1st Avenue Power
Firm. Fast. Built to deliver now.
Our revolutionary, proprietary Gemini™ and Raptor™ power systems deliver Hyperfirm™ cheap power at gigawatt scale within about 1 year.
Our solar and storage power systems deliver firm clean energy at a cost less than a new-built gas plant.
We deliver power in months, not years, avoiding 5-10 year grid connection delays and lengthy thermal power equipment procurement.
We exceed grid reliability and thermal generation availability by a factor of 10-100.
Our leadership has delivered gigawatt-sized power plants for U.S. hyperscalers, operating today.
VISION + MISSION10 Year Vision: We are creating a future where every nation, business, and community thrives with limitless access to cheap, reliable clean power.
Mission: We deliver rapidly deployable power systems that generate Hyperfirm™ and inexpensive clean power leveraging the abundance of solar to liberate energy-constrained businesses and communities around the world.
CLEAN RELIABLE POWERMeeting today’s power needs with revolutionary, proprietary technology and a history of record-breaking price and scale.
Energy is no longer just a utility—it’s the foundation of the digital economy. From hyperscale datacenters to logistics, mining, and beyond, the need for constant, inexpensive, zero-carbon power is reshaping global infrastructure. 1AP delivers:
Advanced solar-based power systems integrating with customers’ systems, legacy generation and the grid.
Rapid deployment with minimal disruption to existing operations
Modular resilient designs that scale with demand
Technology designed to perform in challenging environments—remote, off-grid, or congested and unreliable grids
We’re solving the world’s power infrastructure challenges–now.
OUR LEADERSHIPOur team combines decades of leadership in engineering, finance, and advanced power systems design. From structuring some of the world’s largest multi-billion-dollar clean power projects to inventing the next generation of power systems, we bring the experience and conviction to navigate complexity—and to deliver.
Dr. Tom
Buttgenbach
Chief Executive Officer
Kip
Larson
Chief Technology Officer
1st Avenue Power leadership milestones
OUR HISTORYDr. Tom Buttgenbach, CEO
A physicist by training and systems thinker by instinct, Dr. Tom Buttgenbach has spent two decades driving solar energy from possibility to profitability. At Avantus (formerly 8minute), he built one of the most successful solar development companies in the U.S., known for redefining the economics of clean power. Today, through 1st Avenue Power, Tom is scaling the next generation of intelligent power systems that fuse infrastructure, software, and AI.
The foundation is set.
After leaving Wall Street, Dr. Tom Buttgenbach established 1st Avenue Capital to merge deep technical expertise with financial strategy—laying the groundwork to scale clean energy through precision, innovation, and discipline.
2004
Solar’s first revolution.
Tom founded 8Minute Solar with a singular goal: to make solar the world’s most cost-effective energy source. Drawing on experience from Wall Street and McKinsey, he deployed a blend of technology innovation and industrial-scale thinking to drive unprecedented cost reductions.
2009
Pushing the frontier of scale.
Construction begins on Mount Signal, an 800MW landmark that remained the largest operating solar plant for 12+ years—setting a new bar for what solar can achieve.
2012
Price parity—and then some.
The Springbok II plant sets a global benchmark at 2.3¢/kWh, becoming the first solar facility to undercut fossil fuels at scale—with the Springbox series delivering 10% of LA’s power.
2016
From panels to systems.
As 8Minute Solar evolves into Avantus, the focus turns to storage-integrated systems—enabling full dispatchability and driving a surge of proprietary IP across Tom’s 40+ patents of advanced solar power plant system architecture and software.
2018
Breaking records for price.
The Eagle Shadow Mountain Solar plant sets a global benchmark at under 2.376¢/kWh fixed for 25 years.
2020
Pioneering dispatchable power.
The Eland solar plants-- for LADWP --begin construction to deliver over 60% summer capacity factor, matching the load of Los Angeles with the first fully dispatchable solar+storage plant. At 4¢/kWh it is both cheaper and more than 10x the reliability of a natural gas plant.
2021
Taking market leadership.
Avantus becomes the largest U.S. developer of integrated solar systems, with a 48GW system capacity pipeline.
2022
Firm power, redefined.
Avantus’ Bellfield project becomes the first solar+storage facility to deliver firm, fixed-volume power under contract to a 1GW datacenter—demonstrating solar’s capability to meet mission-critical needs.
2023
A landmark exit.
In 2024, Tom sells Avantus’ development platform to KKR, following over $1 billion in profits, $10B+ in project financing, and a clean energy pipeline capable of powering 20 million homes around the clock.
2024
The third wave begins.
1st Avenue Power is born to commercialize the next generation of clean, dispatchable, hyper-firm™ power—built to serve datacenters and energy-intensive industries with unmatched speed, scale, reliability, and economics.
2025
OUR FUTURE