Here is today’s sustainable IT services news, research and analysis -- written for technology partners, green IT service providers, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. SunPower Bankruptcy, SEC Investigation: SunPower has filed for bankruptcy and plans to sell certain assets, the solar technology and energy service provider said. Complete Solaria has emerged as a Stalking Horse Buyer for certain SunPower assets -- including its Blue Raven Solar, New Homes, and its Non-Installing Dealer Network. The Stalking Horse Buyer designation includes a proposed purchase price -- in this case, $45 million -- and it leaves the door open for potential competing bids. The bankruptcy surfaces roughly one month after SunPower revealed an SEC investigation, and disclosed that Ernst & Young had resigned as the company's independent accountant.
2. Carbon Credit Concerns: Â Around one-third of existing carbon credits have failed to meet criteria for a new standard that aims to serve as the global benchmark for the voluntary carbon market, according to the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), Reuters reported.
3. Non-Compliance: LVMH's second-largest fashion brand Dior was until July 2024 behind on disclosures required by UK law about working conditions in its supply chain, and made outdated statements on its website of a third-party certification that it terminated more than a year ago, Reuters has found.
4. Climate Solutions - More Affordable? There was a time when there was no technical or affordable way to reduce emissions from steel or aviation, but those arguments aren’t holding up as well, Bloomberg reported.
5. OpenAI Departures?: OpenAI President Greg Brockman is taking an extended leave of absence, while co-founder John Schulman is departing to Anthropic, The Information reported. Brockman and Schulman are two of OpenAI’s 11 cofounders, the report noted.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Venture Capital: Breakthrough Energy Ventures, backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has raised $839.4 million for its third fund.
2. Funding - AI Startup: --Groq, a potential Nvidia rival, has raised $640 million in Series D funding at a $2.8 billion valuation. BlackRock Private Equity Partners led the round, with participation from Neuberger Berman, Type One Ventures, Cisco Systems, Global Brain's KDDI Open Innovation Fund III, and Samsung Catalyst Fund.Â
3. Financing - EV Charging Network: Allego has received a €20 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Allego will leverage the loan to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure inside Poland.
4. M&A - Energy:  Generac Power Systems has acquired Ageto, a provider of microgrid controllers and energy management system software. Ageto's technology can manage distributed conventional resources, renewable energy resources and electric vehicle (EV) chargers in the commercial & industrial (C&I) market. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
5. M&A - Energy Systems: Quantum Capital Group will acquire Cogentrix Energy from Carlyle for roughly $3 billion. Cogentrix's main business involves natural gas-fired power plants. Quantum Capital Group expects to "meaningfully grow the Cogentrix platform, with a focus on gas-fired power generation, renewables, and battery storage," the buyer said.
6. Complete M&A List: Here's our database of all M&A deals involving green IT and renewable energy buyers, sellers and investors.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. United States - Energy Policies: Republican politicians in places that have reaped clean energy investment from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act say they’d warn against changes that could jeopardize the act, Bloomberg reported.Â
2. United Kingdom - EU Issue: The UK risks missing out on as much as £8 billion ($10.2 billion) of revenue over the next five years if it stays outside the European Union’s carbon market, Bloomberg reported.
3. European Union - Milestone: The cost of emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is set to decouple from gas prices in the European Union, Bloomberg reported, marking an historic shift in the dynamic between the two markets, according to Goldman Sachs.
4. New Zealand - Climate Policy: New Zealand's green credentials are at risk as the government rolls back environmental reforms in a bid to boost a flailing economy and fulfill promises made to its voters, Reuters reported.
5. South Africa - Energy Policy: South Africa’s plan to build new renewable power capacity is at risk after the regulator rejected a bid by generators to access the electricity grid, an industry association said.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- XeroCon Nashville 2024Â (August 14-15, Nashville, Tennessee)
- World ESG Summit Dubai (August 20-21, Dubai, UAE)
- Tennessee Sustainability Conference 2024Â (Gatlinburg, Tennessee, August 20-23)
- VMware Explore 2024Â (August 26-29, Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
- Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainability, green IT and renewable energy news for technology partners.
- Future Updates: If you have news to share then please email me the details.
