Redball Energy secures equity commitment from Wollemi Capital to scale US distributed solar and storage
Redball Energy / Wollemi Capital
Redball Energy, a Washington, D.C. based owner and operator of distributed solar assets, today announced that growth investor Wollemi Capital and Australian superannuation fund Rest have acquired a majority stake in the company.
Redball owns and operates ~4,500 rooftop solar systems on homes and businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England area. Redball focuses on developing and operating solar assets that generate contracted and predictable revenue streams, while contributing to the expansion of local renewable energy infrastructure.
The company’s proprietary asset management platform and automated development and asset management processes allow it to scale more quickly, enabling Redball to double its portfolio each year since its founding in 2021.
The investment will support Redball’s next phase of growth. The company plans to expand its installer partner network, continue its selective expansion into markets across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and broaden its offering to include battery storage.
Redball CEO Zach Axelrod said the investment marked an important step for the company and its partners.
“We’ve built Redball by working closely with a select group of trusted local installers and being disciplined about where we operate. That approach has served us well, and I’m proud of the team and network we have already built. We’re excited now to be working with Wollemi, whose backing gives us the capital and long-term partnership to take it even further,” Mr Axelrod said.
John Marciano, who co-founded the Company alongside solar industry professionals Nick Giannotti and Jason Klapper, said: “We founded Redball to find overlooked opportunities in the energy transition and back the teams bringing clean energy projects to market at scale, while building a business our employees, customers and communities could be proud of. Zach and the team have done exactly that, and in Wollemi they’ve found a partner who shares that vision and will help them take Redball to the next level, as America’s need for affordable energy and resilient, distributed infrastructure continues to grow.”
Wollemi is a growth investor with specialist expertise in supporting asset-based businesses to build out to infrastructure scale. Rest, one of Australia’s largest profit-to-member superannuation funds, has invested in Redball through a Wollemi-managed co-investment vehicle.
The transaction, which extends Wollemi’s established distributed energy strategy to the US, builds on the recent announcement of Wollemi and Rest’s expanded ~US$240m (A$350m) commitment to MPower, a distributed solar and storage platform in Australia.
Wollemi Capital US Co-Head Natalie Volpe said Redball was a natural fit with Wollemi’s strategic focus on backing real asset portfolios that are proven, distributed and scalable.
“The Redball team has built an impressive business through a disciplined, partnership-led approach, and the opportunity for distributed energy in the US is significant as electricity demand rises. We're excited to partner with Redball and bring our experience backing distributed solar and storage platforms to the US market,” Ms Volpe said.
ENDS
About us:
About Redball Energy
Redball Energy is a developer, owner, financier and operator of distributed residential and commercial solar projects in the Mid-Atlantic and New England area. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the company focuses on developing and operating solar assets that generate contracted and predictable revenue streams while contributing to the expansion of local renewable energy infrastructure. Redball is committed to accelerating the deployment of distributed solar generation and supporting the transition to a lower-carbon energy system.
Learn more at www.redballenergy.com
About Wollemi Capital
Wollemi is a growth investor building real assets that become infrastructure. We aim to make investments at the scale-up stage between venture capital and core infrastructure, across three systems in transition to lower carbon: energy, materials and land. We invest for commercial returns, and we test for measurable impact. Our team of ~40 professionals across Australia, North America and Europe combines decades of infrastructure investment experience with operators who have scaled fast-growth businesses.
Learn more at www.wollemi.com
Contact details:
Wollemi Capital US
Natalie Volpe, Co-Head of US
+1 215 850 2867
Redball Energy
Zach Axelrod, CEO
+1 202 906 0403
Australian media
Bailey Broom
+61 488 280 796