Ice Energy, a provider of distributed energy storage solutions, announced it has completed a $24 million first closing of its Series C financing.
The new funding provides Ice Energy with working and growth capital to support its deployment of distributed energy storage projects throughout the United States and Canada, including a 53-megawatts (MW) project currently underway with the Southern California Public Power Authority.
TIAA-CREF joined new and existing investors, including Energy Capital Partners, Good Energies, Sail Ventures and Second Avenue Partners, to participate in the round.
TIAA-CREF’s $4.5 million private equity investment in Ice Energy is its first under a new Green Building Technology Partnership with Good Energies, through which TIAA- CREF’s Global Social and Community Investing Department will invest in energy efficiency companies and green building technologies alongside Good Energies’ venture capital investments. These investments seek to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings.
Energy storage is widely considered a key requirement for improving energy efficiency, maximizing the value of intermittent wind and solar generation, and meeting rising peak electrical demand. Ice Energy’s distributed energy storage solution enables utility companies to use more efficient, less expensive off-peak power to store energy as ice for use during periods of peak demand.
The company says its ice-based energy storage technology has the potential to permanently shift as much as 40% of peak energy demand to off-peak hours when employed directly on commercial buildings.
For the businesses and buildings where the units are installed, this means lower daytime energy consumption, increased efficiency and lower energy costs, a smaller environmental footprint, and improved comfort for customers and employees.
Ice Energy is headquartered in Windsor, Colorado, with offices in Orange County and Sacramento, California.
