tapping into tech

Houston software company to manage IRA compliance for solar, storage company with national presence

Empact Technologies announced a multi-year agreement with Ampliform, which originates, builds, develops, and operates utility-scale solar and solar plus storage projects. Photo courtesy of Empact

Houston company's Inflation Reduction Act compliance management software has scored a new partner.

Empact Technologies announced a multi-year agreement with Ampliform, which originates, builds, develops, and operates utility-scale solar and solar plus storage projects. The Empact platform uses a combination of software and services to ensure projects meet IRS regulatory requirements, which focus on wage and apprenticeship, domestic content, and energy and low-income community incentives. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed

Empact will partner specifically with Ampliform’s project Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) firms, subcontractors, and key suppliers of steel and iron products. In addition, they will work through a project’s life cycle for EPC’s solar modules, trackers, and inverters to manage prevailing wage & apprenticeship, domestic content, and other tax incentive qualification and compliance.

“The team at Ampliform had the leadership and foresight to recognize the significant risks of IRA non-compliance and the need to have third party compliance management in place prior to construction kick-off," Charles Dauber, CEO and founder of Empact, says in a news release. We look forward to helping Ampliform fully leverage the IRA tax incentives to develop and build their project development pipeline.”

Ampliform has approximately 700MW of projects in short-term development. Ampliform also plans 3GW of projects in its development pipeline. Ampliform’s future expansion plans exceed more than 13GWdc in total. Empact will manage the IRA compliance for these projects. According to a Goldman Sachs report, the IRA is estimated to provide $1.2 trillion of incentives by 2032.

Trending News

A View From HETI

SunPower is expanding its solar and VPP business in Texas. Photo via Unsplash

Utah-based solar technology and battery storage company SunPower has announced its expansion into Texas by acquiring “prime project assets” from Houston installer Green Light Solar.

As part of the deal, Green Light Solar CEO James Garrett will lead SunPower’s U.S. installation group. Garrett is based in the Houston area, according to LinkedIn.

Green Light Solar focuses on residential and commercial solar installations, battery backups and whole-home generators throughout Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Colorado. As of press time, SunPower had not disclosed which specific projects or assets were included in the acquisition.

In addition to the Green Light acquisition, SunPower also announced its second strategic partnership with Fort Worth-based SOLRITE Energy, which provides solar and battery project financing and virtual power plant capabilities.

Through the partnership, SunPower plans to expand its residential solar and battery storage business and grow its virtual power plant (VPP) network in Texas.

A virtual power plant is a network of connected energy sources that can supply electricity to the grid when demand is high. The network draws on energy stored in individual residential and commercial battery systems. VPPs can also help participating homeowners generate additional revenue by selling their stored power.

“SOLRITE not only sources projects to us but also provides project funding for innovative systems with large batteries connected to a VPP, enabling power sales into the open market,” T. J. Rodgers, SunPower CEO, said in a news release. “That VPP capability provides an extra source of income that SOLRITE shares with homeowners and EPCs, making SOLRITE an attractive partner.”

SunPower will bring its sales, installation and lifetime warranty support to the partnership, while SOLRITE will provide its virtual power plant platform and solar financing capabilities, according to the release.

"Building our VPP business is a key part of SunPower’s growth strategy going forward,” Kapil Rai, EVP of Direct at SunPower, added in the release. “Our partnership with SOLRITE gives us a path to bring together customer acquisition, solar, storage deployment, and financing to develop this business in Texas and beyond.”

Trending News