Protecting Our Grid Lines

Green Oceans, the independent and nonpartisan environmental grassroots organization, called upon the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New England District to suspend and revoke the permit previously granted to the Revolution Wind project.

The call comes after Green Oceans obtained documented objective and indisputable evidence that Revolution Wind discharged wastewater with levels of toxic pollutants that significantly exceeded legal limits into Narragansett Bay and the surrounding wetlands.

In a letter this month to Col. John Atilano II, Green Oceans asked the Corps to suspend the permit in order to halt further degradation of the waters, perform a formal compliance investigation, and, considering Revolution Wind’s own admissions of toxic discharges, revoke the Army Corps of Engineers’ authorization.

The Corps, Green Oceans wrote, had “assured the public that Revolution Wind’s onshore discharges would meet all water quality standards, introduce no toxic effluents, and avoid significant degradation of the waters of the United States.”

But 15 months of construction “have proved each premise false,” Green Oceans said, adding that Revolution Wind’s own discharge records “reveal arsenic, zinc, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and total suspended solids at levels hundreds to thousands of percents above the numeric limits” allowed under existing law and violated the Clean Water Act, state water quality laws, and the Record of Decision.

“As with so much information buried in the rushed approval process, once again, we find documented objective evidence of real environmental harm,” said Dr. Lisa Quattrocki Knight, co-founder and President of Green Oceans. “How can we allow a company to disregard legal limits of toxic pollutants, toxins that could contaminate our seafood and drinking water, and eventually harm our health? The Corps must stop Revolution Wind from continuing to foul our waters with toxic discharges.”

“In the last month, we have asked the EPA to reopen and revoke Revolution Wind’s permit approvals, because the original permit omitted critical conditions in the air pollution analysis. This week, we have asked Interior Secretary Burgum to suspend the operation of offshore wind projects, and we are now asking the Corps to suspend their permit,” said Bill Thompson, co-founder of Green Oceans.

“We will not rest until this environmental tragedy is averted and our oceans and marine ecosystems are safe from industrialization,” Thompson said.

The letter comes after the Trump Administration has signaled a major change in energy policy that aims to protect our coastal waters from environmental degradation. On Jan. 21, President Trump signed an executive memorandum prohibiting new permits from being issued for offshore wind construction and for existing permits to undergo a thorough review.

Green Oceans | https://www.green-oceans.org/

Balanced Rock Power (BRP), a leader in solar and energy storage development dedicated to delivering clean energy across America, is proud to announce significant progress and momentum in its renewable energy projects. A key highlight is BRP’s development and sale of the Two Brothers Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project, marking the sale of BRP’s third BESS project sited in Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Alongside the success of the 150MW Two Brothers project, BRP has continued to demonstrate project development excellence with the additional sales of 2,625 MW of Solar and BESS projects located in Arizona, California and Texas in 2024 and 2025.

“Our recent project sale closings underscore our proven expertise in large-scale solar and energy storage solutions, positioning us at the forefront of the transition to clean, reliable and affordable energy,” said John Knight, CEO of Balanced Rock Power. “With a dedicated team and innovative strategies, we’re committed to expanding our portfolio and accelerating the shift toward a more sustainable and resilient energy landscape.”

BRP’s ERCOT investment thesis focuses on targeted load pockets within Houston and South zones, known for persistent congestion and volatility, alongside rising load demands. Beginning in Q1 2022, BRP’s dedicated development teams systematically screened hundreds of substations throughout South Texas to identify high-potential nodes and land parcels, setting the foundation for successful project siting.

Situated along the Texas Gulf Coast — an area characterized by chronic transmission challenges — Two Brothers was strategically located in a region where traditional fixes fall short in alleviating congestion, thereby safeguarding long-term revenue streams. Despite an interconnection queue saturated with ERCOT BESS projects, Two Brothers garnered investor interest due to its thoughtful siting, long-term economic advantages, and a clear path to project completion — supported by an executed interconnection agreement and long-lead equipment procurement.

The project achieved critical milestones, including procurement of HV breakers and GSUs, ensuring it can meet the COD outlined under its signed SGIA. Sold to a private equity-backed storage IPP in Q2 2025, the project underscores BRP’s ability to efficiently develop and execute large-scale energy storage solutions.

Balanced Rock Power remains committed to expanding its portfolio of clean energy assets, leveraging its development expertise, strategic siting, and innovative transaction strategies to drive sustainable growth and energy transition.

Balanced Rock Power | balancedrockpower.com

Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), have completed their third utility-scale solar site in West Virginia to help meet the state's electricity needs. More than 17,000 solar panels are now producing up to 5.75 megawatts of renewable power at the Marlowe site in Berkeley County. One megawatt of solar energy powers a national average of 173 homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The new solar facility is situated on approximately 36 acres of company-owned property along Interstate 81 and the Potomac River. The site was previously an ash landfill for the former R. Paul Smith Power Station. In 2022, after harvesting more than three million tons of ash for use in cement manufacturing, FirstEnergy successfully completed the closure of the landfill, paving the way for its redevelopment as part of the companies' solar program.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison used 54 local union workers for construction at the site. Additionally, the solar panels, racking system steel and supporting electrical equipment were made in the United States.

Dan Rossero, Vice President of FirstEnergy's West Virginia Generation: "Our solar projects create construction jobs, support U.S. manufacturing and help us accommodate increased demand for electricity. We are committed to ensuring that our customers have the right mix and amount of generation to support their everyday needs, and our solar facilities are a growing part of that."

The companies' West Virginia solar program supports a 2020 bill passed by the West Virginia Legislature that authorizes electric companies to own and operate up to 200 megawatts of solar generation facilities to help meet the state's electricity needs. The program involves the siting and development of solar projects on brownfield or impacted industrial properties while encouraging economic development in West Virginia, as a number of companies require that a portion of the electricity they purchase be generated by renewable sources.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison plan to develop a total of five solar projects that will comprise 50 megawatts of solar generation. The companies completed their first solar project at Fort Martin Power Station (18.9 megawatts) in early 2024, and their Rivesville solar site (5.5 megawatts) came online last fall. In total, the companies now have 30 megawatts of solar capacity.

Combined, the five projects will create more than 87,000 solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) available for purchase by customers who support renewable energy in West Virginia. SRECs are certificates that represent the environmental attributes of solar power and prove solar energy was generated on the purchasers' behalf. For every megawatt hour of solar renewable electricity generated, one SREC is produced.

Since the inception of the solar program, Mon Power and Potomac Edison have enrolled residential customers as well as large commercial and institutional customers, including the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown and the town of Harpers Ferry. The cost to purchase SRECs through the program is 4 cents per kilowatt hour in addition to normal rates. To subscribe or find out more about the solar program, Mon Power and Potomac Edison customers in West Virginia can visit firstenergycorp.com/WVsolar or call 1-800-505-7283.

FirstEnergy | firstenergycorp.com 

UNIGRID, Inc. announced it has been awarded a competitive grant under the California Energy Commission's (CEC) Realizing Accelerated Manufacturing and Production for Clean Energy Technologies (RAMP) program. The project, titled "Advanced Sodium-ion Battery Production in California", will enable UNIGRID to establish a dedicated battery pilot production facility in San Diego, capable of producing MWh-scale quantities of sodium-ion battery cells annually. The $2.9M award will support the design, build-out, and validation of UNIGRID's Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) line at a new 12,000 square foot facility in Sorrento Valley, San Diego.

UNIGRID's advanced sodium-ion battery technology features:

• An Ultra-safe chemistry: Passed UN 38.3 and UL 9540A at the cell level — a rare achievement in energy storage.
• A wide operating temperature: Capable of operating continuously between -40°C and 60°C.
• Long cycle & calendar life: Operation up to 10,000 cycles at 100% DoD.
• No critical materials: No lithium, nickel, cobalt or copper.
• High Power capabilities: 15 minute charge & 5 minute discharge rates.

"This RAMP award is a major step forward—not just for UNIGRID, but for the future of safe, sustainable, and affordable energy storage in California," said Erik A. Wu, CTO at UNIGRID and Principal Investigator of the award. "We are grateful to the CEC for recognizing the value of our technology and supporting our mission to bring next-generation sodium-ion batteries to market."

As energy demands continue to rise, UNIGRID's sodium-ion batteries offer a compelling alternative for grid resilience and distributed energy storage without the safety and supply chain risks of lithium-ion.

UNIGRID | https://unigridbattery.com/

Verdagy, a leading clean hydrogen electrolysis company, has partnered with Mainspring Energy, Inc. to establish a hydrogen-powered linear generator installation in Moss Landing, California. Verdagy’s Moss landing plant has been in operation for four years with more than 20,000 hours of operation with commercial cells and over 200 tons of hydrogen produced. The fully automated, 24/7 plant provides Mainspring constantly available, low-cost hydrogen as a fuel for power generation.

This collaboration establishes a ready hydrogen fuel source for Mainspring’s fuel-flexible linear generators and provides Verdagy with onsite offtake for its hydrogen and electricity to support its electrolyzers operation. The two companies expect to begin operations by summer 2025.

Verdagy and Mainspring Energy are demonstrating how we can improve energy resiliency for the electrical grid, datacenters and other applications,” said Marty Neese, CEO of Verdagy. “This collaboration with Mainspring Energy is a compelling model for clean, flexible, on-site power solutions.

Building on its expertise in producing clean hydrogen at scale, Verdagy is now reducing operational costs by converting hydrogen into power and cycling it back into the facility.

“This agreement presents an excellent opportunity for Mainspring to showcase our linear generator’s capabilities operating on hydrogen and for Verdagy to demonstrate its high resiliency industrial grade production operation,” said Shannon Miller, Mainspring CEO and Founder. “We’re pleased to partner with Verdagy to highlight the significant potential of hydrogen in power generation.”

By powering Mainspring’s Linear Generators with hydrogen produced on-site, the installation demonstrates how low-carbon energy can be deployed at the point of use – critical for enhancing resiliency in grid constrained and mission-critical environments. This co-located model for hydrogen consumption to generate power is crucial as grid constraints grow.

Verdagy | verdagy.com

Mainspring Energy | mainspringenergy.com

In a logistics world racing to electrify, charging infrastructure remains a massive bottleneck - too slow, too expensive, and too dependent on utility timelines. To tackle this challenge, Orange EV, the leading U.S. manufacturer of purpose-built electric Class 8 trucks, has created and invested in OptiGrid, a new U.S.-based company delivering battery-integrated fast charging solutions for fleets.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, OptiGrid eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming grid upgrades with a drop-in platform that pairs ultrafast EV charging with onboard battery storage. Designed specifically for fleet operators, OptiGrid’s solution reduces wait times for deployment, offering high uptime, low maintenance and the lowest total cost of ownership of any DC fast charger.

A Proven Technology with a New Path to Market

OptiGrid builds on the foundational technology developed by FreeWire Technologies, an early pioneer in battery-buffered fast charging. FreeWire’s breakthrough, integrating battery storage, AC-to-DC conversion, power management and fast charger in one self-contained unit, made it possible to deploy ultrafast chargers in power-constrained locations without complex site work or utility delays.

Despite strong interest, FreeWire struggled to manufacture its product affordably and consistently, leading to downtime and rising support costs that ultimately outpaced the company’s ability to sustain operations. Trucking industry veteran Wayne Hoovestol recognized the core value of FreeWire’s technology and acquired its assets, including the intellectual property and engineering team, to focus on solving the issues of manufacturing reliability and serviceability while preserving the benefits of rapid, grid-independent deployment.

Orange EV’s Strategic Backing

To operationalize his vision and accelerate commercialization, Hoovestol partnered with Kurt Neutgens and Wayne Mathisen, the founders of Orange EV, to create OptiGrid. Known for its manufacturing excellence, which produced profitable and highly dependable electric trucks, and its deep customer relationships, Orange EV provides the U.S. manufacturing foundation and market access needed to bring OptiGrid’s reengineered charging platform to fleets at scale.

“We’ve seen firsthand how infrastructure delays can slow down fleet electrification efforts,” said Kurt Neutgens, founder and president at Orange EV. “OptiGrid gives us a turnkey, fleet-ready system with low cost of ownership and the flexibility of optional leasing to reduce capital barriers.”

Today, OptiGrid has a growing team of 50 employees across California, Colorado and Kansas, and is preparing for commercial launch later this year. Orange EV is OptiGrid’s first strategic partner and launch customer, enabling the delivery of seamless electrification for industrial fleets with end-to-end solutions, from vehicle to charger, delivered and supported by a U.S. team.

Proven Leadership and U.S. Operations

Tyler Phillipi, a veteran of the EV charging and mobility tech space, was named OptiGrid CEO in April 2025. He previously led product and growth at FlexCharging, founded Halo Automotive, a Techstars-backed connected vehicle startup, and served as CEO of two other startups. With a background spanning hardware, software and energy services, and three successful exits, he brings deep technical and entrepreneurial experience to OptiGrid’s mission.

“Fleet electrification has outpaced infrastructure, creating a gap that legacy utilities and traditional charging solutions can’t fill fast enough,” Phillipi said. “The next era deserves more than promises; it demands performance. OptiGrid delivers a leap forward: rapid installs, high uptime, and true grid independence made here in the U.S.”

Built for the Realities of Fleet Electrification

OptiGrid chargers deliver ultra-fast EV charging anywhere without the need for costly utility or site upgrades. Each unit includes a 180 kWh battery that charges slowly from the grid or renewables, enabling rapid deployment. Fleet operators benefit from significantly reduced energy costs by avoiding peak demand charges and other energy services, all while maintaining full flexibility to charge when and where needed.

Benefits include:

• Fast deployment: Deployment in days/weeks instead of months/years by avoiding grid upgrades and extensive site construction projects.
• Minimal CapEx: Simple and fast installation minimizes upfront costs, and flexible financing structures can convert CapEx to OpEx.
• Low OpEx: Highly reliable system with minimal downtime controls energy costs by leveraging an integrated battery to avoid demand charges and peak energy rates.
• Flexibility: Deploy charging infrastructure incrementally as the fleet size increases and with the flexibility to relocate charging infrastructure easily if necessary.
• Real-World Proven: Both OptiGrid and Orange EV have hundreds of chargers already deployed. This new release is currently undergoing field validation through Orange EV’s fleet network.
• Vehicle Compatibility: Launching with support for CCS and NACS and backed by a team with combined decades of experience with EV charging to ensure interoperability.
• Smart Management: OptiGrid’s Asset Management Platform (AMP) provides charger station management and monitoring, including data insights available in the platform or via open APIs (OCPP) integrations.

“Our collaboration with Orange EV gives us the ideal proving ground to harden the new product before scaling broadly,” said Phillipi. “We’re deploying early production units through their network to refine performance, improve serviceability, and ensure our solution delivers real value in the field.”

OptiGrid | www.optigridllc.com

Orange EV | https://orangeev.com/

LuminX, an AI-driven company pioneering cutting edge inventory automation and visibility, announced the closure of its $5.5 million seed funding round. This initial funding will accelerate the development and deployment of its solutions for the logistics and warehousing industry. 

The seed round was supported by a multitude of investors, including 1Sharpe, GTMFund, 9Yards, Chingona Ventures, and the Bond Fund.

LuminX addresses critical inefficiencies in supply chain and warehouse management that lead to significant operational costs and errors. The company is at the forefront of solving these issues by developing and deploying its Vision Language Models (VLMs) directly onto low-cost mobile hardware within the warehouse – an approach that makes advanced AI accessible and practical for a wider range of operations.

LuminX systems uniquely integrate sophisticated visual understanding with powerful generative AI capabilities, enabling its cameras to 'see' and interpret complex, dynamic warehouse environments in real-time—recognizing products, varied labels, assessing package conditions, and tracking movement. These versatile devices can be deployed anywhere in the warehouse, including docks, conveyors, on forklifts, or as handheld units. LuminX’s system intelligently processes this visual information to automate intricate operational tasks, eliminate manual work, and provide actionable data for drastically reducing discrepancies and optimizing overall workflow.

LuminX is led by founder and CEO Alex Kaveh Senemar, a seasoned entrepreneur with a proven track record of building and scaling successful AI companies across several industries. He previously founded and led Voxel (voxelai.com), a pioneering AI company in warehouse safety and operations, and prior to that, founded Sherbit, which was successfully acquired by Huma (huma.com) in 2019. He is joined by co-founder & CTO Reza (Mamrez) Javanmardi, Ph.D. in Computer Science and former Head of AI Research at Voxel, whose career spans impactful R&D in machine learning and computer vision across startups and research institutions. 

The LuminX team brings a wealth of knowledge and deep expertise in AI, specifically in Vision Language Models, computer vision, and robotics, with many members having ties to leading research institutions like Carnegie Mellon University. The team's established track record and vision have garnered strong support. Significant participation in the funding round also came from previous investors in Voxel and customers, underscoring deep confidence in LuminX's advanced technological approach.

"This pivotal funding allows us to scale our next-generation AI models, transforming how warehouses operate," said Alex Kaveh Senemar. "Our edge based vision language models represent a massive step forward, acting as an intelligent core for warehouse operations. They deliver new levels of automation and insight, helping to turn previously opaque processes into transparent highly efficient systems."

LuminX is experiencing strong early traction, with many warehouses using the technology. One such early adopter is Vertical Cold Storage. Robert Bascom, COO of Vertical Cold Storage, commented on their experience: "LuminX's technology is set to revolutionize our warehouse productivity and operations. It's allowing us to automate critical tasks, significantly enhance quality, and reduce claims." He added, "In my entire career, I have yet to encounter a product that so effectively improves efficiency while simultaneously boosting quality and reliability."

Kat Collins of 1Sharpe Capital, a key investor, echoed this sentiment, stating, "Edge-deployed vision-language models are breaking the two toughest bottlenecks in logistics—labor scarcity and data blindness. By turning a low-cost camera into a perceptive co-worker that sees, understands, and acts in real time, LuminX is unlocking a step-change in operational intelligence and efficiency for every pallet, conveyer, and forklift."

The newly acquired funds will be strategically invested in advancing LuminX's core research and development in Vision Language Models for logistics, further optimizing them for edge deployment, expanding its specialized engineering talent, and scaling go-to-market activities.  

LuminX | luminxai.com