Dive Brief:
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A unit of Southern Co. has formed a strategic alliance with Advanced Microgrid Solutions to jointly develop and deploy behind-the-meter distributed energy resources across the United States.
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Through its PowerSecure subsidiary, Southern will bring its experience at designing and building distributed generation solutions, mostly to commercial and industrial customers, to the partnership.
- AMS will provide asset management services to the alliance, using its Armada platform to identify opportunities for grid services and revenue stacking.
Dive Insight:
PowerSecure appears to be building its business through acquisitions and alliances. In October 2016, the Southern subsidiary formed a partnership with Bloom Energy to secure 50 MW of distributed fuel cells under long-term power purchase agreements.
At the time, Powersecure said it planned to combine the fuel cells with battery storage to create a new distributed energy resources products for customers.
Southern acquired PowerSecure International in May 2016 for $425 million. The acquisition expanded Southern’s reach nationwide and outside of the traditional utility business model by moving it into the distributed generation market.
The AMS alliance will enable PowerSecure to provide customers with a greater degree of customization.
“As Southern Company grows our distributed infrastructure business throughout the country it is important that we continually maximize the value from these assets,” Southern Chairman, President and CEO Thomas Fanning said in a statement.
"Southern Company's leadership in the distributed energy space is game-changing," AMS CEO Susan Kennedy said in a statement.
