The electrical grid has changed more in the last decade than in the preceding five. Solar, wind, and batteries have pushed power generation away from monolithic producers. But fundamentally, the grid still suffers from the same challenges. 'The problem on the grid is a peak problem. Most of the time you're okay, you have plenty of power. But in those peak hours you might not have enough,' Michael Phelan, co-founder and CEO of GridBeyond, told TechCrunch. GridBeyond has been building hardware and software to stitch together disparate parts of the grid to behave as larger virtual power plants. The startup already manages around 1 gigawatt of solar, batteries, wind, and hydropower, and on the demand side, it has 'several gigawatts' across commercial and industrial facilities, Phelan said. To expand its portfolio, GridBeyond recently raised a '12 million ($13.8 million) equity round led by Samsung Ventures, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. Other participating investors include...
learn more
