The Venture Codex

Participated · Series B · Aug 2020

Palmetto is a technology-enabled clean energy platform that manages the end-to-end residential solar process, handling sales, design, engineering, permitting and fulfillment. Its platform uses automated workflows, predictive algorithms, and local intelligence data to reduce soft costs and accelerate installations. The company is expanding its software and technology offerings to help individuals, small businesses, and large corporations access and grow in the clean energy economy and recently released features to improve installation timelines and consumer adoption. Palmetto runs programs such as Get-Solar, Give-Solar, and describes itself as a triple bottom line, fully distributed organization. The company positions its platform to enable established consumer brands to expand into clean energy and drive decarbonization at scale. Palmetto announced a $150 million investment from TPG Rise Climate to support growth and product development. Palmetto operates a clean energy marketplace and tech services platform that simplifies residential solar for homeowners by sourcing installers and managing transactions through proprietary software. Its platform coordinates survey, design, engineering, financing, permitting, maintenance, and active system monitoring. The company uses a third-party network of trained sales specialists and certified technicians to handle customer acquisition and installation, reducing the operating expenses of a vertically integrated provider. Palmetto plans to use new capital to grow its marketplace of independent contractors and to invest in technology, people, and resources. Management says these investments are intended to maintain and over time improve operating efficiencies and expand the company’s addressable market. The company is led by CEO Chris Kemper and is based in Charleston, SC. Palmetto is a Charleston, S.C.-based clean technology software and fulfillment platform that builds and deploys simplified software systems to help consumers understand their energy spend. Led by founder and CEO Chris Kemper, the company combines software, fulfillment and services. The company intends to grow its product lines and expand into a wider range of services. It plans to expand the team with emphasis on R&D, software and data science. Palmetto will also build out its customer services. In May 2020 the company completed a $29M Series B financing backed by multiple strategic and venture investors. Palmetto operates a clean-technology software and fulfillment platform that helps deploy residential solar, storage, energy efficiency, and in-home IoT products. Its core software product, Alchemy, enables solar sales partners to generate custom proposals in less than 30 minutes and brokers access to financing, policy insights, installation services, and fulfillment. Since its founding in 2009 the firm has structured, financed, and developed clean energy projects across four continents and 22 countries, though it now focuses solely on the residential sector in North America. Palmetto says installation of products sourced through its platform can reduce homeowners' electric bills and carbon footprints. The company is based in Charleston, South Carolina, with offices including Charlotte, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City. Palmetto recently raised $6 million to broaden the reach of Alchemy and scale distribution through a large network of solar dealers.