Big changes are in store for a local energy company that not only changed its name but has decided to go public.
Local solar energy company Micronesia Renewable Energy Inc. has changed its name to Generation Renewable Inc.
The name change is part of its plan to expand throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
Part of this plan is the launch of an Initial Public Offering.
The IPO and name change were commemorated during a ribbon-cutting Monday at its office and warehouse facility in Harmon.
Generation Renewable chief operating officer Jeff Voacolo and CEO Tracy Voacolo say the IPO has been a long time coming.
“It gives the company the opportunity to expand, it gives us the additional capital resources to do that…and through the years, Tracy and I have had a lot of employees come up to us…long time employees…and ask us hey, can we invest in your company? Can we be a part of your company? And I’ve also had some of our customers and some of our community leaders ask us. And of course, being a private company, at that time, we always said no, it’s a private company. But now, it gives the employees an opportunity to invest in…to become owners of the company that they work for, so what better way to revest it. We’re really happy about that, employees are happy about that, and we’re looking forward to the future and expanding,” Voacolo said.
He added that although Guam will always be their home, their initial plan after the IPO is to offer more services in Guam and expand further into Micronesia as well as into the states, either through organic growth or acquisitions.
Voacolo says that when they first got into the industry, solar was referred to as an “alternative form of energy” and was stigmatized as somewhat of a fringe technology.
However, as prices have gone down and smart battery technology has improved, solar has become more mainstream and Voacolo says that he believes the best time to get into solar is right now, especially as fuel prices continue to drive the cost of power up around the world, including here in Guam.
“Where I see the industry going in five to ten years…the centralized power plant that we’re building…that will be obsolete in 10 years … if not sooner than that. We were telling the CCU and GPA that within five years, we’ll have battery storage for residential on par…price point comparable…and people are going to end up being their own micro plants. And you know, the days of the centralized power plant are coming to an end,” Voacolo said.
Voacolo said that according to the Guam Chamber of Commerce, Generation Renewable will only be the second company that originated on Guam to go public — the first being Bank of Guam.
The Voacolos said that they’re extremely excited about the IPO and would be more than happy to share what they’ve learned with anyone who wishes to follow their lead.
“Any companies that were thinking about doing it, or they’re going to go ahead and do it, and they want to know how to work it or maneuver..man, bang on the door, give us a call, we’d love to help anybody in Guam do that, for sure,” Voacolo said.
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