We are dedicated to developing DER’s
The energy market is complex and dynamic and usually is not the core business of most organizations. As well as providing technical, design–build, procurement, maintenance, and support expertise, GRE is uniquely positioned to provide financial, regulatory, and risk analysis to our customers.
It’s our vision to fund asset development that benefits the bottom line for consumers and investors alike while building a diversified, resilient, and carbon-free grid.
Grand River Energy has successfully closed many acquisitions of existing, operating DER’s. We are familiar with multiple asset classes including:
- Solar PV (ground mount and rooftop)
- Water power
- Combined heat & power
- Natural gas and biomass-based district energy
- Air or ground-source heat pumps
All of our acquisitions are negotiated. With a network of lenders, flexibility on ownership, and purchase options, we have a track record of closing and are happy to discuss multiple purchase options.
Grand River Energy is centered in the Waterloo Region, but we own projects from Cambridge to Ottawa.
What is a DER?
The acronym “DER” (Distributed Energy Resource) is a term in the energy industry that encompasses many technologies and asset classes. DER’s have become not only competitive but also the lowest cost option in many jurisdictions around the world to provide electricity and thermal energy to industry and homeowners. DER’s have the following characteristics:
- Typically, located in a local, electrical distribution grid versus a transmission grid, hence the term “distributed.”
- They may be “behind-the-meter” of an electrical consumer such as an industrial business or home in a non-regulated application.
- They could be “in front of the meter” in a constrained distribution grid in a utility, regulated application.
- Typically are connected to the electrical grid and working in tandem with the electrical grid such that grid operators can leverage their use to decrease the need for new transmission and new central power generation, as well as the losses associated with conveying and transforming electrical energy over long distances.
What makes up a Distributed Energy Resource (DER)?
DER’s include “hard” assets such as:
- Electrical generation from solar PV or combined heat and power (CHP)
- Energy Storage such as industrial batteries at a business and electric vehicle batteries
- Dispatchable electrical loads such as compressors, heat pumps or other large electrical loads
DER’s include “soft” technology such as:
- Smart Grid interface to allow a utility or service provider access to assets to support grid capacity, energy or ancillary needs
- Includes metering and settlement technology deployed by utilities to quantify and perhaps maximize the use of your asset
Typically, DER’s includes some form of a commercial contract so the owner of the DER asset can participate in revenue streams offered by electricity grid market operators, or a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) between yourself as the customer and the host providing the service and owning the asset.
DER’s are rapidly decreasing in cost and give consumers and industry more choice versus the traditional approach of buying all electrical power from the grid. Consumers can invest in DER’s, and not only generate their electrical energy with sustainable solutions but also benefit from market revenue streams that value the way DER’s support the grid.
Navigating the wide variety of options for DER’s can be complicated and in particular, for small businesses without dedicated resources to understand the regulation, technology, and contracts available. GRE is structured to support customers through the whole process – from origination, to deployment, through commercial operation. GRE is an integrated service provider supporting small and large customers along the entire development path.