Smart Energy Finances: Strong grid tech props up Siemens Energy in Q1

Siemens Energy’s positive Q1 results due to the strong performance of its Grid Technologies and Transformation of Industry portfolios lead this week’s Smart Energy Finances analysis.

Also on the radar are virtual power plant (VPP) provider Swell Energy’s acquisition of Renu Energy in Carolina, US, and Second Foundation’s acquisition of a Nano Energies brand in the Czech Republic.

Siemens Energy’s strong Q1

Revenue came in at €7.6 billion ($8.2 billion) reflecting a 12.6% increase, four months after the energy major reported a $5 billion loss and safety net from the German federal government.

In a release, the company said that, while all segments contributed to growth, the increase was particularly strong at Grid Technologies.

Exceptionally high orders exceeded an already outstanding level in prior year’s quarter, mainly driven by Grid Technologies’ product business and high-voltage direct current transmission system orders in Germany.

The company is further planning to achieve comparable revenue growth of 18% to 22% within the grid portfolio.

“The solid first quarter is encouraging, in part also due to project shifts, which are normal in plant engineering, especially with the market dynamics we are currently seeing,” said Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch in a release.

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Swell Energy acquires Renu Energy Solutions

Swell Energy Inc., an energy management and grid solutions provider, has acquired Renu Energy Solutions, a Carolinas-based company that offers customised residential and commercial solar and energy storage solutions.

The combination brings together a complementary set of operational and technological capabilities as well as a bi-coastal presence to enable the deployment of VPPs in key energy markets.

With the combination of Renu’s seasoned project development capabilities and Swell’s financing and VPP technology platform, the combined company says it is now well positioned to expand its footprint across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic market, and contribute to the strong growth in residential and commercial solar and storage capacity in the region.

Since 2010, Renu has offered residential and commercial energy solutions with an emphasis on installations and energy monitoring services. The acquisition includes Renu’s solar and storage maintenance subsidiary, Sun Service Specialists, which serves both Renu and non-Renu customers with thousands of distributed energy resources (DERs) across the East Coast.

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With Renu serving as a regional hub, Swell’s channel partner programme provides other residential and commercial solar companies access to customer acquisition resources, fluid supply chain, critical software tools, financial products, grid services offerings and the opportunity to become VPP co-developers alongside Swell.

“With rapidly growing energy demand, favourable policies, and high solar potential, the Southeast is quickly becoming one the most attractive markets in the country for solar and energy storage systems,” said Jay Radcliffe, President of Renu.

“Swell’s robust technology portfolio combined with Renu’s full-service in-house team and unique expertise will drive innovation and ensure clean energy solutions are not only accessible but also efficient, reliable and tailored to the individual needs of our customers.”

Second Foundation acquires DES Holding

Czech-based technology group Second Foundation has signed an agreement on the acquisition of DES Holding, a flexibility aggregator and member of the Nano Energies group.

The agreement was signed on behalf of Nano Energies by its owner Petr Zahradník. The transaction marks the next step in Second Foundation’s strategy to gradually shift from focusing purely on financial algorithmic trading towards reaping the benefits of energy flexibility and smart management in renewable and other sources of energy.

Under the new owner, DES Holding will continue to use the Nano Energies brand with which its customers and partners are familiar.

The transaction does not involve the Nano Green division, an energy supplier active in managing power generation and consumption in smart households. Rather, Nano Green will be acquired by current managers David Brožík, Jan Hicl and Lukáš Beneš, the owners of the S9Y software studio.

The three managers have been at the helm of Nano Green for the past year and a half and will acquire Petr Zahradník’s shareholding to become the sole owners of Nano Green.

“In early 2024, we plan to launch a new service for our customers. It will enable fully automatic management of electricity generation and consumption. By offering the service, we will open the door for owners of smart homes and small businesses to participate in balancing the grid. In other words, they will be able to earn money by shifting their power production and consumption across time segments,” said Jan Hicl, chief product officer at Nano Green, in a release, unveiling the company’s plans.

The acquisition by Second Foundation is already the second such transaction involving subsidiaries of the Nano Energies group. Second Foundation acquired Nano Energies Trade in early 2022.

The transaction is still to be approved by the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS). It is expected that the transaction will be closed in the first quarter of 2024.

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Cheers,
Yusuf Latief
Content Producer
Smart Energy International

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