Despite rapid growth, the market is still so nascent that the prospective customer population is still largely unaware of the opportunity community solar provides.
Customer-Centric Energy Products to build the Solutions needed to Fight Climate Change
Q&A with Curtis Snyder, GM, Arc Enterprise Platform | Arcadia
Tell us about Arcadia and what is the Company’s mission?
Arcadia is a climate technology software company enabling the zero-carbon economy. By democratizing access to high-fidelity, global energy data, Arcadia’s Arc platform combines the easy-to-use data and APIs to allow any company, in any industry, to act on their environmental impact and build the next generation of energy products and climate tech solutions.
We are here to stop climate change by breaking the fossil fuel monopoly. What does that mean?
- Accelerating innovation through the democratization of energy data
- Enabling the zero-carbon economy
- Empowering energy builders, drivers and innovators with game-changing tools and APIs
What products does Arcadia bring to market to help fight climate change?
Arc is a technology platform that transcends the energy industry by serving all businesses and going beyond single-point/product solutions focused on narrow use-cases or industries (what most of our competitors have). We have built a single source of truth platform that can go across industry verticals and use-cases. Arc does that with a number of APIs and product features. Our Connect integration is at the core of Arc and uses utility data to power an industry-leading suite of products.
- Plug: account-level statement and interval data and unlock a host of optimization opportunities.
- Spark: rate and energy analytics to unlock savings, automation, and engagement opportunities (industries number of rate tariff database).
- Bundle: multiple energy provider charges into a single, branded statement and seamlessly payments.
- Source: Connecting products and services to renewable energy through Arcadia-enabled connections (coming in the future).
Why do you feel Data is the key to clean energy and decarbonization?
Access to utility data is the key to decarbonization. WIth access to accurate utility data companies are able to accurately monitor, report and act on their carbon impact. To create impactful new clean energy products and services, and to accurately manage and report ESG, businesses need access to comprehensive residential and commercial utility data Arc provides.
How many companies are using Arc to fight climate change?
Arc has global access to more than 9500 utility providers in 52 countries and more than 95% of commercial and household utility accounts in the US.
Arc has more than 200 customers currently developing using its Arc software and APIs in various forms to deliver better energy experiences to their customers and decarbonize the grid, including Ford, EnelX, Aurora Solar, and STEM. In service of those customers, Arc captures utility data across 30% of the Fortune 500.
What industries does Arcadia compete in?
We operate in arguably the most important secular trend in the economy - decarbonization - and going after what we believe to be the biggest software opportunity within it.
Share with us an example of a company utilizing Arcadia products to improve its service.
An E.V. manufacturer is leveraging Arc to eliminate one of the biggest obstacles to E.V. ownership: a confusing charging experience and leaving customers overpaying. To illustrate, the average E.V. owner in California overspends on charging by about $4,300 over 5 years. Arc allows the manufacturer to seamlessly offer smart charging for their customers so they can charge when the grid is cheapest and cleanest, providing them with significant savings and a lower carbon footprint.
Additional case studies:
- Ford - How Ford Helps Its EV Drivers Avoid Peak Prices When Charging at Home
- Aspen Power Partners: Driving Stable Growth and Solar Customer Satisfaction for Aspen Power Partners
- Stem: How Stem Uses Arc’s Tools to Improve Staff time Usage by 10X
Where do the acquisitions of Genabilty and Urjanet fit into the Arc platform?
By acquiring Urjanet, Arcadia becomes the single largest aggregator of utility data in the world, more than 95% of residential and commercial coverage in the US, and globally across over 9,500 utilities including electric, gas, water, and waste, in 52 countries. The combination of Arcadia and Urjanet will provide Arc clients access to 95% of US utility data. This covers 137M households and 19 million businesses comprising over $300B in annual electricity spend - over 1% of US annual GDP.
With Arcadia’s acquisition of Genability in late 2021, we now have access to the world’s most comprehensive utility price database, which allows us to dive deep into the energy experience of EV owners. To evaluate how much EV owners can save by charging their cars at home rather than filling them up at the gas pump, we used Genability’s tariff database and electricity cost APIs to calculate how much it would cost to charge an EV in 15 major metropolitan areas across the country.
What do you envision in the future for Community Solar, how does it compete with big utility?
Community solar enables anyone looking to save money and support clean energy that is affordable and doesn’t require anything more than connecting their utility account. We expect the market to grow rapidly and overtake rooftop solar in the future.
Community solar allows anyone to directly support a new solar project in their community and get cheaper, cleaner energy at home. Instead of installing panels on your roof, you subscribe to a solar farm in your area for free. As the solar farm generates energy, you earn savings on your power bill and more clean energy is added to your local community. Despite rapid growth, the market is still so nascent that the prospective customer population is still largely unaware of the opportunity community solar provides.
Community Solar and big utility will work hand in hand. Amid calls for greater resiliency and energy security, both utilities and customers alike are looking toward electrification and other innovations that will improve the energy experience, making data innovation even more important. We will provide more access to community solar to those that need it most with more education and the advancement of clean energy policies at the federal, state and local levels.
About Curtis Snyder
Curtis Snyder the General Manager of Arcadia’s Arc platform, leading business development, sales, and client success for the company’s software technology business.
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AltEnergyMag
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