Solar energy startup Cherry Street Energy LLC, which sells power to the City of Atlanta and Emory University, is set to double its workforce and expand research and development following a $40 million investment.
Birmingham-based investment management firm EBSCO Industries Inc. led the investment. The raise will give the company access to provide solar energy to EBSCO’s portfolio of businesses, CEO Michael Chanin said.
Total funding for the company now stands at just over $100 million, Chanin said. In August 2021, Cherry Street raised $50 million from renewable energy investor The Forest Road Company LLC with a commitment to develop 200 megawatts of energy.
Cherry Street, which designs, builds and operates solar energy projects then sells the energy directly to large-scale businesses through power purchase agreements, has 25 customers. The City of Atlanta entered into a 20-year agreement with Cherry Street to provide electricity at its facilities, Chanin said. Emory University has installed 15,000 solar panels throughout its campus. It also partners with Porsche Cars North America Inc. to install solar panels at its U.S. headquarters.
The company has an office at 12th Street and Piedmont Avenue, sharing a building with longtime skate shop Skate Escape. Following the raise, it will grow its office footprint from 3,000 square feet to around 16,000 as part of a redevelopment of that complex, Chanin said. The additional space will accommodate its new employees, and a new design lab and innovation center.
Cherry Street has 37 employees, which it looks to double within a year following the investment. A majority of its hires will be Atlanta-based, but will expand in Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina and South Carolina. Hires will be in finance, product management, sales, marketing and site supervision.
Around a third of the investment will go toward research and development. The company will look to improve its battery management system, a solar panel’s ability to store electricity to then dispatch to batteries, and improve its panels’ ability to convert to electric vehicle chargers.
Demand for solar energy
The investment comes ahead of drastic growth expected for the solar industry. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act allows companies and individuals to deduct 30% of solar products cost from federal taxes. Research company Wood Mackenzie estimates the legislation could increase solar installation by 67% within 10 years.
Plus, the legislation earmarks $200 million for solar apprenticeship programs and cost reduction of training workers, from which Cherry Street will benefit, Chanin said. The company will conduct training programs in Atlanta and Savannah.
As extreme weather events and a warming climate have created a sense of urgency for environmental initiatives, the demand to transition to renewable energy has spiked.
The amount of U.S. electricity generated by renewable sources hit a record 28% in April, up from 8.6% in April 2001, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The market size in revenue of the U.S. solar industry is $17 billion, having grown 21.7% on a yearly average since 2017, according to industry research firm IBISWorld.
Renewable resources, including biomass, hydroelectric power and solar energy, accounted for 12% of Georgia's electricity generation in 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Over one-third (702) of the largest publicly traded companies in the world have targets to be net zero for their greenhouse gas emissions, according to environmental pledge tracker Net Zero Tracker.
