Tiger Fuel Co. acquires solar company Altenergy Inc.

Both companies are based in Charlottesville

Published May 18, 2021 by Kate Andrews

Charlottesville-based Tiger Fuel Co. has completed its acquisition of solar energy company Altenergy Inc., which is also based in Charlottesville, the companies announced Tuesday.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The purchase of the energy company follows more than two years of collaboration, in which Tiger partnered with Altenergy to power its convenience stores in Charlottesville and Ruckersville in 2018. Russ Edwards has been tapped as Altenergy’s president; he previously was senior director of onshore development at Ørsted, the Danish multinational power company that is involved with Dominion Energy Inc.’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project off Virginia Beach. Edwards also was vice president of development at Charlottesville-based Coronal Energy, a utility-scale solar developer that was purchased by Ørsted in 2019.

Last year, Tiger acquired 40% of Altenergy’s shares, and the two businesses recently joined Charlottesville Climate Collaborative’s Green Business Alliance, a newly formed group of businesses aiming to reduce their carbon footprints. Tiger plans to install more solar panels at its convenience stores, four bulk heating plants and all future real estate projects. Altenergy was founded 16 years ago and has 1,700 solar projects in Virginia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan and Washington, D.C. that produce 21 megawatts of energy.

“We founded Tiger on the principle that we would be malleable, welcome change and improve the communities that we serve,” Tiger Fuel President Gordon Sutton said in a statement. “Our fuel business isn’t going away any time soon, but there is no doubt that the energy landscape is changing. We welcome Altenergy to the Tiger family and are excited to build a bright future together.”

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