Akula Energy Ventures, LLC is an investment company focused on developing renewable energy projects around the world. Akula Energy Ventures invests in early-stage projects across the energy spectrum, including solar, battery energy storage and biogas. Akula Energy Ventures has targeted investments and partnerships in the United States and India.
About us
The mission of Akula Energy Ventures
The mission of Akula Energy Ventures is to invest in and form strategic partnerships with innovative renewable energy companies around the world.
- Today, the development of renewable energy technologies and companies is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Climate change initiatives, supportive global policies, volatile fossil fuel prices and technological innovations have all played a key role in enabling the rapid growth of today’s green energy industry.
- Akula Energy Ventures contributes to this rapid growth by investing in and forming strategic partnerships with renewable energy companies around the world. Since 2008, Akula Energy Ventures has used its expertise in the energy space to make early stage investments in the solar, energy storage and biogas sectors.
- Akula Energy Ventures has over 25 years of experience in the energy sector and was initially involved in the development of natural gas power plants and coal preparation plants in India. Akula Energy Ventures was founded in 1998 as the primary investor and developer for the first private sector coal preparation company in India. Since selling its stake in Spectrum Coal & Power Limited in India in 2008, Akula Energy Ventures has utilized its vast experience in the energy sector to form strategic partnerships with companies that are developing and implementing exciting and innovative renewable energy projects.
Our Team
Akula Energy Ventures professionals form an energetic and tight-knit team that utilizes their development and energy experience to form successful partnerships and make carefully researched investment decisions
Srikant Akula
Founder & Managing Partner
As a Managing Partner of Akula Energy Ventures (www.akulaenergy.com) , Mr. Akula brings deep finance, operational and project development experience from his work in the energy sector. As Vice President of Business Development at Spectrum Coal & Power Limited in India, Mr. Akula secured financing for company expansion, as well as arranging the final entity sale to private equity investor, Warburg Pincus, in 2008. Since this sale, Mr. Akula founded Akula Energy Ventures with a determination to re-focus his energy efforts on the growing renewables space and has successfully invested in and developed Akula Energy Ventures’ deals and projects in the biogas, solar and battery energy storage sectors. Most recently, Akula Energy Ventures developed and sold two 20 MW battery energy storage projects in the state of New Jersey that provide ancillary services to the power grid. Prior to founding Akula Energy Ventures, Mr. Akula was at General Electric Energy Financial Services, where he was part of a team that underwrote energy deals across the capital structure spectrum, including senior debt, preferred equity, and limited partnership equity. Prior to GE, Mr. Akula worked at Accenture and designed strategies and innovative solutions to complex technical and business challenges faced by Fortune-500 companies. Mr. Akula holds a B.S. in Finance from the NYU Stern School of Undergraduate Business.
Dr. AV Mohan Rao
Principal (and Founder & Managing Director of Spectrum Renewable Energy Limited)
As an advisor to Akula Energy Ventures, Dr. Rao brings industry expertise arising from over 30 years of experience in the international energy sector. In 1972, he joined GE Power Systems, a division of the General Electric Corporation and a leading global manufacturer of power equipment. During his 18 year career with General Electric, he was involved with various aspects of power generation, including engineering, design and the operation of power plants. In 1990, he joined Spectrum Technologies USA (STUSA) as the Vice President of Marketing and shortly thereafter led STUSA’s initiatives in India. Dr. Rao was responsible for developing Spectrum Power Generation Limited, a 208 MW gas based power plant in India. In 1995, he led the predecessor company of Spectrum Coal & Power Limited in obtaining equity, implementing US clean coal technology, securing partial funding from USAID, and negotiating an EPC and O&M contract. Dr. Rao is currently the founder and chairman of Spectrum Renewable Energy, a company that owns and operates 2 sugarcane waste (filtercake) to CNG projects in India. Dr. Rao holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Suma Reddy
Managing Partner
As a Managing Partner of Akula Energy Ventures, Ms. Reddy brings strong operational experience in emerging markets. Prior to joining Akula Energy Ventures, Ms. Reddy was a Manager at SKS Microfinance Pvt. Ltd. in Hyderabad, India, the fastest growing microfinance institution in the world, having provided over $950 million in loans to 4.5 million women clients. At SKS Microfinance, Ms. Reddy led the development and launch of the Ultra Poor Program, an initiative that targets populations too poor to qualify for traditional microfinance. In addition, Ms. Reddy headed the Communications team where she created the marketing and public relations program, and managed relationships with media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and CNN. Previously, Ms. Reddy worked in Mali as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer, where she analyzed community needs in a small village to fill gaps in business skills, youth development, computer skills training and HIV/AIDS education. Ms. Reddy has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Our Portfolio
Our Portfolio
Current Investments
Spectrum Renewable Energy
Akula Energy Ventures has invested in Spectrum Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd (www.srel.in), an India-based biogas company that develops innovative solutions for the biogas sector. Spectrum Renewable Energy currently owns and operates two biogas plant using sugar cane waste (filtercake or pressmud) in the states of Maharashtra and Haryana. The biogas is processed into compressed natural gas (Bio-CNG) and sold to local industrial customers as an LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) replacement. The digestate byproduct from the plant is processed into organic fertilizer and sold in the local commercial and agricultural markets.
Spectrum Coal & Power
Akula Energy Ventures was the initial investor and lead developer of Spectrum Coal & Power Limited in India. Spectrum Coal & Power owns and operates two coal preparation plants in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Akula Energy Ventures sold its ownership stake in Spectrum Coal & Power in late 2008 to its local partner in India and to its private equity investor Warburg Pincus.
Past Investments
Amergin Energy
Akula Energy Ventures invested in Amergin Energy (www.amerginenergy.com), a global company that develops projects that deploy integrated, grid-scale battery energy storage solutions. Akula Energy Ventures sold its stake in two 20MW (40MW) battery energy storage facilities in New Jersey that provide ancillary services to PJM in early 2018 to Viridity Energy Solutions (Now Ormat Technologies).
TA High Desert
Akula Energy Ventures sold its stake in the TA High Desert (Antelope) project, a 20MW power generation facility in the Tehachapi area in California, in late 2012. The project is currently operational and is producing environmentally friendly solar-based power as of April 2013. Akula Energy Ventures, along with Tuusso Energy (www.tuusso.com), were the initial co-investors and co-developers of the Antelope project.
Investment News
Akula Energy Ventures sold its stake in two 20MW (40MW) battery energy storage facilities in New Jersey in 2018 to Viridity Energy Solutions (Ormat Technologies).
Akula Energy Ventures sold its stake in the TA High Desert (Antelope) project, a 20MW solar power generation facility in the Tehachapi area in California, in 2012.
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