Daylight Energy raises $75m to scale crypto-backed decentralized grid

• Distributed solar-storage startup Daylight Energy secured USD 75 million to expand a homeowner-based network that tokenizes clean power and grid services.

Daylight Energy has closed a USD 75 million raise to grow its market for homeowner-hosted solar and batteries, paired with a crypto-enabled rewards system that tokenizes the value of clean power and grid services. The pitch to households is straightforward: lower bills and potential rewards by installing rooftop PV and a home battery; to the grid operator, Daylight offers a dispatchable fleet that can shave peaks and provide fast response during contingencies.

Under the hood, it’s a virtual power plant (VPP). Thousands of small batteries, orchestrated by software, behave like a single resource—charging at midday when solar is plentiful and cheap, then discharging into evening ramps. Daylight’s token layer aims to translate those actions into transparent rewards, potentially paid in stable, fiat-redeemable credits. While the crypto branding grabs headlines, the utility value sits in telemetry, cybersecurity, and reliable control—areas where many pilots have stumbled.

The fresh funding will likely go to three buckets. First, hardware deployment: subsidizing batteries and inverters, and locking vendor supply for long-lead components. Second, platform development: tightening algorithms that co-optimize bill savings for customers with grid services revenue, plus compliance for data privacy and market participation rules. Third, market expansion: partnerships with retailers and distribution utilities that want non-wires alternatives to expensive feeder upgrades.

For homeowners, success hinges on clarity. Contracts must be simple, opt-out paths obvious, and performance guarantees credible. For regulators, the token framework must sit cleanly within consumer-protection and securities boundaries. Done right, Daylight’s model converts scattered rooftops into a reliability asset—cutting curtailment of midday solar, dampening price spikes, and reducing emissions from peakers.

Plenty of execution risk remains: recruiting at scale, aligning incentives, and proving value through a hot summer and a winter storm. But the round gives Daylight the run-way to show that decentralized hardware plus well-designed market plumbing can make the grid cheaper, cleaner, and more resilient.