Green Charge Networks

About Green Charge Networks

Founded in 2009 by Vic Shao, Green Charge Networks established itself as a key player in the commercial energy storage market before its acquisition by the global energy company ENGIE in 2016. The company focused on providing intelligent energy storage solutions to commercial and industrial (C&I) clients, municipalities, and schools. Its business model centered on mitigating the high costs associated with peak demand charges, which can constitute over 50% of a commercial electricity bill.

The core of Green Charge's offering was the GreenStation, a battery storage system coupled with sophisticated, patented software algorithms and analytics. This system works by monitoring a facility's energy consumption in real-time. When the software's learning algorithm predicts a spike in energy usage that would trigger high demand charges, it discharges the battery to power the facility, thereby keeping consumption from the grid below the peak threshold. This process of peak shaving could reduce a customer's electricity bill by up to 30%.

Green Charge pioneered a Power Efficiency Agreement (PEA), a financial model similar to the solar industry's Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Under this shared-savings model, Green Charge owned, installed, and maintained the energy storage systems at no upfront cost to the customer. The company then shared in the savings generated from the reduced demand charges, shifting the performance risk from the client to itself. This approach proved successful, attracting major clients like 7-Eleven, Walgreens, and UPS. A notable achievement includes helping a California state college save $120,000 in demand charges in a single year.

The company's journey began with an early focus on deploying systems in New York City with the help of a Department of Energy grant. It subsequently raised over $56 million in funding from investors including K Road DG and ChargePoint founder Richard Lowenthal. The strategic acquisition by ENGIE in May 2016, which purchased an 80% stake, was intended to provide the financial backing to scale the business internationally and integrate Green Charge's battery solutions with ENGIE's broader energy service offerings.