, it's taking place throughout Spring 2023. Participation is free! 

The New Climate is a multi-week decentralized online conference on ecological intelligence and inclusive tech for a life-centered economy.

, it's taking place throughout Spring 2023. Participation is free!

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We work with technologists, designers, and entrepreneurs who are creating a better future for people and the planet.

ForeFront Power, a leading developer and asset manager of commercial and industrial-scale (C&I) solar energy and battery storage projects, and HASI, a leading investor in climate solutions, have entered into a follow-on equity investment for a portfolio of distributed solar and solar-plus-storage projects located across California. 

The transaction, which reached financial close on March 30, 2023, builds upon an initial co-sponsor equity investment for a separate U.S. distributed solar portfolio that HASI made with ForeFront Power in 

“A second chapter of equity investment by HASI enables ForeFront Power to continue its leadership position in developing behind-the-meter solar and energy storage projects for the benefit of our customers,” said Michael Smith, CEO of ForeFront Power. “Solar is a mature technology that provides long-term returns to investors, while reducing electricity costs for customers and eliminating carbon emissions from the power grid.”

“We are excited to expand our relationship with ForeFront Power with this latest investment in a diversified C&I solar portfolio,” said Susan Nickey, Chief Client Officer of HASI. “ForeFront Power’s exceptional team has demonstrated their ability to deliver and operate high-quality solar and storage projects that meet pro forma expectations, and we look forward to continuing to support their growth.”

The portfolio comprises 48.5 MW-DC of commercial and industrial ground-mounted, carport, and rooftop solar, including several projects paired with battery storage totaling 3.7 MW. Approximately 36 MW of the distributed assets are mechanically complete and were funded at financial close, while the remaining projects will be funded upon completion through year-end.

Added Smith: “ForeFront Power will continue to steward customer relationships across the entire portfolio and provide its customers and co-sponsor with ongoing energy asset management services.”

ForeFront Power Nets Financing for New Solar-Plus-Storage

, a climate tech investor for more than a decade, today announced that 

 is part of its 11th cohort of investments.

Modulous is the Seattle and London-based construction technology company helping developers and construction firms build modular housing without capital intensive factories. Elemental selected Modulous as one of 17 industry-leading technology companies that are enabling system-wide decarbonization, supporting communities to become more climate resilient, and redesigning the built environment. Cohort 11 brings Elemental’s portfolio – one of the most robust climate tech portfolios in industry – to a total of 151 startups.

“Modulous believes the climate crisis is a catalyst for a fundamentally different approach to home-building and a future where everyone has access to safe, healthy, and sustainable homes,” said Janet Stephenson, U.S. Managing Director, Modulous. “We are thrilled to join Elemental, who provide valuable capital and talent to reinforce our mission, which is to create a sustainable home-building ecosystem with equity at the core.”

Elemental has made a direct investment in Modulous and will be an extension of the Modulous U.S. team. The combined team’s key initiatives will include physical assembly testing, a community partnership workforce program, and module construction to complete the company's first show home in the U.S.

“Today we welcome 17 teams working to redraw the big picture around our largest-emitting sectors and meaningfully collaborate with communities tackling climate change,” Elemental Founder & CEO Dawn Lippert said. “Entering our second decade of climate investing, we are betting on entrepreneurs tackling major sources of emissions -- like shipping, air conditioning, transportation and construction -- and working with every company to deploy successfully in local communities.”

Elemental’s investment model is distinct from conventional investment in that it has centered impact and communities from its inception. It was built to ensure that massive incentives for innovation translate into commercialization and community impact that benefit communities and tech builders alike. With 26 exits to date and an exit rate of 17%, Elemental has a proven track record demonstrating the scalability of this approach. Including Cohort 11, Elemental has now awarded more than $57M to its portfolio, and those companies have gone on to raise $7B in follow-on funding. Every dollar Elemental has invested has catalyzed more than $100 in follow-on investment across the portfolio.

Modulous Raises $10M, Joins Elemental Excelerator

ForeFront Power, the developer of commercial and industrial-scale (C&I) solar energy, battery storage and vehicle fleet electrification projects, has completed a 

 for Rivian at its state-of-the-art EV manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. 

The project’s completion was covered by clean energy trade press, including 

The solar canopy is equipped with Rivian EV chargers to make up the Rivian manufacturing plant’s outbound Solar Charging Yard.


“We’ve flipped the switch on the Solar Charging Yard in Normal. It uses our Rivian DC Fleet System to charge 72 vehicles at once. We’re also working to install a 2.8 megawatt wind turbine, which means soon, R1 vehicles will get their first charge entirely from on-site renewables.”


The project is expected to generate 1.04 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean, renewable electricity annually, and our estimates show it will avoid emitting approximately 800 tons of CO2 per year.


Rivian’s Solar Charging Yard came online in September 2022. Together with the forthcoming wind turbine on the east side of the manufacturing plant, the Solar Charging Yard will help power new R1 vehicles completely with clean energy for their first charge, before they are delivered to Rivian customers.


Rivian’s Solar Charging Yard project is a testament to the company’s climate and sustainability leadership, showing U.S. customers what a clean energy future looks like within the auto industry,” 

said Michael Smith, CEO of ForeFront Power

Rivian has signed the Climate Pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.

Rivian EV Fleet Gets First Charge from Solar Energy

 for Rivian at its state-of-the-art EV manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. 

Rivian EV Fleet Gets First Charge from Solar Energy 

Today the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey held a completion ceremony to celebrate the energization of a 1.34 megawatt (MW) solar array on the rooftop of LaGuardia Airport’s 3,000-car Terminal B Garage. As part of the broader plan to transform LaGuardia Airport, the Port Authority selected ForeFront Power, a leading North American developer of solar and energy storage solutions, to develop the solar project.

The Port Authority has committed to a goal of net-zero-emissions by 2050 and a 50% reduction of direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, becoming the first U.S. transportation agency to adopt the Biden administration’s climate goals. The agency is implementing renewable energy at its airports to reduce carbon emissions, meet infrastructure needs, and ensure long-term climate preparedness and sustainability for the region.

The Port Authority did not have access to its own capital to invest in a solar project of this size. To move forward, it needed a private partner with the ability to capitalize on tax incentives as well as the expertise to construct, operate, and maintain the solar project. Through a competitive bid process, the Port Authority selected ForeFront Power to develop the project.

ForeFront Power developed and installed the solar project through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), which enabled the Port Authority to complete its project at no upfront cost and without bond funds. ForeFront Power also ensured the project capitalized on all available tax incentives, complied with FAA glare policy, and met key interconnection requirements for installation and energization.

Under PPA terms, ForeFront Power developed, owns, and maintains the solar project and charges the Airport a fixed, below-market rate for electricity, which is locked in for 20 years. The Airport achieves a low, fixed rate for electricity plus budget certainty by avoiding utility rate increases for decades. ForeFront Power will continue to operate and maintain the system at no cost to the Airport. Along with guaranteed solar project performance, the Airport will save an estimated $17 million on electricity over 20 years, with over $400,000 in savings in Year One alone.

The Terminal B solar array is the Port Authority’s largest completed solar project to date. Terminal B requires a great deal of energy – up to 16 MW of energy per day. The solar project comprises over 3,500 solar modules that will reduce the Airport’s energy consumption by 5%. It will generate more than 1.7 million kilowatt-hours of solar energy annually and offset nearly 1,328 tons of CO2 emissions per year, which is equivalent to the CO2 emissions from 1.3 million pounds of coal burned.

The benefits of the Terminal B solar project extended beyond electricity cost savings and emissions reductions. Port Authority staff learned what to expect when reviewing solar project drawings, interconnection requirements, and PPAs. Following the completion of the Terminal B array, the Port Authority is now exploring innovative ways to incorporate both on-site solar and EV charging elsewhere at LaGuardia.

Christine Weydig, who left the Port Authority in mid-2022 but formerly served as the Director of Sustainability during the development of the Terminal B solar project, offered advice for other airports and agencies considering renewables: “There really are a lot of unique opportunities that are available to airports today. To the extent that these airports often are operated by public entities, it really is about bringing that private partner in that can help monetize some of the tax incentives and make the project pencil. That’s something that I think our learnings can be really beneficial toward as we work with our partners at other airports.”

As one piece of the Port Authority’s sustainability initiatives, including specific benchmarks for energy efficiency, water conservation, site selection, material selection, and waste reduction, the solar project contributes to the energy-efficient design and construction of the Terminal B redevelopment project. In 2021, LaGuardia’s Terminal B became the first airport project in the world to achieve LEED V4 Gold certification, and in 2019 it was awarded the first-ever Envision Platinum award for its industry-leading approach to sustainability and resilience.

The Terminal B solar project highlights the value of investing in transportation infrastructure – modernizing airports to better serve communities, reduce fossil fuel dependence, lower air pollution, and mitigate GHG emissions that cause climate change.

LGA Airport Solar Array Advances NY Net Zero Goals

U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

, have released a report detailing actionable pathways to developing net zero energy (NZE) housing without increasing costs, yet still reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Decarbonization During Predevelopment of Modular Building Solutions

, independently evaluates Blokable’s near-term roadmap for the advanced manufacturing and development of all-electric, NZE, multi-family housing. In the study, NREL compared Blokable’s prototype designs with its scaled up, full production engineering model. The study found that by 2030, compared to conventional housing construction methods, Blokable’s model for the manufacturing and development of NZE housing can decrease total lifecycle GHG emissions by 60%, reduce construction material waste by 91%, and avoid the release of 2.4 million tons of CO2 equivalent. Moreover, when Blokable adopts this model, it can achieve these metrics without any added manufacturing or development costs.

The NREL technical report emerged from Blokable’s participation in the IN² technology incubator and platform, which is funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by NREL. As a program participant, Blokable received $250,000 in non-dilutive funding and hands-on technical assistance for additional technology development and validation. Blokable then installed a single Blok module on NREL's Golden, Colorado, campus for performance testing and experiments by NREL.

“Working with Blokable gave us a different perspective on how building system innovation can be applied in a new way by using a different business model,” said NREL Senior Research Engineer Shanti Pless. “Blokable was selected for the IN2 program because of its mission to address housing affordability and energy efficiency simultaneously. Our research quantifies how much the building sector could benefit from the learning effects of advanced manufacturing, which yields compounding energy and material efficiencies without increasing costs.”

“In the U.S., there are only 36 rental homes available per 100 extremely low-income households, and these households also bear the brunt of climate and energy risks,” said Blokable Co-CEO Nelson del Rio. “This is why Blokable has spent five years developing a business model and building system that would address both housing affordability and energy efficiency. NREL helped us evolve our building design to exceed engineering best practices and building code performance metrics. Their research showed us that by adopting our model, we can manufacture NZE housing without adding new costs – thus scaling up a dramatically more efficient form of housing for society.”

“Construction costs will continue to rise faster than incomes into the foreseeable future. Unless we invest and innovate right now, the housing crisis will continue to worsen, the cost to governments will continue to grow, and people and the planet will suffer,” said Blokable Co-CEO Aaron Holm. “The development sector and supporting building industry have lagged behind other industries in achieving efficiency gains through technological innovation and standardization. The NREL report demonstrates that it is possible to leverage the learning effects of manufacturing to dramatically reduce both the economic and climate costs of housing creation. It means that Blokable can rapidly develop NZE housing that is substantially more energy efficient, at lower costs than conventional approaches.”

The Blokable Building System is designed and engineered for manufacturing and to consistently produce high-quality, low-cost, connected housing. Each volumetric “Blok” is a standard component that can be stacked and assembled in multiple configurations. Manufacturing 95% of the building in the factory significantly reduces per-unit build times and costs.

Blokable’s pilot project, called Blokable at Phoenix Rising, is an all-electric, permanent low-income housing community near Seattle, Washington that Blokable developed for 50% less than the regional cost per door. At the same time, this state-of-the-art housing development costs 60% less to heat and cool, which lowers lifetime operating costs as well as annual utility expenses for tenants. Each unit is quiet, all-electric, efficient, and ventilated with fresh air, using energy recovery ventilation to mitigate bacteria, molds, and other unhealthy air particles. Blokable at Phoenix Rising was developed and manufactured by Blokable to be a comfortable, safe, and healthy living environment that saves tenants money and offers them housing stability for years to come.

How to Slash GHG Emissions from Housing Development by 60%

How to Slash GHG Emissions from Housing by 60%

During the 2021 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) virtual ceremony, Blokable at Phoenix Rising was named the Gold Award winner in the Environments category. Each year, IDEA recognizes products and services that encourage, inspire, and push industry forward by honoring great design that brings real benefit to users, clients, and society.

Blokable at Phoenix Rising is an all-electric permanent housing community in Auburn, Washington, and the world’s first Vertically Integrated Modular (VIM) housing development, embodying new standards in aesthetics and quality for multi-family housing, where long-term durability, low maintenance and operating costs, zero energy-readiness, and indoor airPLUS are standard in every building.

“​​We’re extremely proud of Blokable at Phoenix Rising. It is an all-electric low-income housing community in Auburn, Wash. and the world’s first Vertically Integrated Modular housing development,” said Blokable Co-CEO Aaron Holm. “Design is at the core of everything we do as we believe that everyone has the right to love the place they live. As we continue to innovate, we can bring beautiful design and housing to more and more people at all levels of income.”

2021 marks the 41st anniversary of the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), one of the longest-running and most prestigious design awards programs in existence. Originally founded to recognize exceptional achievement in industrial design, the program has since grown to highlight design in many connected disciplines including design strategy, branding, digital interaction and so much more. Each year, thousands of entries are submitted by design teams across the globe, making IDEA one of the largest and most widely anticipated annual awards programs in the world. The 2021 proceedings were hosted by IDEA 2021 Jury Chair, Mary Beth Privitera, FIDSA and IDSA Board Chair, Jason Belaire, IDSA.

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