An Atlanta solar energy startup, which sells power to the City of Atlanta and Emory University, received a $50 million investment to increase its project capacity and hire more people.
Cherry Street Energy LLC received a $50 million investment from renewable energy investor The Forest Road Company LLC, according to an Aug. 23 press release.
The investment comes with a long-term commitment to develop 200 megawatts of energy, according to the release. Cherry Street Energy previously raised $2.7 million in April 2019 under the name Cherry Street Investment Holdings LLC, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cherry Street Energy, led by CEO Michael Chanin, designs, builds and operates solar energy projects and sells that energy directly to large-scale businesses through power purchase agreements. Cherry Street Energy partners with Georgia Power and sets up solar projects at no cost to their customers, usually in three to four months per facility, according to its website. The customers then pay directly for solar energy.
Emory University has 15,000 solar panels from Cherry Street Energy on campus, which offsets 10% of the campus’s peak power demand and reduced its emissions by 4,300 metric tons in one year, according to the Cherry Street Energy website.
Cherry Street Energy was founded in 2015 and is located on Piedmont Avenue in Midtown.
Cherry Street Energy’s solar projects aim to transform Georgia’s power grid to rely on more renewable energy sources, which could change the landscape of the state’s energy industry. About 90% of Georgia’s electricity comes from natural gas, nuclear power and coal fuel, according to a 2020 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Renewable energy fuels about 9% of Georgia’s electricity. Solar accounts for about 2%.
Cherry Street Energy also helps enterprise customers fulfill their sustainability goals, which are becoming increasingly popular for companies appealing to young consumers, who tend to do business with companies that align with their values.
The company plans to increase its development of solar projects and hire more sales and engineering people to scale its operations, specifically upgrading its software, which includes a monitoring and insights platform for energy use. Cherry Street Energy is also looking at strategic acquisitions across the country to expand its reach.
