Energy Co. Deploys Smart Storage Systems Amid Demand Surge

Source: Streetwise Reports 05/05/2025

Artificial intelligence (AI), and other developing energy needs mean the growth of the electric load in the United States is the now the largest it has been in decades. Read why one analyst thinks Eguana Technologies Inc. (EGT:TSX.V; EGTYF:OTCQB) is perfectly positioned for the surge.

According to the chief executive officer of one of the largest major energy companies, the energy transition, artificial intelligence (AI), and other growing energy needs like cooling for an increasingly hot planet mean the growth of the electric load in the United States is the now the largest it has been since the industrial boom at the end of World War II.

Scott Strazik is the head of GE Vernova, the power spinoff of General Electric, which posted a quarter that beat estimates and sent shares of the company climbing, reported Julie Coleman for CNBC on April 23.

“You’ve got to go back to 1945 and the end of World War II, that’s the infrastructure buildout that we’re going to have,” Strazik told Coleman. “The economic growth, but also for national security, we needed to build the electric power system. For both reasons, we need to do it again now, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

According to a March report by the International Energy Agency, global energy demand grew at a faster-than-average pace in 2024. It rose by 2.2% last year — lower than GDP growth of 3.2%, but considerably faster than the average annual demand increase of 1.3% between 2013 and 2023. Emerging and developing economies accounted for over 80% of the increase in global energy demand in 2024.

The IEA said the acceleration was led by the power sector, with global electricity consumption surging by nearly 1,100 terawatt-hours, or 4.3%, or nearly double the annual average over the past decade.

The sharp increase in the world’s electricity use last year was driven by record global temperatures, which boosted demand for cooling in many countries, as well as by rising consumption from industry, the electrification of transport, and the growth of data centers and AI, the agency said.

Blackout Hits Millions

A catastrophic blackout hit tens of millions of people in Spain and Portugal on Monday. Former regulators and experts told the Financial Times on Friday that “the inability of Spain’s electricity grid to manage an unusually high supply of solar power was a key factor.”

About 55% of Spain’s supply was from solar sources when 15GW of electricity generation disconnected from the grid within just five seconds, Ian Johnston and Alice Hancock reported.

“Several European experts said that Spain appeared to lack enough firm power — readily available, reliable energy supply from sources such as fossil fuels or nuclear that can be reduced or raised — to kick in when the grid’s frequency dropped sharply,” they reported.

AI Is One of the Biggest Energy Stories

Another report from the IEA, this one in April, focused on the impact of AI and data centers on the sector. It projected that “electricity demand from data centers worldwide is set to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), slightly more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan today. AI will be the most significant driver of this increase, with electricity demand from AI-optimized data centers projected to more than quadruple by 2030.”

A diverse range of energy sources will be tapped to meet data centers’ rising electricity needs, the report said.

“AI is one of the biggest stories in the energy world today — but until now, policymakers and markets lacked the tools to fully understand the wide-ranging impacts,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Global electricity demand from data centers is set to more than double over the next five years, consuming as much electricity by 2030 as the whole of Japan does today. The effects will be particularly strong in some countries. For example, in the United States, data centers are on course to account for almost half of the growth in electricity demand; in Japan, more than half; and in Malaysia, as much as one-fifth.”

Tech to Break the Bottleneck

It’s going to take a lot of work to get energy systems ready for the demand. To upgrade traditional feeders, utilities must plan years in advance and commit large amounts of capital to upgrading the system. The challenge is how to get the most out of current equipment while adequately planning for newer technologies tomorrow.

In a report called “Innovative Grid Deployment” put out by the U.S. Department of Energy, there’s a “need for greater deployment of available solutions that can quickly respond to accelerating grid pressures, including the need to cost-effectively expand transmission and distribution capacity to support demand growth, enhance system reliability and resilience, and support integration of utility-scale and distributed clean energy resources.”

The report discussed many options, such as virtual power plants (VPPs) and improved energy storage, distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS), and advanced electricity transmission technologies and data management systems. Virtual power plants can use energy stored at the grid’s edge in people’s homes and businesses to virtually deliver power to where it’s most needed at any given time. DERMS are the systems that help manage a grid and make that possible.

“Recognizing the imperative to expand and advance grid modernization in the near term, DOE has dozens of initiatives and funding programs to support the electric industry across grid research, development, demonstration, and deployment, including technology, regulatory, policy, and commercialization support,” the report said.

The report’s authors said the existing transmission and distribution system has untapped potential to help meet these challenges, which can be unlocked with a set of available technologies that are “dramatically under-deployed relative to their potential value.”

These technologies can help serve as a bridge to address near-term capacity needs as critically needed new transmission, distribution, and generation is built, while supporting grid reliability, resilience, and affordability, according to the report.

“The grid is becoming a bottleneck to greater economic development, decarbonization, and equity priorities,” the DOE said. “Customers are demanding more grid capacity as regional electricity demand grows substantially for the first time in decades to serve a rapid uptick in data center and manufacturing needs and broader end-use electrification.”

Eguana Technologies Inc.

One company positioned to take advantage of the changes is Canada-based Eguana Technologies Inc. (EGT:TSX.V; EGTYF:OTCQB), a leading provider of high-performance energy systems.

Chief Executive Officer Justin Holland said the company’s origins date back to 1998, in the wake of the Kyoto Protocol environmental treaty, with delivering renewable energy solutions to remote applications from technology developed from 1999 concepts and designs developed at Montana State University and funded by the Department of Defense’s Star Wars (Strategic Defense Initiative) program.

Over the years, the company has used this power electronics technology to connect energy sources such as hydrogen and solar to the grid but recently pivoted to focus on high-performance residential and small commercial energy storage systems, networked into fleets, through its proprietary virtual power plant (VPP) fleet management software.

VPPs use smart batteries at the edge of the grid (the homes and businesses that use the energy) tied to software that helps distribute and store energy in the batteries when it’s not needed and makes it available to the grid at peak times. “The consumer doesn’t even know,” Holland has said.

As for the European blackout, Holland said, “any grid with a high concentration of renewable generation at the grid edge without having enough battery storage capacity runs this risk.”

“Renewables are inherently intermittent and generation deliverables can change quickly, however, with advanced battery technology the grid can be flexed to stay in balance,” said Holland, who noted Eguana is not active in Spain.

‘A Change in the Air’

On April 15, the company confirmed that its exclusive megawatt-scale feeder program in British Columbia surpassed the halfway mark, with more than half a megawatt of Eguana Evolve energy storage systems shipped over 12 weeks.

Each installed system contributes monthly recurring revenue for Eguana through its integrated software and hardware platforms. The Evolve hardware is paired with Eguana’s Exchange and Edge cloud platforms, which enable system-level control via a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS). The utility’s DERMS software partner manages this grid support through coordinated charge and discharge cycles.

In addition to the progress in British Columbia, Eguana recently completed fleet-level demand response testing with a utility retailer in California. The company is also finalizing a summer rollout in Alberta to support a constrained feeder and has been invited to submit a proposal for an upcoming utility program in Ontario. Eguana continues to participate in demonstrations across Vermont, Oregon, and Nova Scotia.

Holland has noted growing interest in integrated battery and DERMS solutions among utilities, stating, “We can certainly feel a change in the air as more utilities move towards advanced batteries… to manage near term capacity and demand peak constraints on the grid.”

Analyst: Co. Centrally Positioned For Surge

*On March 24, Technical Analyst Clive Maund rated Eguana Technologies Inc.’s stock as a “Strong Buy.” He described Eguana as being “centrally positioned to mobilize to meet a broad-based surge in demand for its systems,” citing its integrated suite of energy storage hardware and cloud-based software. Maund explained that the company’s solutions fully addressed “all aspects of end-user power generation, distribution, and energy storage,” which he believed enabled significant cost savings and reduced risk of power outages.[OWNERSHIP_CHART-9069]

Maund added that Eguana had completed integration of its Evolve system with EnergyHub as of March 11. He stated that the company had also entered into a collaboration with Itron, confirming the company has integrated its energy storage systems with Itron’s IntelliFLEX grid edge DERMS solution. In his assessment, this placed Eguana in a favorable position with utilities seeking to scale distributed energy procurement.

He further cited evidence of “persistent accumulation” of the stock since September 2024 and analyzed the price chart as forming a “Saucer base pattern” supported by rising accumulation indicators. He stated that the technical indicators suggested the stock was “marking out the Right Shoulder” of a Head-and-Shoulders bottom, signaling potential for an upward breakout. Maund concluded, “Eguana Technologies is viewed as a stock with an exceptionally positive risk/reward ratio,” and listed a series of price targets adjusted for a proposed 1-for-10 share consolidation.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company, about 0.5% of Eguana is owned by management and insiders.

24.6% is held by the Japanese ITOCHU Corp., the company said.

The company’s market cap of CA$3.39 million, according to Refinitiv. Its 52-week range is CA$0.05 and CA$0.20.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Eguana Technologies Inc. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$4,000 and US$5,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Eguana Technologies, Inc.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports’ terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company.

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* Disclosure for the quote from the Clive Maund article published on March 24, 2025

1. For the quoted article (published on March 24, 2025), the Company has paid Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, US$3,000.
2. Author Certification and Compensation: [Clive Maund of clivemaund.com] is being compensated as an independent contractor by Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, for writing the article quoted. Maund received his UK Technical Analysts’ Diploma in 1989. The recommendations and opinions expressed in the article accurately reflect the personal, independent, and objective views of the author regarding any and all of the designated securities discussed. No part of the compensation received by the author was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed

Clivemaund.com Disclosures

The quoted article represents the opinion and analysis of Mr. Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund’s opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund’s opinions on the market and stocks cannot be only be construed as a recommendation or solicitation to buy and sell securities.

( Companies Mentioned: EGT:TSX.V; EGTYF:OTCQB, )

Source: https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2025/05/05/energy-co-deploys-smart-storage-systems-amid-demand-surge.html