EDF Renewable Energy Expands into Distributed Electricity And Storage
EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE),has announced the creation of a new business unit, Distributed Electricity and Storage (DES), to focus on distributed solar and storage projects up to 30 megawatts (MW). The DES group will pursue emerging distributed-energy opportunities to provide unique products and services to commercial, industrial (C&I) and utility customers in the United States.
Early last year, EDF RE acquired groSolar, a leading developer and EPC provider of commercial, industrial, and municipal solar projects, as a growth platform for distributed energy and more recently expanded its DES team by hiring two solar/storage industry veterans, Tom Leyden and Felix Aguayo.
Mr. Leyden, the former CEO of Solar Grid Storage, and Mr. Aguayo, former Managing Director at SunEdison, have a long and successful track record developing large commercial solar projects. According to Leyden, "C&I and utility customers are missing the opportunity to increase their reliability and reduce costs by not taking a more holistic approach to their energy procurement and asset utilization."
Raphael Declercq, Vice President, Portfolio Strategy at EDF RE, commented, "In ramping up our commitment to distributed generation and energy storage, EDF RE will be developing new products for our customers that will also help enable greater penetration of wind and solar into the grid."
The DES group will draw upon EDF's extensive capabilities and implement new solar-plus-storage business models for C&I and utility customers. In partnership with EDF affiliates in North America, the company offers a complete suite of services, including energy supply, hedging, and risk management, along with options for demand response, load management, and on- and off-site renewable generation.
One of the largest renewable energy companies in North America, EDF RE has developed 9 gigawatts (GW) of wind, solar, bioenergy and storage projects in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. EDF Group globally has deployed over 300 MW (824 MWh) of storage projects.
