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

September 16, 2026
Over 90% of solar industry professionals report a growing project deployment pipeline in 2026, but new projects that are abandoned before completion now account for almost half of all project pipelines.
September 16, 2026
Thin-film cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar module manufacturer First Solar has adjusted its enforcement of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) intellectual property (IP) strategy.
September 15, 2026
Two community solar platforms in the US have closed over US$370 million of financing to fund 200MW of new projects in New York and Illinois.
Premium
September 15, 2026
DYCM’s co-founder Sriram Das talks about US solar manufacturing, domestic supply chains and navigating shifting policy.
Premium
September 15, 2026
Solar project developers ought to move away from a 'throwing spaghetti at the wall' approach, says Glint Solar's Simen Fure Jørgensen.
September 15, 2026
Researchers from Georgia Tech have developed TOPCon solar cells that use copper paste with a maximum conversion efficiency of 24.3%.

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
February 2, 2027
London, UK