SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 30, 2023 / The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, causing soaring gas prices, and the effects of climate change, has made it imperative for most nations to incentivize homeowners to switch to sources of green energy, like solar. In California, owners of single-family homes have greatly benefited from solar energy adoption. But only a few tenants of multifamily buildings have seen any benefit. Luckily for tenants of multifamily buildings, Ivy Energy is on a mission to change that.

Ivy Energy is a cleantech software company that developed a proprietary solar energy billing software called Virtual Grid. Virtual Grid uses smart grid logic and proprietary algorithms to distribute solar energy between multiple units accurately. It makes it easy for property owners to invest in solar for their community and deliver monthly energy savings to tenants while generating a new income. The Ivy team comes from various backgrounds, including real estate development, energy monitoring software, and solar industry operations.

Ivy Energy focuses on solving the problems for all stakeholders that play a critical role in transforming how clean energy is deployed and consumed in shared real estate communities. For the first time in the history of shared buildings, there is finally a viable solution to efficiently remove an entire community's energy consumption footprint and replace it with onsite clean energy. By enabling the mass adoption of solar energy on shared buildings, Ivy successfully creates social equity for non-home-owning energy consumers who have been left out of the clean energy revolution.

The company also manages the customer support aspect, ensuring that its customer service team handles all the bill queries and concerns of the tenants so the property owners don't have to worry about ongoing support. Virtual Grid's monthly solar bills integrate into the owner's rent ledger system, so owners can efficiently distribute them; while tenants can easily pay for their clean energy. The digital billing statements are clear and easy to understand so that residents can quickly see how much they save each month.

Commented Austin Young, Senior Marketing Manager of Ivy energy, "Our goal is to help property owners offset their tenant energy load with solar and distribute the savings in an accurate, compliant, and data-driven format. This innovation is a win for everyone by delivering social equity benefits, real estate market value, environmental impact, and energy grid support. Launching our Virtual Grid software has led to much more widespread adoption of solar energy on multi unit buildings. The glowing testimonials and feedback we have received from our clients attest to the effectiveness of our technology."

Another critical area in which Ivy Energy has been able to drive change is in policy initiatives to make solar energy more widespread on multifamily units. The CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) NEM 3.0 proceedings began in early 2021 and have been ongoing ever since. The Commission set out to revise the Net Energy Metering (NEM) tariff, which is the key policy allowing owners of single-family homes to install and monetize solar panels. One of the sub-tariffs, Virtual Net Energy Metering (VNEM), was included in the proceedings. Several significant changes were being proposed that would impact the compensation mechanism for clean energy projects at multifamily properties. The policy experts at Ivy Energy reviewed the proposal and were able to make several key points on the docket to help influence the Commission to scrap the proposal.

The CPUC's lookback study and original proposal overlooked that all of the data had come from the single-family home solar market. With VNEM projects only accounting for 1% of the live solar projects in California, Ivy Energy argued that changing the VNEM tariff this early in adoption and without proper data could effectively cripple the market's future. Ultimately the CPUC decided to change the single-family (NEM) tariff but not to change the VNEM tariff rates.

"The Commission finds that the record in this proceeding does not contain a sufficient analysis of the VNEM and NEMA tariffs. In comments to the proposed decision, Ivy Energy correctly asserts that the Lookback Study omits any analysis of VNEM or the multifamily sector as a distinct customer class." - Quote from the CPUC's Proposed Decision.

Ivy Energy will work with the CPUC in 2023 through a multifamily-specific workshop to analyze the unique factors influencing multifamily solar adoption and outcomes. The workshop will provide the CPUC with a better understanding of the split incentive issue and others that are vital contributors to multifamily solar adoption, being about ten years behind the residential solar market.

Concluded Austin Young, "We are thrilled that the CPUC has voted not to change the VNEM tariff. This decision will allow us to continue developing and operating VNEM solar projects that provide clean energy and cost savings for California residents while also helping the state reach its renewable energy goals. This was a huge win for everyone. If the new proposal had been implemented, fewer owners of multifamily buildings would have been interested in adopting solar energy. The fact that in just 3 years, we have evolved to the point where we can drive policy change, promoting greater access to solar energy is truly inspiring for all stakeholders."

About Ivy Energy

Ivy Energy developed the first solar billing program that lets property owners deliver clean energy at a cost savings to residents in apartment buildings and townhomes. The company's mission is to facilitate mass adoption of clean energy assets that are a win-win for tenants and investors by reducing energy costs and maximizing ROI for investors.

Media Contact:
Name: Austin Young
Email id: austin@ivy-energy.com

SOURCE: Ivy Energy

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