Kiwi Power Enters Burgeoning Japanese Energy Market with ENECHANGE as Channel Partner
London, UK and Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan, May 10, 2021 – Kiwi Power, a veteran global energy technology company backed by ENGIE, has partnered with ENECHANGE Ltd., a Japanese leader in energy technology innovation that is publicly traded and working with hundreds of suppliers, to bring its advanced distributed energy resource platform to Japan. Kiwi Power’s technology will support the expansion of flexibility programs in the nation, increasing grid reliability and distributed energy resource monetisation opportunities across Japan’s fast growing, $136+ billion power trading market.
Clean energy in Japan has proliferated rapidly since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Most recently, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the country’s “Green Growth Strategy,” with the aim of achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050. This increase in renewables and a more diverse power mix has paved the way for a growing demand for energy flexibility programs to help balance supply and demand on the nation’s grid.
Kiwi Power’s partnership with ENECHANGE will bring Japanese energy players in the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) sectors the technology and confidence to participate in the country’s emerging flexibility programs. Kiwi Power’s energy technology platform, featuring Virtual Power Plant (VPP) capabilities, is one of the only solutions to provide software and hardware to its clients, making it easy for Japanese energy players to get started and begin to monetise their underutilised energy assets. Kiwi Power also brings ENECHANGE and its clients extensive expertise from a decade of experience developing the flexibility markets in the UK, which shares characteristics with Japan as an island nation.
Jay Zoellner, CEO of Kiwi Power on the partnership:
“Kiwi Power is committed to helping Japan realize carbon neutrality by 2050 and grid flexibility is key to making the country’s energy transition economically feasible. We are beyond thrilled to be working with ENECHANGE as our distribution partner in the Japanese market. As the Japanese market opens up, we expect to see billions of dollars of value and grid efficiency unlocked through our technology.”
Yohei Kiguchi, CEO of ENECHANGE Co., Ltd., is equally enthusiastic about the partnership.
“We’ve been eagerly following the global trends in the VPP sector and it is clear that Kiwi Power has a globally competitive solution,” he said. “ Kiwi Power has a strong track record and has been recognized by global leaders like ENGIE, and our alliance presents a fantastic opportunity. The combination of Kiwi Power’s technology and ENECHANGE’s network present a strong foundation for growth in the Japanese market.”
In 2019, Kiwi Power was named as one of the winners in the Japan Energy Challenge (renamed ENECHANGE Insight Ventures in 2021) and has since been engaged with ENECHANGE in supporting Japan’s energy transition.
View the full press release published by Business Wire.
Kiwi Power was last night named winner in the Grid Edge category at the S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards Virtual Gala, established in 1999 and often described as “the Oscars” of the energy industry (emceed this year by Emmy and Tony award-winning actor Jason Alexander, well known as Seinfeld’s “George Costanza”).
S&P Global Platts is the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. The Grid Edge award recognizes exemplary corporate leadership and superior performance and innovation in advancing the connection of participants.
Kiwi Power was named the winner among thirteen other finalists in the category, chosen from about 300 nominated entries from over three dozen countries.
Gavin Sallery accepted the award on behalf of Kiwi Power:
Jay Zoellner had this to say:
“We are delighted to have been named the winner of this prestigious Grid Edge Award, made all the more rewarding by the superb innovation represented by our finalist companions.”
“Kiwi Power simplifies distributed energy for global sustainability impact, and this mission has never been more important, nor as urgent, as it is today. Our clients deploy the versatile Kiwi Core technology globally to enable energy flexibility for their electric grids, improve profit for their businesses, and advance renewable power and storage for carbon reduction.”
“We are privileged to do our part.”
We were recognised in this award for a number of remarkable achievements, including:
- Commissioning a landmark battery storage site this summer to create the largest council-owned battery storage site in the UK with access via Kiwi Core to the National Grid.
- Enabling ENGIE’s NextFlex program, a demand side response aggregator managing over 600 MW of flexible assets across 400 commercial sites in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
- Launching Kiwi Core with ENGIE North America in Texas to deliver price-based trading and demand response activities in the ERCOT market.
- Working with Canadian utility, Lakeland Power, on a pilot project to help integrate their local assets into a broader regional network using real-time information and constraint management protocols.
Martin Fraenkel, President at S&P Global Platts, commented:
“The Global Energy Awards, nominations and finalists continue to reflect the evolution of the industry, highlighting technology innovations, as well as accelerated focus on energy transition to a lower-carbon environment.”
“Innovation, resolve and transformation were characteristic throughout this year’s applications and each of the finalists and nominees are to be congratulated for their accomplishments.”
The full press release can be downloaded here.
UK-based market leader offers new options for maximising value of distributed energy resources for utilities, energy storage operators and other energy stakeholders
Kiwi Power, a leading global energy technology company, is bringing its distributed energy resource (DER) optimisation technology and expertise to North America. Building on the strong relationship with its first client ENGIE North America, the company has expanded its sales presence in the region. Kiwi Power enters the market offering advanced virtual power plant (VPP) software combined with expertise serving energy flexibility into markets for more than ten years and across ten countries.
Kiwi Power is named a world leader in virtual power plant (VPP) technology and energy market optimisation in Q1 2020 by Guidehouse Insights, formerly Navigant, and No. 1 for execution. The company offers a simple, yet powerful solution that enables electricity suppliers, energy storage and renewables asset owners, distribution grid operators and independent aggregators to maximise the value of energy assets, secure new revenue streams, and supply cleaner and more affordable power.
Kiwi Power’s project with ENGIE North America is now operational in Texas delivering price-based trading and demand response activities for ENGIE North America in the ERCOT market. Part of a larger deployment between the two companies, the relationship builds on a pilot program started last summer in ERCOT for price arbitrage. The project simply and powerfully integrates market signals and analytics to enable DERs and energy demand that follows changes in real-time electricity prices. Kiwi Power and ENGIE also enable DERs to bid into the Texas (ERCOT) ancillary markets with plans to expand into the PJM market.
“As renewable generation, energy storage and distributed energy resources continue to penetrate global electric grids, value is migrating away from the supply of power and toward the supply of flexibility.”
“Kiwi Power is thrilled to now be serving clients in the United States and Canada, providing each with the confidence they need to participate in this new energy world through our technology, expertise and low-barrier-to-entry commercial model.”
Jay Zoellner, CEO of Kiwi Power
“As an independent power producer, the work we are doing with Kiwi Power bolsters ENGIE North America’s existing objectives and areas of strength. We were impressed with the simplicity and power of the Kiwi Power solution and see it as a competitive advantage to expand our energy flexibility presence in North America at scale.”
Vikram Kulkarni, Vice President of Sustainability Solutions at ENGIE North America
In Ontario, Canada, Kiwi Power is working with public utility Lakeland Power and other affiliates of Lakeland Holding Ltd., which forms the foundation for a strategic relationship in Ontario.
“Our relationship with Kiwi Power will enable Lakeland Power to work very closely with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to create economic solutions for our future energy flexibility needs. Kiwi Power is an expert in the space and has proven to be an extremely valuable and reliable partner.”
Vince Kulchycki, Chief Operating Officer of Lakeland Holding Ltd.
“We developed our own technology and expertise solutions in the UK, recognised as one of the most advanced electric grids in the world, to successfully operate as a DER aggregator, energy storage asset operator and direct market participant.”
The expertise we have gained working with clients in ten European countries is embedded into our technology, and uniquely qualifies us to help North American clients establish competitive and soundly designed DER management businesses.”
“Our approach simplifies distributed energy for our clients.”
Stephan Marty, Chief Commercial Officer of Kiwi Power
Kiwi Power North American sales are active today. Contact us to find out more.
Notes to editors
About Kiwi Power
Kiwi Power is a leading global energy technology company specialising in virtual power plant (VPP) technology and implementation. Recognised by Guidehouse Insights, previously Navigant, as a leader among VPP providers and ranked No. 1 on execution, we bring more than a decade of expertise from our European practice into the North American market. Our simple, powerful technology solution, combined with a flexible commercial model, empowers our clients with the confidence to participate in the growing flexibility markets and maximise the value of their distributed energy resources.
About ENGIE North America
ENGIE North America Inc. offers a range of capabilities in the United States and Canada to help customers decarbonise, decentralise and digitalise their operations. These include comprehensive services to help customers run their facilities more efficiently and optimise energy and other resource use and expense; clean power generation; energy storage; and retail energy supply that includes renewable, demand response, and on-bill financing options. Nearly 100%of the company’s power generation portfolio is low carbon or renewable.Globally, ENGIE S.A. relies on their key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to customers. With 170,000 employees, customers, partners and stakeholders, we are a community of Imaginative Builders, committed every day to more harmonious progress. For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, www.engie-na.com and www.engie.com.
Press Contact
Lisa Nash
Antenna Group for Kiwi Power
646-883-4296
New CEO joins Kiwi Power to lead global expansion of distributed energy tech business
Kiwi Power Ltd, a leading energy technology company headquartered in London, is delighted to announce the appointment of Jay Zoellner as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.
With over 30 years’ experience successfully growing and managing energy businesses in the US, Jay will lead the company’s strategy to expand its global operations as a Platform-as-a-Service provider of Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) to utilities, distribution system operators and aggregator partners internationally. Kiwi Power’s platform is already active in over 10 countries globally, optimising and monetising over 1GW of distributed energy resources on behalf of its partners. Kiwi Power’s new UK energy trading and optimisation capabilities will continue to build on the company’s position as a market leading provider of energy storage and Demand Side Response services to asset owners and large energy users.
Jay joins Kiwi Power from Edison Energy, where as CEO he transitioned the business from multiple, independently operating companies into a leading and growing provider of integrated energy solutions to large-scale industrial and commercial market leaders. Key to this was the development and commercialisation of innovative energy technology to advise clients on the probabilistic distributions of future period energy-spend based on correlated market factors and technology influencers.
Jay has considerable experience scaling and maturing businesses, having developed and commercialized one of the first real-time software-as-a-service energy platforms for commercial and industrial enterprises.
Commenting on his appointment, Jay said: “I am thrilled to join Kiwi Power at such an exciting time in its development. The global market for Distributed Energy Resources is set to explode over the next decade, and Kiwi Power’s proven technology platform is ideally placed to capitalise on this opportunity. I’m looking forward to working with the company’s passionate team, committed investors and new and existing partners to rapidly scale the business internationally.”