuation of our thematic investment activity in this space, in partnership with Cleanhill Partners and EPC management.”
To date, EPC Power has sold more than 2 GW of smart inverters globally. The company currently operates a manufacturing facility in San Diego County, with a second facility scheduled to open later this year on the U.S. east coast, expected to significantly expand production capacity.
Devin Dilley, co-founder and CEO of EPC Power, said:
“As the world becomes more reliant on renewable energy, inverters need to continue to get smarter. Goldman Sachs and Cleanhill Partners support this vision and are committed to investing in EPC Power and our people to capitalize on this exciting market opportunity and to positively impact the U.S. energy transition.”