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Press Releases
ACORE Announces 2026 Accelerate Cohort, Advancing Digital Optimization, Distributed Solar, and Grid Innovation
Washington, D.C. — ACORE announced the sixth cohort of its Accelerate Program, welcoming 10 companies into a two-year program designed to advance the growth of emerging small and mid-sized clean energy companies.
The selected companies represent capital-ready business models spanning the full clean energy value chain. Together, they reflect the technologies and services shaping a modern, resilient energy system operating in several clean energy subsectors: AI and digital optimization; solar deployment and distributed energy; energy management and grid controls; power electronics and energy technology; and renewable development and storage.
“ACORE Accelerate’s sixth cohort underscores how clean energy innovation is increasingly data-driven, distributed, and grid-integrated,” said Yejide Olutosin, Director of Accelerate at ACORE. “These companies are pairing technological innovation with commercially viable models that strengthen reliability, expand access to affordable energy, and accelerate decarbonization; the ACORE team is excited to facilitate and support their growth over the next two years.”
The selected companies include:
- Biospheric AI (Somerville, MA) develops geospatial AI and machine-learning tools that forecast building-level energy demand and grid stress to support infrastructure planning and energy system optimization.
- HydraEarth Network Inc. (New Brunswick, NJ) advances environmental sustainability through clean energy training, workforce development, and community programs focused on equitable access to green careers.
- Solar Bear (Roseville, MN) develops and installs solar projects with a focus on expanding affordable access to underserved communities.
- Ko-Solar (Natick, MA) produces modular solar solutions designed for flexible residential and small commercial deployment.
- Polaris EcoSystems, Inc. (Newark, DE) provides energy management platforms enabling smarter load balancing and grid integration.
- Expand Power Technologies, Inc. (San Francisco, CA) provides power electronics and system integration technologies to improve efficiency and reliability across renewable energy assets.
- Mote, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) has developed a patented process that converts wood and agricultural waste into hydrogen while capturing and storing CO₂.
- NextGen Energy (Houston, TX) creates renewable generation and storage solutions focused on resilience and affordability for communities and businesses.
- GeaVance Energi Solutions, LLC (Hanover, MD) provides integrated energy efficiency and renewable solutions for commercial and industrial customers, reducing emissions and operating costs.
- Ellement Group (Los Angeles, CA) provides clean energy consulting and project support services spanning planning, development, and implementation.
Through the ACORE Accelerate Program, these companies will receive tailored support, including structured mentorship, executive advisory sessions, investor engagement, and curated programming—equipping them with the resources and relationships needed to scale.
Since its launch in 2020, ACORE Accelerate has supported more than 50 companies across more than 30 states, advancing investor readiness, industry visibility, and strategic partnerships within ACORE’s national network of utilities, corporates, investors, and policymakers.
“The ACORE Accelerate program provided the foundation for our ultimate success,” said ACORE Accelerate Program alumnus Darrick Eugene, CEO of High Road Energy Management. “The intellectual, product, and emotional support provided by my Accelerate cohort and the ACORE leadership helped me to stay the course.”
ACORE Accelerate Director Yejide Olutosin is available to discuss this announcement. Please reach out to Sophie Stover (stover@acore.org) or communications@acore.org with any media inquiries.
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About ACORE Accelerate
Accelerate is ACORE’s flagship entrepreneur support initiative, advancing innovative clean energy companies through strategic mentorship, ecosystem connections, and national industry visibility. For more information, visit: https://acore.org/initiatives/accelerate/
About ACORE
ACORE is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that operates at the intersection of affordability, reliability, and clean energy deployment. Our work is focused on stabilizing energy prices, strengthening the electric grid, and driving investment in cost-effective technologies to ensure that clean energy delivers for people, businesses, and the U.S. economy.
ACORE’s membership includes clean energy investors, developers, energy buyers, power generators, manufacturers, and energy providers. In 2024, nearly 80% of the booming utility-scale domestic clean energy growth was financed, developed, owned, equipped, or contracted by ACORE members.
Media Contacts: communications@acore.org
Sophie Stover: stover@acore.org
Chris Higginbotham: higginbotham@acore.org
The post ACORE Announces 2026 Accelerate Cohort, Advancing Digital Optimization, Distributed Solar, and Grid Innovation appeared first on ACORE.
https://acore.org/news/acore-announces-2026-accelerate-cohort-advancing-digital-optimization-distributed-solar-and-grid-innovation/
Renewable Energy
Remembering Buckminster Fuller, 20th Century Super-Engineer and His Beliefs about Humanity
Fuller’s words here have been echoed through the ages, e.g., Mahatma Gandhi’s note: “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.”
The problem: Most people living in our capitalist civilization care very little about what Bucky here called “livingry.” The typical person in the developed world thinks almost nothing about starving children and even less about recasting world society into a place where we take care of the wellbeing of everyone.
He was one of the great minds that have ever graced our planet, IMO.
Remembering Buckminster Fuller, 20th Century Super-Engineer and His Beliefs about Humanity
Six months ago, our local CVS drugstore had a manager, a handful of employees answering customers’ questions, checking them out at the cash register, stocking shelves, etc.
Last month, I noticed that most of these employees were gone, and the former manager was now stocking shelves. I also noted long lines of customers waiting for an automated checkout machine to become available.
Last week, I saw the former manager working at a nearby grocery store.
Also, the pharmacy is now closed for an hour for lunch. When I asked about this, I was asked, “Don’t you think we employees deserve to eat lunch?” I responded, “Of course I do. But can’t CVS afford to staff the pharmacy so customers are not inconvenienced?”
This is certainly not a unique–or even rare–occurrence; it seem that CVS is like most large corporations, driven by cost-cutting, while abusing their employees and their customers.
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