A consortium of high-profile figures from entertainment and media have invested in the clean energy startup Palmetto.
Notables including LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, Jimmy Iovine, Drake, and Bono have all come on board as investors via the firm Main Street Advisors. Palmetto aims to drive the adoption of renewable energy, chief among those solar power, for residential customers.
Main Street’s undisclosed investment follows the company’s $375 million series C raise in 2021.
“Clean energy should be accessible for everyone, not just households with expendable income,” Carter told Variety. “Palmetto’s work to provide more affordable clean energy can have an immediate positive impact on the environment as well as families and communities across the country. Empowering people with access, information, and opportunities is something we’re passionate about and always excited to get behind.”
Residential solar use is a reported $100 billion market, though only an estimated 3% of 70 million homes in the United States currently use the technology. The Main Street investment hopes to help convert homeowners curious about solar (and all that star power won’t hurt). Part of the platform’s sales pitch is the ability to give homeowners a cost-benefit analysis for going solar in a matter of minutes, as well as offer numbers on carbon footprint offset.
“Our mission is to democratize clean energy and fundamentally alter the trajectory of climate change. The key to the clean energy revolution is to educate people and bring awareness to the issues and solutions,” said Chris Kemper, Palmetto chairman, founder, and CEO. “We’ve been at this for over a decade and honestly, I can’t think of better partners to help us share our company’s mission and message that clean energy is a choice for everyone.”
Kemper founded Palmetto after years working with the world’s leading organizations on climate change. He has aligned stakeholders including policymakers, investors, business leaders, financiers and consumers in his call for a New Utility Revolution, and a shared mission of leading the world into a clean energy future.