Urban Energy

What Urban Energy does

Urban Energy is a Brooklyn-based community solar and building electrification developer founded in 2017 by CEO Russell Wilcox and COO Laetitia Mignardot. The company targets New York City's pre-war multifamily buildings — particularly those with large, flat roofs — and offers property owners a zero-investment 25-year roof lease model under New York's Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) program. Under this model, Urban Energy handles design, permitting, financing, installation, and long-term operation of rooftop solar, paying building owners annual roof lease fees plus electricity credits, with no power-purchase obligation. Tenants in subscribed buildings receive discounted electricity without long-term contracts.

The company's core technology stack centers on community solar development, distributed energy resource (DER) aggregation, and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) integration that allows aggregated DERs to participate in NY wholesale electric markets. All solar installations are designed as storage-ready and intended for future retrofit with Yotta Solar Leaf batteries. The product portfolio has expanded beyond core community solar to include stand-alone energy storage projects (1MWh/1MW+ participating in NY VDER peak-demand arbitrage), EV charging infrastructure for commercial fleets and multifamily parking, air source heat pump installations, full roofing retrofits, and semi-custom solar racking canopy solutions — three pilot canopies have been built to enable solar deployment on NYC's pre-war building stock. The company also participates in BlocPower's Brooklyn-based Civilian Climate Corps, training community workers in renewable energy installation.

Commercially, Urban Energy operates a sales-led, inside-sales-enabled GTM targeting NYC building owners and investors through direct outreach and a website-based remote property evaluation tool. Revenue streams combine long-duration roof lease subscriptions, managed services for ongoing solar operation, usage-based energy arbitrage via VDER, and professional services for electrification installations. Customer testimonials cite Crescent Farms Realty, Crescent Farms Development, Granite Farms International Management, and Central Family Life Center as project partners. The company is founder-owned, privately held, and operates as a triple bottom-line business committed to social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns.

Name

Urban Energy

Legal name

Urban Energy

Website

https://urbanenergy.nyc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urban Energy is a Brooklyn-based community solar and building electrification developer that finances, installs, and operates rooftop solar and DERs on NYC pre-war multifamily buildings under a zero-investment 25-year roof lease model, targeting property owners and tenants under New York's VDER program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Roof Lease Payments: Property owners receive annual payments for leasing roof space for 25-year community solar installations. Building owners receive roof lease payments as well as electricity credits for produced solar energy.
2. Solar Development and Operation: Urban Energy designs, permits, finances, installs, and operates solar equipment long term. They generate revenue from energy production and pass benefits through to building owners.
3. Stand-Alone Energy Storage: Installation of 1MWh/1MW+ standalone energy storage projects to earn revenues through grid scale peak demand energy arbitrage via the NY VDER program.
4. Electrification Services: Services including roofing, air source heat pump installations, and EV charging infrastructure for commercial fleets and multifamily residential parking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Urban Energy develops, finances, installs, and operates community solar systems on rooftops of NYC's pre-war multifamily buildings under a zero-investment roof lease model. Building owners receive annual lease payments, electricity credits, roof renovation budgets, and NY tax abatement eligibility without any upfront capital or power-purchase obligation. The company layers complementary electrification services including solar+storage, stand-alone storage, EV charging, air source heat pumps, and roofing retrofits, and aggregates distributed energy resources via Virtual Power Plant (VPP) technology to participate in wholesale electric markets.

Product overview

Urban Energy is a community solar and electrification development company offering a portfolio of distributed energy resource (DER) services for NYC building owners. The core offering is the Community Solar Program, which enables property owners to host solar installations with zero investment. The company layers additional services including Solar + Storage (storage-ready solar with Yotta Solar Leaf battery integration), Stand-Alone Storage (grid-scale energy arbitrage), Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, New Roofing Retrofits, Air Source Heat Pump Installations, and Solar Racking Canopy Solutions. By owning and aggregating DER technologies, Urban Energy competes in wholesale electric markets via Virtual Power Plants (VPP) to maximize asset value. The company targets pre-war multifamily buildings with large flat roofs in NYC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Solar Program A solar program that allows NYC property owners and investors to host solar installations on unused rooftop space and receive 25-year roof lease payments, electricity credits, roof renovation budgets, and NY tax abatement eligibility with no personal investment, fees, or power-purchase obligation.
• Solar + Storage Solar installations engineered as storage-ready so they can be retrofitted with the Yotta Solar Leaf battery product for full-scale deployment, enabling buildings to capture and store solar energy on-site.
• Stand-Alone Energy Storage Standalone 1MWh/1MW+ energy storage projects installed alongside storage partners to earn revenues through grid-scale peak demand energy arbitrage via the NY VDER program.
• Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Design, installation, and maintenance of EV charging infrastructure for commercial fleets and multifamily resident parking.
• New Roofing Retrofits Roof renovation services including roofing, decking, asbestos removal, white roof painting, weatherizing, and insulation, performed before rooftop technology installation to ensure 25+ year system viability.
• Air Source Heat Pump Installations Design and installation of air source heat pump systems for electrifying building heating and cooling as part of NYC's clean energy goals.
• Solar Racking Canopy Solutions Semi-custom solar racking canopy systems designed to enable solar installations on NYC's pre-war multifamily building stock with flat roofs, with three pilot canopies built and expansion underway.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero investment required from building owners
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• New York State (NYS) Community Solar ProgramcoreOthers · 1 January 2017Urban Energy participates in NY's Community Solar initiative, operating under the VDER (Value of Distributed Energy Resources) program established in 2017 by the NYS Public Service Commission. This program increased the value of energy exported by decentralized generators and enabled building owners to install solar arrays in exchange for tax abatements and other incentives.
• BlocPowercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban Energy is a Contractor Partner in BlocPower's Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) program based in Brooklyn. This initiative provides workforce development opportunities for individuals affected by gun violence and incarceration in NYC, training them in renewable energy sectors including electric heat pump installations, solar panel and battery installations, EV charger maintenance, and Wi-Fi installation.
• Manufacturing Certified Partners (Roofing)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerUrban Energy works with manufacturing certified partners for roofing installations, emphasizing transparent approaches and certified expertise for roof renovations that are critical before adding rooftop technologies for 25+ years.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Nexamp: One of the largest community solar developers in the US with active projects across NY. Comparable on community solar subscription model, solar + storage offering, and serving building/host customers with no-upfront-cost structures.
• Pivot Energy: National community solar developer with a presence in NY state. Directly comparable on the community solar subscription/host model, multi-state developer footprint, and aggregation of distributed solar assets for utility and off-taker programs.
• Catalyst Power Holdings: Community solar and distributed generation developer active in NY/NE markets. Comparable on community solar subscription management, VDER-style programs, and aggregation of rooftop DER assets.
• Dimension Renewable Energy: Community solar developer with active NY portfolio under the VDER-style compensation framework. Comparable on community solar project development for building hosts and subscription-based off-taker model.
• Renu Energy: Community solar developer active across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic with comparable host-customer roof lease and subscription off-taker model. Overlaps in product offering (solar + storage for multifamily and commercial hosts).
• C2 Energy Capital: Community solar developer focused on building owner host relationships across multiple states. Comparable business model — long-term roof lease, no upfront cost to host, third-party ownership of distributed solar assets.
• BlocPower: NYC-based building electrification and energy efficiency developer for multifamily housing. BlocPower is both a direct competitor in NYC pre-war electrification and a strategic partner via the CCC workforce program — making it the closest comparable peer by geography, customer segment, and service line.

Broad incumbents

• Borrego Solar: Established commercial and community solar EPC with a multi-state footprint and in-house construction capability. Comparable on the rooftop solar EPC and community solar developer model, though broader and more geographically diversified than Urban Energy.

Others

• Yotta Solar: Solar storage hardware partner whose Yotta Solar Leaf product integrates with Urban Energy's storage-ready installations. Not a direct competitor but a key enabling technology vendor and ecosystem participant.

Regional players

• Solar One: NYC-based solar education, workforce training, and project development non-profit. Comparable geographic focus on NYC building owners and overlapping mission of community-engaged clean energy deployment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/urbanenergynyc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urbanenergynyc
• Instagraminstagram.com/urbanenergynyc
• Facebookfacebook.com/urbanenergynyc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Urban Energy