Plural Energy Raises $2.33M to Pioneer On-chain Investing for Renewable Energy Projects, Secures Solaris as First Investment Opportunity
With a 40,000+ investor-strong waitlist, Plural plans to issue tokenized assets for small and mid-sized investments that allow anyone to participate in accelerating the global clean energy transition.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Plural Energy, the on-chain investing platform powering the global transition to clean energy, today announces:
- $2.33 million in pre-seed funding led by Necessary Ventures and Compound, with participation from Volt Capital and Maven11.
- The first tokenized investment asset to go live on Plural will be a portfolio of solar projects developed by Solaris Energy (Solaris) planned for later this summer.
- Using its blockchain-powered investing platform to tokenize clean energy assets, Plural will introduce a high-impact asset class to a much broader and diverse range of investors operating both in and outside of traditional financial institutions.
$4 trillion more dollars needs to be invested into clean energy by 2030 to reach global climate goals. Plural is doing its part to close this funding gap by allowing investors direct access to renewable energy investments.
“Plural is building a new financial system for the clean energy transition that is accessible to all, and won’t let access to capital stand in the way of a clean energy future,” said Adam Silver, Co-Founder and CEO of Plural Energy. “We’re connecting all types of investors to high-quality renewable energy projects so that everyone can benefit from a distributed grid that is powered by renewables.”
First investment offering: Solaris
Soon, Plural users can invest in a portfolio of operational solar farms across the U.S. developed by Solaris. Investors will accrue dividends whenever the sun shines through Plural’s blockchain-powered smart contract infrastructure.
“We chose Plural because its solution makes the entire capital raising process easy,” said Alex Blackmer, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Owner of Solaris. “Fundraising is challenging in this environment, especially for smaller-scale renewable energy projects. Working with Plural, we see a path towards the democratization of solar finance where anyone can become a part of the revolution that is greening the energy sector. Partnering with Plural has been a great experience, and we can’t wait to expand the community around the assets that we build.”
Plural brings clean energy investing to the masses
Plural’s easy-to-navigate blockchain investing platform makes investing approachable for every type of investor, from fund and asset managers to alternative retail investors to retirement savers, featuring:
- Top renewable energy partners. Plural works with highly regarded renewable energy developers and CleanTech companies around the world, increasing direct climate impact and yield.
- Diverse, impactful assets. Plural focuses on assets for projects under $100M, which are often overlooked by infrastructure investors despite their vital role in transitioning the power grid.
- Regulatory compliance. Plural has become a registered transfer agent and works directly with SEC-registered broker-dealers, Know Your Customer (KYC) providers, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Technology, and more to secure a stack that is compliant for US investors to access. Blockchain-powered smart contracts create a transparent ledger of secure, low-cost transactions that are aligned with SEC rules and regulations.
“Investing in renewable assets has been highly profitable and stable for institutional investors, consistently generating double-digit IRRs domestically and abroad. It’s time to unlock this opportunity for all investors,” said Neil Devani, Founder and Managing Partner at Necessary Ventures. “Plural is effectively accelerating the infrastructure needed for a brighter future by democratizing this asset class. Anyone can now invest in green energy, track the financials and production data for the projects they invest in, and sell their investments at any time.”
Blockchain makes investing more efficient and profitable
Plural partners with renewable energy companies to create security tokens that can be purchased via blockchain-powered smart contracts, reducing the logistical friction that deters investors from funding distributed energy projects.
The user experience will feel as simple and accessible as trading traditional stocks, but on the backend, this Web3 approach:
- Automates complicated fund flows by templatizing agreements and models.
- Tokenizes and securitizes projects for high-speed, low-cost transactions.
- Requires fewer financial intermediaries.
The resulting savings on transaction fees and management fees delivers additional yield to investors and a lower cost of capital to renewable energy companies.
“As we saw immense interest from both institutional and retail-focused investors in real-world assets on-chain, we were really excited by what Plural is building – not only for the need, but also for the impact,” said Mike Dempsey, Managing Partner of Compound. “We’re honored to partner with the entire Plural team as they accelerate towards enabling at-scale funding of renewable energy projects, big and small.”
Rapid growth and interest
Founded in early 2023, Plural has already attracted the support of renewable energy veterans, grown its team, and cultivated an impressive waitlist:
- Expert advisors:
- Benoit Allehaut, a renewable energy industry veteran with over 25 years of experience overseeing billions of dollars of energy transition investments, most recently as advisor and managing director at a large private equity firm.
- Paula Zagrecki, founder and CEO of Zorya Energy, has developed and financed billions of dollars of renewable energy projects over the past 30 years with a recent focus on distributed energy assets.
- Recent full-time hires:
- Chief Technology Officer: Kent Kolze, the former head of Global Petroleum Engineering at Citadel known for leading the development of advanced trading systems for energy markets, joined Plural as CTO.
- General Counsel: Howard “Wood” Steinberg brings more than two decades of experience as GC/CLO/CCO to his role with Plural. Formerly General Counsel and Head of Regulatory at Forge Global and General Counsel and Chief Regulatory Officer at LTSE, Wood has also led the legal and compliance effort at Scotiabank and Nomura and has served in senior roles with Goldman Sachs’ regulatory practice group and Merrill Lynch’s investment banking and equity trading groups.
- Early user sign-ups:
- 40,000+ investors have already joined the Plural waitlist for the company’s first on-chain asset launch.
In this next phase of growth, Plural aims to launch more clean energy financing on-chain and bring more renewable assets to market with its novel approach.
Learn more about Solaris’s portfolio
Click here to learn more about Solaris’s portfolio offering on Plural: Ace Portfolio Overview.
ABOUT PLURAL ENERGY
Plural Energy is powering the clean energy transition by enabling everyone, from fund and asset managers to alternative retail investors to retirement savers, to invest directly in the clean energy transition. Plural’s easy-to-navigate blockchain platform simplifies green energy financing, expands access to a profitable asset class, and helps close the 4 trillion dollar financing gap needed to meet 2030 climate goals. Learn more at www.plural.xyz.
Discussion of Solaris Renewable Equity A. Portfolio offering is in preparation for the offering going live. At this time: No money or other consideration is being solicited, and if sent in response, will not be accepted. No offer to buy the securities can be accepted, and no part of the purchase price can be received until the offering statement is filed and only through the platform of an intermediary (funding portal or broker-dealer). A person’s indication of interest includes no obligation or commitment of any kind.
SOURCE Plural Energy
