Editor's note: From fresh funding for a power grid technology company to a new sustainability workforce program at the University of Houston, these are the top headlines that resonated with EnergyCapital readers on social media and daily newsletter this week.
Power grid tech co. with Houston HQ raises $25M series B
Heimdall supplies software and sensors for monitoring overhead power lines. Photo via heimdallpower.com
A Norway-based provider of technology for power grids whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston has raised a $25 million series B round of funding.
The venture capital arm of Polish energy giant Orlen, Norwegian cleantech fund NRP Zero, and the Norway-based Steinsvik Family Office co-led Heimdall Energy's round. Existing investors, including Investinor, Ebony, Hafslund, Lyse, and Sarsia Seed, chipped in $8.5 million of the $25 million round.
“This funding gives us fuel to grow internationally, as we continue to build our organization with the best people and industry experts in the world,” Jørgen Festervoll, CEO of Heimdall, says in a news release. Continue reading.
Houston university debuts new program to develop wind turbine workforce
The program will allow students to learn at their own pace, and is supported seven days a week by tutorial and technical staff, and offers flexible payment options with a low initial registration fee. Photo via UH
University of Houston-Downtown announced a new Wind Turbine Technician Certificate Program.
UHD’s goal with the new program is to address the global need for workers skilled in servicing, diagnosing, repairing and installing wind turbines and other associated equipment.
The program will allow students to learn at their own pace, and is supported seven days a week by tutorial and technical staff, and offers flexible payment options with a low initial registration fee.
Some courses can be purchased as students work through them.The total cost is $1,750 for the entire program. Continue reading.
Houston-area company specializing in creating clean campuses announces new data center project
Crusoe Energy Systems announced its plans to build the 200 MW data center at the Lancium Clean Campus outside Abilene, Texas. Photo via lancium.com
A California AI infrastructure company has announced it's building a 200 megawatt data center in Texas and will work with The Woodlands-based Lancium, a decarbonization-focused energy technology company.
Crusoe Energy Systems LLC announced its plans to build the 200 MW data center at the Lancium Clean Campus outside Abilene, Texas. The two companies will work to bring the data center online in the coming months, reports Lancium in a news release. Once completed, the first phase will enable AI workloads at scale across 1.2 gigawatts of power capacity.
“Lancium’s mission to decarbonize compute for the most energy-intensive workloads and this scale and type of data center is game-changing,” Michael McNamara, co-founder and CEO of Lancium, says in the release. Continue reading.
Houston-based clean energy site developer raises $300M to decarbonize big tech projects
As emerging technology continues to grow electricity load demand, Cloverleaf has identified an opportunity to develop large-scale digital infrastructure sites powered by low-carbon electricity. Photo via Getty Images
Houston energy executives have started a new company dedicated to developing clean-powered infrastructure for the large electric loads.
Cloverleaf Infrastructure, dually headquartered in Houston and Seattle, Washington, announced its launch and $300 million raised from NGP and Sandbrook Capital, two private equity firms. The company's management team also invested in the company.
As emerging technology continues to grow electricity load demand, Cloverleaf has identified an opportunity to develop large-scale digital infrastructure sites powered by low-carbon electricity. Continue reading.
Houston renewables developer powers up projects in southern region of the US
Houston-based renewable project developer has opened four solar parks in the south recently. Photo via edpr.com
Houston-based renewable energy developer EDP Renewables is making big moves in the Southern United States with its latest solar park projects.
EDPR celebrated the inauguration of Pearl River Solar Park in Scott County, Mississippi, that has an installed capacity of 210 megawatt peak, which produces enough power to meet the energy needs of more than 27,000 average Mississippi homes.
The project consists of 400,000 monofacial and bifacial tracking photovoltaic panels that will contribute clean, cost-competitive power to the state’s electric grid. Pearl River will provide more than $50 million in payments to local governments throughout its operating life, benefiting schools, health care facilities, fire departments, and other county services, as well as create hundreds of jobs, according to EDPR. Continue reading.