Dive Brief:
- Enel Green Power North America acquired Demand Energy Networks Inc. last week, a relative newcomer specializing in intelligent software and energy storage systems.
- Enel's parent company is based in Italy, but it operates more than 100 plants in the United States and Canada, with a managed capacity exceeding 2.8 GW.
- Globally, Enel Green Power has installed capacity of 36 GW, which as Greentech Media points out, would make an excellent client base for Demand Energy's Distributed Energy Network Optimization System software.
Dive Insight:
So far, Demand Energy has executed two dozen projects totaling 3 MW/9MWh of installed capacity in the U.S. and Latin America. It has another 30 MW/100 MWh of projects pending, but being acquired by Enel will greatly expand its backlog. Patterson told GTM that Enel has a "monstrous renewables portfolio," and will require Demand Energy to quickly scale up its software offerings.
Francesco Venturini, Enel’s head of Global Renewable Energies, said in a statement that the deal will "greatly strengthen our position in the growing battery storage market ... by combining our global presence and expertise in systems integration with Demand Energy’s software and established product offering."
Greentech has a lengthy piece on the Demand Energy deal, including an interview with President and CEO Gregg Patterson that gives some insight behind the acquisition.
Demand Energy designed the operating system to run Brooklyn's Marcus Garvey apartments, a part of Consolidated Edison's Brooklyn-Queens Neighborhood Program where it is installing its first microgrid.
Enel said the acquisition supports a global strategy by increasing operational efficiencies. The DEN.OS software platform designed by Demand Energy allows for creation of virtual power plants by aggregating energy management across multiple facilities.
