Durham clean energy startup adds $100M in latest round of capital

DURHAM – Modern Energy Group, a Durham-based asset management company focused on investing in sustainable energy companies, has secured $100 million in financing, coming on top of $30.4 million in equity earlier this month.

That $130 million comes in addition to roughly $42 million sold last year, bringing its total to $72.7 million starting from the first date of sale in late December 2018.

According to an SEC filing made on Wednesday the funding is debt.

“Modern Energy was born out of the conviction that new business models are needed to transition to a more inclusive, more efficient, and zero-carbon energy system. We partner with clean energy business leaders to deliver sustainable, reliable, affordable energy to all,” the company says at its LinkedIn site.

Providing the capital is EIG Global Energy Partners.

“We are excited to partner with EIG in driving the energy transition. A combination of rapid cost reductions in clean energy asset classes, favorable regulatory regimes, and innovative financing structures are unlocking a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity to invest in the global energy transition,” said Mark Laabs, CEO and Co-Founder of Modern Energy.

“By combining Modern Energy’s expertise in identifying and incubating new clean energy business models with EIG’s disciplined approach to underwriting energy asset portfolios, the firms provide a differentiated value proposition to clean energy businesses at each stage of their development. We look forward to leveraging our combined strengths to bring emerging energy assets to scale in the months and years ahead.”

The company launched in 2016.

“We are delighted with this exciting partnership with Modern Energy. They are among the most innovative and forward-thinking teams in the industry,” said Andrew Ellenbogen, Managing Director at EIG. “Modern Energy has developed differentiated business models across the distributed energy sector that are highly impactful and create meaningful stakeholder value. This investment presents a unique opportunity to support the energy transition through these strong businesses, while also supporting Modern Energy’s ambitious growth. This transaction continues EIG’s long track-record of investing across cycles in high quality companies and projects, led by world class teams, that are driving energy sustainability forward.”