8minutenergy, JP Morgan & Upper Bay enter into JV for over US$200 million in equity capital

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Tom Buttgenbach, who co-founded 8minutenergy in 2009, led a management buyout of the shares of fellow co-founder Martin Hermann last week.

8minutenergy Renewables, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and an affiliate of Upper Bay Infrastructure Partners have entered into a joint venture that will provide equity capital for 8minutenergy’s 10.7GW portfolio of utility PV and storage projects.

This joint venture, along with investment from 8minutenergy CEO, Tom Buttgenbach, provides over US$200 million in capital commitments.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

8minutenergy is wholly owned by Buttgenbach and his management team as of 6 December 2018. Buttgenbach, who co-founded 8minutenergy in 2009, led a management buyout of the shares of fellow co-founder Martin Hermann last week.

Buttgenbach noted: “We thank J.P. Morgan and Upper Bay for bringing the long-term focus and financial resources to enable us to unleash the full potential of our pipeline and incredibly talented team.

“We have been the largest and most successful solar developer in California, and have expanded our cost leadership across the US, developing a solar and storage project pipeline of 10.7GW. A testament to our low-cost leadership is the 420MW Eagle Shadow Mountain Solar plant in Nevada, which at 2.3 cents/kWh fixed for 25 years, holds the record for lowest-price solar PPA in the nation. In Texas, which is a purely price-driven competitive market, we will start construction of our 280MW Holstein 1 power plant in the second quarter of 2019.”

Michael Lehman, managing director and portfolio manager of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said: “We’ve been very impressed with the 8minutenergy team and their ability to deliver sustainable returns through their utility-scale solar projects. 8minutenergy has a premier development process that consistently delivers attractive solar projects with long-term, contracted cash flows.”

8minutenergy also announced that Alex O’Cinneide, founder and CEO of Gore Street Capital, will rejoin the Company’s advisory board.

O’Cinneide said: “I am excited to rejoin the advisory board of the company as it continues its extraordinary growth path. I look forward to leveraging the experience of financing utility-scale energy storage projects for the company, gained through running the first publicly traded fund established to invest in diversified utility-scale energy storage projects.”

13 October 2026
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 13-14 October 2026 is our fourth PV CellTech conference dedicated to solar manufacturing in the USA. From polysilicon, wafers, ingots, cells and modules, to critical component suppliers including glass and frames, the event connects every stage of the value chain under one roof. PV CellTech USA also brings together investors, innovators, manufacturers and industry stakeholders to collaborate and strengthen domestic solar manufacturing across the United States.

Read Next

July 17, 2026
US solar developer Sol Systems has reached financial close on its 123MWac Peoria Solar Portfolio in Illinois.
July 17, 2026
US solar PV mounting systems manufacturer Unirac has acquired the solar racking business of Terrasmart from its parent company Gibraltar Industries, expanding its product portfolio into the commercial and industrial (C&I) and distributed generation (DG) segments.
July 17, 2026
Array Technologies has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire wire management, cable protection and balance of system specialist Affordable Wire Management.
July 16, 2026
US utilities NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have formally submitted applications to state and federal governments to merge their companies, creating the largest regulated power utility in the world.
Premium
July 16, 2026
Jim Wood, SEG Solar's CEO, explains the company's US manufacturing roadmap and why it chose heterojunction technology for its new facilities.
July 16, 2026
In the second of a two-part post, Moustafa Ramadan, head of PV Tech Research, explores the increasingly complex risks associated with solar cell procurement in the US.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 13, 2026
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
November 3, 2026
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
November 24, 2026
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
April 20, 2027
Istanbul, Türkiye