Energy management and smart grid solutions provider Swell Energy announced today that it has raised $120 million, aimed at supporting the expansion of its virtual power plant program (VPP) to reach 600 MWh, helping combat rising energy costs, power outages and grid pollution.

Swell’s VPPs, deployed at homes and businesses across the U.S., link utilities, customers, and third-party service providers together, and aggregate and co-optimize distributed energy resources through the company’s GridAmp software platform, and providing a cohesive network of solar-powered batteries supporting overall grid reliability and stability, while potentially reducing grid operating costs.

The program helps utilities deliver cleaner energy to customers and reduce dependence on fossil fuel peaker plants, and enables homes and businesses to pay less for solar energy generation and storage, and to remain powered through outages.

Suleman Khan, CEO of Swell Energy, said:

“Utilities and investors have understood the importance of virtual power plants for some time now; this funding further signals that the capital markets see tremendous value in this new asset class. Virtual power plants are the key to a cleaner energy future at scale.”

The funding round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Greenbacker Development Opportunities Fund I, and included participation from an Ares Infrastructure Opportunities fund and Ontario Power Generation Pension Fund.

Ben Parton, Director at SoftBank Group, said:

“By coordinating distributed energy resources across the grid to intelligently meet fluctuating demand, Swell’s AI- and machine learning-driven platform helps address a major challenge of the energy transition, while also lowering customers’ bills. We are excited to support Swell’s team as they accelerate clean energy adoption.”