Novel Energy Solutions

What Novel Energy Solutions does

Novel Energy Solutions LLC is a vertically-integrated solar energy developer and long-term asset owner headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota. Founded in 2012 by Cliff Kaehler alongside his parents Ralph and Mena Kaehler on the family's 130-year-old farm in Saint Charles, MN, the company (formerly Minnesota Community Solar) provides solar photovoltaic design, installation, financing, and operations & maintenance to residential, commercial, non-profit, government, and agricultural customers across more than ten US states. Its core offerings include On-Site Solar (rooftop, ground-mounted, and canopy installations), Community Solar Gardens (CSGs) — off-site arrays that generate utility bill credits for subscribers without requiring panels on their property — Energy Efficiency Services (LED conversion, building automation, HVAC), and a Land Lease program for landowners hosting CSG arrays; the Join Solar sub-brand operates a self-service enrollment platform for CSG subscribers.

The company differentiates on a vertically-integrated EPC model with in-house development, civil/electrical design, engineering, procurement, construction crews, financing, subscriber acquisition, and O&M, supplemented by a programmatic tax-equity partnership with REA that removes aggregation minimums typically required by the market. Novel finances 100% of project costs with no upfront payment to customers and earns revenue from three primary streams: (1) long-term ownership and energy sales/subscription bill credits from CSGs and on-site arrays, (2) land lease payments from host farmers and landowners (typically 25-year minimum), and (3) EPC professional services revenue in joint projects with developer partners such as EDF Renewables. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales for institutional and government clients, utility-channel partnerships (notably Xcel Energy in Minnesota since 2017 and Versant Power in Maine from 2021) that gate CSG subscriber pools to utility account holders, and the self-serve Join Solar platform for residential and SMB subscribers.

The business has scaled to 200+ MW of completed solar projects (36.8 MW installed in 2021 alone), 251-500 employees, #1 ranking in Minnesota and #11 nationally on Solar Power World's 2022 Top Solar Contractors list, and closed a $130 million growth-equity round led by Catalina Energy Capital in December 2024.

Name

Novel Energy Solutions

Legal name

Novel Energy Solutions LLC

Website

https://novelenergy.biz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Novel Energy Solutions is a vertically-integrated solar EPC and long-term asset owner based in Minnesota, designing, installing, and operating on-site solar arrays, community solar gardens, and energy efficiency solutions for residential, commercial, government, non-profit, and agricultural customers across more than ten US states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Solar Energy Services

NAICS

Solar Electric Power Generation (221114), Electric Power Generation (22111)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar EPC & Construction (Utility-Scale, Rooftop, Balance of System) (EUAMABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Asset Management & Owner’s Engineering (Lifecycle Strategy, Budgeting, Technical Due Diligence) (EUAMAGAJ), Renewable Distributed Generation (Rooftop/Onsite Solar, Small Wind, Small Hydro) (EUACALAJ)

Keywords

• Solar installation services
• Community solar gardens
• Solar EPC contractor
• On-site solar systems
• Renewable energy projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Community Solar Garden Subscriptions: Monthly subscription fees from customers subscribing to community solar gardens. Customers pay a portion of their bill credits to NES for building, maintaining, and monitoring the CSG. Revenue is recurring based on electricity generation credits.
2. On-Site Solar Installation and Ownership: NES designs, installs, maintains, and owns solar arrays on customer properties. Customers receive power at negotiated rates and can sell excess to utilities. Revenue comes from energy production and sales to customers and utilities.
3. Land Lease Agreements: NES leases or buys suitable land from landowners to build community solar gardens. Landowners receive guaranteed income for at least 25 years while also benefiting as subscribers to the CSG.
4. EPC Services for Partners: Engineering, procurement, and construction services provided in partnership with other developers like EDF Renewables. NES provides project management, electrical and civil crews for joint EPC functions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Novel Energy Solutions is a vertically-integrated solar EPC contractor and long-term solar asset owner that designs, finances, installs, owns, and maintains solar energy systems. Core offerings include on-site solar installations (rooftop, ground-mounted, or canopy) and community solar garden (CSG) subscriptions through which customers receive bill credits from partnering utilities such as Xcel Energy and Versant Power. The company also provides energy efficiency upgrades and leases land from farmers and landowners for renewable energy development.

Product overview

Novel Energy Solutions is a vertically-integrated solar EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) and long-term owner offering multiple interconnected solar energy products and services. The core offerings include On-Site Solar installations (rooftop, ground-mounted, or canopy solar arrays) and Community Solar Garden (CSG) subscriptions, both enabling customers to access solar energy without upfront costs. Supporting products include Energy Efficiency Services (LED conversion, building automation, HVAC improvements) and Lease Property services for landowners. The Join Solar sub-brand provides membership management for CSG subscribers. The company handles financing, design, installation, maintenance, and ongoing operations across the entire product portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Join Solar: A membership program for community solar gardens offering flexible terms and approximately 10-15% savings on energy costs.

Products and services

• On-Site Solar
• Community Solar Garden (CSG)
• Energy Efficiency Services
• Lease Property for Solar Development
• Join Solar Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• 10-15% reduction in electricity costs for community solar subscribers
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Versant PowermajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 29 June 2021Versant Power's Maine Public District partnership for community solar garden program covering most of Aroostook County and portions of Penobscot County. Businesses and organizations served by Versant Power are eligible to sign up for community solar gardens.
• EDF RenewablescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2021EDF Renewables partnered with Novel Energy to jointly perform EPC functions and installation on 10MW solar projects for Connexus Energy. EDF completed the development stage, then partnered with Novel for project management and electrical/civil installation. Novel and their tax equity partner REA now own the projects long-term.
• Connexus EnergymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 June 2021Connexus Energy, Minnesota's largest electric cooperative serving over 138,000 members, partnered with Novel for 10MW solar projects in Stanford Township and Baldwin Township. Projects doubled Connexus's solar generation and incorporate highest technologies.
• Xcel EnergycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 October 2017Partnership with Xcel Energy for community solar garden program. Customers must be Xcel Energy account holders to subscribe to community solar gardens. Xcel provides bill credits to subscribers for electricity generated by their portion of the CSG.
• Northfield Area Community SolarminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 October 2017Community partner helping raise awareness and provide education about solar energy for the Northfield Community Solar Garden project.
• Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association (MnSEIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNovel is a long-time member of MnSEIA. CEO Cliff Kaehler serves on the MnSEIA Board. Novel worked with MnSEIA (where David Shaffer formerly served as Executive Director) to achieve important policy wins for solar in Minnesota.
• Illinois Shines ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIllinois state incentive program encouraging solar installations. Novel received an Illinois Shines award to install the Belle Valley School solar project.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pivot Energy: Pivot Energy is a national community solar developer and EPC focused on subscription-based CSG programs across multiple states. It is one of the closest direct competitors to NES's community solar garden model.
• SunShare: SunShare is a community solar specialist offering subscription-based solar garden access to residential and commercial customers, directly overlapping with NES's Join Solar offering and customer segments.
• Nautilus Solar Energy: Nautilus Solar is a community solar developer and owner/operator with utility partnerships across multiple states. It mirrors NES's vertically-integrated CSG development, ownership, and subscription model.
• Forefront Power: Forefront Power develops, owns, and operates community solar, school solar, and distributed generation projects nationwide, directly competing with NES in the on-site and CSG commercial/government segments.
• Borrego Solar: Borrego Solar is a vertically-integrated solar EPC and developer focused on commercial, industrial, and community solar projects, with comparable customer segments (agriculture, education, municipalities) to NES.
• BlueWave Solar: BlueWave Solar develops community solar and commercial/industrial solar projects primarily in the Northeast and Midwest, with overlapping utility and developer partnerships similar to NES.

Emerging players

• Catalyze: Catalyze is a distributed energy and solar developer focused on behind-the-meter and community solar for commercial, multifamily, and industrial customers, intersecting with NES's on-site and CSG portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Sunrun: Sunrun is the largest U.S. residential solar installer with nationwide operations. While NES's residential focus is community solar gardens, Sunrun represents the broad incumbent against which NES competes for homeowner customers and policy attention.
• EDF Renewables: EDF Renewables is a global utility-scale and distributed solar developer. EDF is both a NES EPC partner (Connexus projects) and a broad incumbent competing for utility-scale and CSG development opportunities in the same regions.
• Tesla Energy: Tesla Energy offers residential and commercial solar, solar roofs, and energy storage across the U.S. Its broad portfolio and national brand compete with NES for on-site commercial and residential solar customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/novelenergy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Novel Energy Solutions