Avantus
Avantus, formerly known as 8minute Solar Energy, is an American photovoltaic developer of utility-scale PV power plants and energy storage. Founded in 2009 by Tom Buttgenbach and Martin Hermann, it was acquired by KKR fifteen years later.
History
In 2014, Kern County Board of Supervisors approved development of Redwood Solar Farm which received investment of $30 million by Macquarie Capital. In 2018, it had raised $200 million through a joint venture with J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Upper Bay Infrastructure Partners for its pipeline of utility-scale solar projects.A 25 year pact was signed with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in 2019.
In July 2019, the company sold its Holstein solar project to Duke Energy. The Holstein project was the company's first completed development in Texas, with approximately 709,000 solar panels on 1,300 acres in Wingate, Texas.
In early 2020, 8minute Solar Energy received investments from the University of California system, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Upper Bay Infrastructure Partners to fund development of solar projects. In 2022, the same year that the University of California filed a lawsuit against the firm, 8minute Solar Energy announced they had secured $400 million in financing from institutional investor EIG.
In March 2024, two years after being rebranded as Avantus, it was announced a majority stake in the company had been acquired by the US private equity company KKR for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was completed three months later.