Company seeks funding to help stores generate their own electricity
Veckta, a planning and procurement platform for onsite energy, has raised $11 million to expand its mission to help retail real estate developers and brands generate and store electricity at their centers.
Current customers include Phillips Edison & Co., Regency Centers and Chick-fil-A.
"The most dangerous decision a business can make about its energy is acceptance of the status quo," said Gareth Evans, CEO and co-founder of Veckta. "Rates will continue to rise and the grid will continue to be constrained, making the imperative for businesses to find profitable solutions more acute.“
Commercial electricity prices rose an average of 23% from 2020 to 2024 and 5.6% in the first seven months of 2026, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. They are likely to stay under pressure because demand is growing faster than new power plants can connect to the grid, according to Veckta.
Using a property address, Veckta’s platform draws on more than 5,000 data points to return a business case and recommended solar and storage system configuration for each site in under a minute. Customers then approach the market through Veckta to learn what system is right for them, how they want to pay for it, and what it should cost.
When the San Diego-based company analyzed some 34,000 customer sites, it found that 37% could support solar or battery storage with positive returns today. Veckta estimates that figure will grow nearly fourfold to $12 billion within five years, with $52 billion in potential utility savings, as the levelized cost of solar and storage falls below utility rates in as many as 29 states.
This year, Veckta customers contracted for onsite energy systems at 128 sites and paid 20% to 45% less than bids they sourced themselves. The fastest project went from first assessment to signed contract in nine weeks, while such projects typically take 12 to 18 months, according to the company.
Veckta also supports the deployment of other onsite energy technologies, such as waste-heat-to-power, electric vehicle chargers and generators.
"Onsite energy has become a capital allocation decision for large companies, and the market hasn't given them the information to make it with confidence," said Scott Stern, a partner at Origin Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm investing firm with six offices across the United States.
"Veckta built its business on the buyer's side, helping companies know what to build, where, and what it should cost before they go to market,” Stern added. “That's where we think the real value gets created."
