DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Guzman Energy Group (“Guzman Energy”)—a full-service energy company whose services include providing wholesale power, energy trading and hedging services—announced today that it has secured $130 million in additional liquidity to continue to expand its efforts to deliver cheaper and greener energy to consumers in the West and beyond. Experienced energy investors Vision Ridge Partners and ZOMA Capital are providing the capital.
The energy landscape in the United States is rapidly evolving to a renewable, distributed future. Guzman Energy is playing a leading role in bringing this future forward in the bilateral markets of the West, while at the same time significantly lowering prices, particularly in rural communities.
“We are very pleased to have Vision Ridge Partners and ZOMA Capital join us as partners,” said Leo Guzman, Chairman and CEO of Guzman Energy. “Not only do their respective investments in the company represent a tremendous validation of our leadership position to bring about change, but their strategic insights, deep relationships and significant resources will play an important role in Guzman Energy reaching its full potential.”
In aggregate, both new investors will hold a minority interest in Guzman Energy, and representatives from Vision Ridge and ZOMA will join the Guzman Energy Board of Directors.
“We offer communities—empowered by their desire for a more sustainable and competitive energy future—a path to achieve their goals,” said Chris Riley, President of Guzman Energy. “We accomplish this via a focus on renewables, mixed when necessary with traditional fuel types; smart-grid tech; increased efficiencies; battery storage; and more, thereby leading the efforts to transition our energy economy into the renewable age. We want to pave the way toward a better future for generations to come—both on and off the energy grid.”
In February 2017, Guzman Energy shook up the energy status quo by announcing a partnership with Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) to enable the northern New Mexico counties of Taos, Colfax and Rio Arriba to achieve summer solar energy independence by 2022. In addition to generating renewable energy to cover 100 percent of the summer daytime load—saving 30,000 co-op members $50 million to $70 million in the next 10 years—Guzman Energy seeks to foster competitiveness and spur greater opportunity in the communities they serve.
“ZOMA Capital invests in a wide range of market-based sustainable solutions addressing environmental and social challenges, including energy, water and community development," said Melissa Cheong, Chief Investment Officer of ZOMA Capital. “Guzman Energy’s efforts to realign the energy economy—in unique bilateral markets in New Mexico, Colorado and beyond—aligns with our dedication to investing in a more efficient, responsive and modernized electric grid.”
“At Vision Ridge, we focus on opportunities that are good for the environment that we also believe can deliver strong financial returns,” said Reuben Munger, Managing Partner and Founder of Vision Ridge Partners. “And with Guzman Energy having been very vocal in sharing its long-term mission of making communities thrive and be more competitive, we see this as an excellent fit.”
About Guzman Energy
Guzman Energy is a wholesale energy company that supplies and trades power across North America. We are a new kind of power company—one that customizes energy solutions via trading expertise and sophisticated quantitative modeling. We enable customers—principally rural electric cooperatives and municipal power companies—to achieve lower rates and price-stability from renewable, sustainable energy. Headquartered in Coral Gables, Fla., and Denver, Colo., Guzman Energy has unique expertise in serving customers in the bilateral power markets of the Western United States and conducts its business through two practice areas: Energy & Environmental Trading and Energy Hedging & Risk Management. To learn more, visit www.GuzmanEnergy.com.
About ZOMA Capital
ZOMA Capital invests in a broad range of market-based sustainable solutions advancing energy, water and regional economic resiliency in Chile and Colorado. Its global investment portfolio spans multiple asset classes and sectors with an emphasis on addressing environmental and social challenges. To learn more, visit https://ZOMAlab.com/ZOMA-capital/.
About Vision Ridge
Vision Ridge Partners is a private equity firm, investing in sustainable real assets and asset-backed opportunities. Vision Ridge specializes in opportunities that generate strong financial returns in fundamentally impactful sectors, including renewable power, agriculture, water, waste-to-energy, transportation, energy efficiency and land. The firm was founded in 2008 and is based in Boulder, Colo., with an additional office in New York, New York.
