With a proven legacy and track record, Avantus is building integrated networks of smart power plants to deliver low-cost, reliable clean energy to millions of people

LOS ANGELES and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif — September 14, 2022 Today, 8minute Solar Energy (8minute) revealed its new vision beyond solar development to include an advanced ecosystem of clean energy products and services that provide unmatched reliability, responsiveness, and zero-emission energy at a lower cost than fossil fuels. To reflect its expanded scope of advanced technologies in the renewable energy space, 8minute has rebranded to Avantus. As Avantus, the company continues to execute on its core development platform bringing one of the largest clean energy development pipelines in the country to life, while deploying the company’s proprietary power plant technologies and digitally connected delivery systems at the gigawatt scale. 

“We built 8minute Solar Energy to deliver on goals central to the fight against climate change – making renewable energy lower cost and more reliable than fossil fuels. Now, with more than a decade of experience behind us, we have accomplished that and more: we’ve proven we are a category-defining company on track to become one of the first pure play clean energy majors. And today’s announcement introducing Avantus recognizes that,” said Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, CEO and Founder of Avantus. “As Avantus, we have the scale, track record and expertise to transform our country’s energy generation to be as networked and responsive as the digital tools driving the rest of the world. We will do this by continuing to develop our industry-leading pipeline, while also creating advanced technologies that will take clean energy to the next level - smarter, cheaper, faster, and more reliable than ever before.”

Through its industry-defining innovations, Avantus is creating new ways to decarbonize our planet, while providing superior solutions that lower the cost of energy. Its networks of smart power plants can deliver flexible, predictable output to the grid and help utilities dynamically manage load – from baseload to peak load, and everything in between.

The company’s proprietary technologies and design optimization tools are unlocking value previously not possible with renewables. Grid stabilization (like frequency regulation and ancillary services), and the ability to bring a plant online instantaneously, reacting to outages in milliseconds, makes renewables not only cleaner, but more reliable than fossil fuels. Avantus smart power plants also guarantee 99% availability, versus 80% to 85% for gas-fired power plants, further solidifying next generation clean energy technology as the backbone of a modern electric grid.

“Energy systems must evolve to match the complex, data-driven world we live in,” said Kip Larson, Chief Technology Officer of Avantus, who previously spent over a decade optimizing networked systems at Amazon, Amazon Web Services, and Convoy. “That’s why Avantus has created a new ecosystem of renewable energy generation and storage that outperform conventional and simple designs. We deploy digital tools like large scale simulations and predictive analytics to create highly specific and optimized system architecture, power plant designs, and machine learning-powered operational systems to address our customers’ increasingly complex energy needs.”

Built on the learnings and technologies validated through 8minute’s portfolio, Avantus has led the industry towards unprecedented milestones. Its legacy includes the largest operating solar cluster in the nation, the first operational solar plant in the U.S. to beat fossil fuel prices, and a project that will deliver solar energy -- day and night -- for record-low prices.

“As Avantus, we plan to continue breaking records on both cost and reliability,” said Stephanie Perry, Chief Operating Officer of Avantus. "Our expanding development pipeline of over 70 utility-scale projects will provide low-cost, zero-emission energy to more than 20 million Americans. Avantus will build on our legacy of success and play a pivotal role in helping the United States meet its clean energy goals.”

Backed by EIG, a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors, Avantus has secured $450 million in financing over the past year to execute on its differentiated growth strategy. The company has also rapidly grown its team to deliver on its expanded vision, bringing on new technical capabilities and executive leadership, including Chief Financial Officer Rahul Mathur, General Counsel Jennifer Arasimowicz, and Chief Technology Officer Kip Larson, while promoting leadership from within, including Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Perry and Chief Commercial Officer Michael Healy.