Northern Reliability Receives Funding to Expand into New Markets
Vermont Seed Capital Fund, LP leads funding to Vermont energy solutions company
Waitsfield, Vt. - Northern Reliability, Inc., an industry leader in providing ultra-reliable stand-alone power solutions for customers worldwide, announced today that it has closed new venture capital funding from Vermont angel investors and the Vermont Seed Capital Fund, LP.
“The Vermont Seed Capital Fund’s investment in Northern Reliability demonstrates the company’s potential as a major player in energy solutions and its potential to create good jobs in the Mad River Valley. The Vermont Seed Capital Fund is helping to solve a critical gap in financing for Vermont companies that might otherwise be forced to leave Vermont to grow,” said U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont).
Northern Reliability builds, installs and services energy systems that utilize solar technology to power a range of applications, from safety lighting on utility transmission towers to radio networks needing to span remote mountain tops to island communities reducing reliance on diesel generators.
“The demand for stand-alone power systems is growing. Our team is committed to solving the energy security needs for our various customers in the telecom, utility and government industries,” said Northern Reliability CEO Jeff Mack. “This first outside equity investment allows us to meet growing customer demands around the globe while creating local opportunities for well-paying jobs in the engineering, technology, sales and marketing fields in Vermont.”
Northern Reliability plans to utilize these funds to deliver energy security to disaster prone areas with its solar powered systems. When utility power goes down and diesel fuel is scarce, Northern Reliability’s power systems with battery storage generate and store electrical power for continuous use in order to run emergency lighting, security systems, key-card entry systems, elevators, refrigeration and various other critical loads.
A 2013 Pike Research Report on off-grid power stations predicts 38 percent compound annual growth for this sector in which Northern Reliability specializes.
The Vermont Seed Capital Fund, LP is a $5 million, revolving early stage capital fund managed by the non-profit Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies (VCET).
After experiencing 2012 revenue growth of over 200 percent, the company has 11 full-time staff, 11 part-time staff and contractors employed at the company today.