What Onward Energy does

Onward Energy is a private U.S. independent power producer (IPP) that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of utility-scale wind, solar, and natural gas-fired generation assets. Formed in 2021 through the merger of Novatus Energy and Southwest Generation, the company controls more than 6.7 GW of operating capacity across 56 projects in 22 states following the January 2025 closing of the Griffith Power Plant acquisition. Core generation products consist of utility-scale wind and solar PV assets, supplemented by natural gas combined-cycle facilities that provide firming capability for intermittent renewables. Operations are supported by a centralized Remote Operations Center and a Performance Engineering group for asset-level optimization.

The company monetizes its generation assets primarily through wholesale electricity and capacity sales to utilities and load-serving entities under long-term bilateral offtake agreements, with the balance earned in organized U.S. wholesale markets such as PJM Interconnection and Western markets. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales: transactions are negotiated directly with utility counterparties and frequently require regulatory approvals. Pricing is confidential and negotiated per-asset and per-customer, with revenue comprising a mix of capacity payments and energy market revenues. Onward is also evaluating energy storage, hydrogen, and carbon capture and sequestration as potential additions to its product surface.

Onward is privately held with no public financial disclosures; ownership includes J.P. Morgan's Infrastructure Investments Group at the board level, and the company describes itself as "owned by millions of working families." The company is led by President and CEO Steve Berberich (appointed January 2024, former President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator), with a board combining institutional capital and operating expertise from Atlantic Power, NRG, Dynegy, Con Edison, and Google Cloud. Recent strategic activity has centered on active portfolio reshaping — the 600 MW Griffith acquisition (closed January 2025) and the 250 MW Brandywine Power divestiture (closed May 2026) — while headcount has remained in the 101–250 range, consistent with an asset-heavy but leanly-staffed IPP operating model.

Name

Onward Energy

Legal name

Onward Energy

Website

https://onwardenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Onward Energy is a private independent power producer operating 6.7+ GW of wind, solar, and natural gas generation across 22 U.S. states, selling electricity and capacity to utilities and load-serving entities under long-term offtake agreements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Power Generation

NAICS

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Electric Power Generation (22111), Wind Electric Power Generation (221115), Solar Electric Power Generation (221114), Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation (221112)

SIC

Electric Services (4911), Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991)

akta.pro primary industry

Utility-Scale Power Generation Asset Management (EUAEAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Solar Project Development & IPP (Utility-Scale & Rooftop) (EUAMABAA), Development-Stage M&A & Portfolio Acquisition (Early-Stage/Ready-to-Build) (EUAMAAAF)

Keywords

• Independent power generation
• Wind power generation
• Solar power generation
• Natural gas generation
• Wholesale electricity sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Electricity and Capacity Sales: Onward Energy generates revenue by owning and operating power generation assets (wind, solar, and gas) and selling electricity and capacity into wholesale markets and under long-term offtake agreements to utilities and load-serving entities. Revenue is a mix of capacity payments and energy market revenues.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Onward Energy is an independent power producer (IPP) that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of utility-scale wind, solar, and natural gas-fired power generation assets totaling over 6.7 GW across 22 U.S. states. The company sells electricity and capacity to utilities and load-serving entities through long-term offtake agreements and participation in organized wholesale power markets.

Product overview

Onward Energy is an independent power generator operating a diversified portfolio of solar, wind, and natural gas generation assets. The company manages 56 projects with over 6.7 GW of installed capacity across 22 states in the United States. The portfolio includes utility-scale solar and wind renewable projects alongside reliable natural gas-fired combined-cycle facilities that provide firming capabilities for intermittent renewables. Core generation products are supported by operational services including a Remote Operations Center and Performance Engineering division. Recent additions include the Griffith Power Plant (600 MW combined cycle + 2 MW solar facility in Arizona), acquired from ArcLight Capital Partners in January 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Solar Generation Projects

Quantifiable outcome

• 6.2 GW portfolio across 55 projects in 21 states, expanding to 6.7 GW post-Griffith acquisition

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• AlphaGen: Private independent power producer described as the largest private IPP in the U.S. following the May 2026 Brandywine acquisition from Onward Energy. Directly comparable diversified generation platform with similar utility off-take model and M&A-driven growth.
• Vistra Corp: Publicly traded diversified IPP with ~41 GW of generation across nuclear, gas, coal, solar, and battery storage. Directly comparable business model of selling wholesale power and capacity into U.S. competitive markets (PJM, ERCOT), with a similar renewable-plus-firming positioning.
• NRG Energy: Large U.S. IPP and retail electricity provider operating generation and serving end customers. Comparable in wholesale power and capacity sales into competitive markets and shares the diversified-generation-plus-renewables strategy.
• Constellation Energy: Largest U.S. generator with ~32 GW of mostly carbon-free capacity (nuclear, hydro, wind, solar). Comparable wholesale electricity and capacity sales into PJM and other organized markets; similar utility off-take structure.
• NextEra Energy Resources: World's largest wind and solar generator and a subsidiary of NextEra Energy. Directly comparable diversified renewables IPP with long-term PPAs to utilities; operates at materially greater scale than Onward.
• Atlantic Power: Independent power producer operating a portfolio of contracted power generation assets across the U.S. and Canada. Closely comparable diversified, contracted IPP model; Onward CFO Pat Welch previously served as Atlantic Power CFO.
• Invenergy: Privately held U.S. developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale wind, solar, storage, and natural gas generation. Comparable in operating model, geographic scope (U.S. focus), and customer base (utilities via long-term PPAs).
• Cogentrix Energy: Private power generator and operator with a long-standing U.S. portfolio of thermal and renewable assets. Multiple Onward executives (Diana Danielyan, Jeffrey Spurgeon, Amit Mahajan) came from Cogentrix, reflecting the highly comparable IPP operating model.
• Caithness Energy: Private U.S. IPP focused on natural gas and renewable generation with long-term offtake agreements. Directly comparable IPP business model; Onward VP of Capital Markets Adam Heath previously worked at Caithness.

Broad incumbents

• ENGIE North America: Subsidiary of global utility ENGIE operating a large U.S. portfolio of renewables and flexible generation. Comparable in scale and customer base, but as part of a much larger global parent with broader portfolio (regulated utilities, retail, services).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Onward Energy