PowerFlex Gets $100 Million Investment for Solar, EV Chargers

Until now, PowerFlex has been a wholly owned affiliate of EDF Renewables North America, part of European utility giant Electricite de France SA. EDF will continue to hold majority ownership following Manulife’s investment.

PowerFlex, based in San Diego, has deployed more than 400 megawatts of solar arrays and 10,000 EV chargers for its clients, including Bloomberg L.P., for whom PowerFlex developed a 1.5-megawatt rooftop solar installation in Queens, New York. PowerFlex also provides software so those assets work together and are used efficiently. Such holistic management of distributed energy resources will be necessary to ensure that the coming electrification of cars and trucks doesn’t overload the electrical grid, said Chief Executive Officer Raphael Declercq.

“Those vehicles are batteries on wheels,” he said in an interview. “If you manage them the right way, you can not only avoid strain on the grid but help it.”