Distributed Sun has led an investment in trutility, a newly launched energy infrastructure platform designed to develop, own, and operate battery storage, community solar, distributed generation, and microgrids across both sides of the electric meter.
Distributed Sun is serving as anchor investor and is contributing a gigawatt-scale front-of-meter development portfolio and productized intellectual property alongside trucurrent, its behind-the-meter subsidiary.
trutility will own the contributed assets, customer relationships and operating system.
The platform is focused on providing faster access to power as rising electricity demand from AI, manufacturing, fleet electrification and other large loads puts increasing pressure on grid interconnection timelines.
trutility’s contributed portfolio includes GWh-scale battery storage, multi-state community solar and operating microgrids.
The company currently has 24 front-of-meter battery energy storage sites and expects that number to double this year.
Its distributed portfolio also spans 14 utility rate territories.
Distributed Sun said more than $1 billion of capital has been invested across its projects, portfolios and platforms.
trutility is being designed around AI-native infrastructure intended to automate functions spanning site evaluation, policy analysis, underwriting, cost, schedules and projected returns.
Distributed Sun said autonomous agents can reduce certain processes that previously took 30 days to hours.
The underlying operating strategy involves developing energy infrastructure and retaining assets through operation rather than automatically selling them after commercial operation begins.
Distributed Sun also highlighted an electric vehicle fleet-charging microgrid developed through one of PG&E’s early Flex Connect partnerships that was energized four months after groundbreaking, which the company said was two years faster than the conventional interconnection pathway.
A dedicated operating company will manage trutility’s portfolio through the economic life of the assets.
The company expects to announce strategic channel partners next quarter.
KEY QUOTES:
“The kilowatt-hour is the base currency of the U.S. economy. We make electrons liquid where and when they are needed so large-load customers can grow, the grid can perform, and the country can compete. Institutional and strategic capital has underwritten our projects, portfolios, and platforms on both sides of the meter for 16 years. trutility is where these assets appreciate and value compounds.”
Chase Weir, CEO Of Distributed Sun
“DSUN earned an average 9.2x MOIC on development assets since 2019 and a 14.3% average levered operating asset return to investors since formation. Delivering alpha is both the promise and the track record.”
Jeff Weiss, Executive Chair Of Distributed Sun
