Acquisition of PowerHouse Generation by Cool Planet will boost revenues of Normal Crowley’s business by €10m in 2022.
Transport and energy company Cool Planet Group has signed a deal to buy Northern Ireland electricity management firm PowerHouse Generation.
Headquartered in Co Wicklow, the Cool Planet Group consists of electric car manufacturer AVA, non-profit Cool Planet Experience, Crowley Solar and energy services business Crowley Carbon.
PowerHouse Generation’s team will join Cool Planet subsidiary Crowley Carbon following the deal, which is set to add €10m in revenue in 2022.
PowerHouse are one of the market leaders offering demand-side services to customers on the island of Ireland and the UK. These services consist of grid balancing and stabilisation, energy procurement and consulting, and are increasingly important as more renewable energy sources become part of the grid and the load profiles change due to plug-in electric vehicles.
Crowley Carbon specialises in helping manufacturing firms and commercial buildings achieve carbon neutrality, energy efficiency, continuous improvement and process optimisation, through a combination of engineering services and a software platform called Clarity.
Founded by Cork-born serial entrepreneur Norman Crowley in 2009, the company’s client list includes global names such as Owens Illinois, Takeda, Glanbia, Hilton Food Group, and GE Healthcare.
Becoming Carbon Net Zero
With the twin mounting pressures of increasing electricity demand and increasing renewables penetration on the national grid, there was an urgent need to give the system operator (TSO) dynamic tools to be able to manage the balance between load and intermittent generation on the grid.
Demand Side Unit (DSU) was set up to enable transmission system operators to operate and maintain a secure electricity network.
PowerHouse is a licenced DSU aggregator and rewards commercial electricity consumers for their capability and availability to reduce demand, if called upon to do so.
It does this by aggregating capacity of large electricity consumers and offering that capacity to the electricity system operator while at the same time allowing those large consumers earn revenue. It acts as a ‘virtual power station’ made up of lots of different customers.
In the next five years, demand response will become an increasingly vital tool in the toolbox towards delivering net zero carbon as it enables increasing renewables penetration and decarbonisation of our electricity systems. It also allows industry to generate revenue from dispatchable load such as decarbonised and electrified process heat.
“Time is running out for companies who don’t have a carbon neutrality strategy. Crowley Carbon wants to take the build on our 12 years of experience of making industry more energy efficient by helping manufacturing firms become Carbon Net Zero.
“Through a combination of our vast engineering services and software platform Clarity, we help them develop a plan and achieve net-zero carbon. PowerHouse’s demand response capabilities will complement our existing offerings of Solar PV, battery storage, electrification of heat, EV chargers and Vehicle to Grid, enabling us to reduce carbon and greenhouse gas emissions in plants for a Net Zero future.”
Crowley said the deal would enable Crowley Carbon to offer DSU services to its existing customers, and at the same time offer Crowley Carbon’s engineering services and Clarity to PowerHouse Generation’s client base.
“We can now create new offerings that combine energy efficiency, renewable power, EV-charging and sustainability and compliance reporting to help organisations reach tier net-zero carbon goals,” he added.
PowerHouse Generation chair Richard Watson said the deal would enable Crowley Carbon to introduce current and prospective customers to this DSU scheme, providing manufacturing plants with a welcome source of income and little or no impact to their day-to-day operations.
“The acquisition of PowerHouse Generation and PowerHouse Energy Management by the Cool Planet Group will allow PowerHouse to accelerate the growth plans and expand into new markets. We are delighted that PHG and PEM will go from strength to strength as part of CPG, and it also offers an excellent opportunity for all our staff to be part of a Global Leader in Energy and other exciting areas.”
