Alex Shoer

Entrepreneur · Clean energy · Community builder

I help get clean energy built faster, and make the grid more reliable and affordable.

Off the clock, I’m a community builder, and I’m writing a book about exploring the future of community in the age of AI.

Invite me to speak Let’s talk power for AI
Alex Shoer in a gray blazer, smiling
Co-Founder, GridVest Venture Partner, Elevation Ventures Aspen Tech Policy Hub Fellow White House Global Impact Entrepreneur Stanford GSB Ignite
Alex Shoer standing in front of a wood-slat wall

Who I am

I left banking on a hunch, moved to Shanghai, and never looked back.

That was 2011. Coal was choking China’s cities and its clean energy ambitions were the biggest in the world, so I went where the problem was. Over nine years I learned Mandarin and co-founded e8 Resources and Seeder Clean Energy, one of China’s first third-party solar PPA providers. It’s why I know the supply chain US storage now depends on.

The lesson I brought home: China has won the battery cell. America should treat cells as a commodity, partner to build here, and leapfrog on what comes next. Hear me make the case on Cleaning Up →

Today I live in Sausalito, where I’m building GridVest, serve on the city’s Sustainability Commission, and am Vice President of the Floating Home Association. As a 2022 Aspen Tech Policy Hub fellow, I wrote a policy brief on solar microgrids for Marin County.

The book I’m writing Connected Yet Alone Rebuilding Community in the Digital Age We have more ways to connect than ever, yet many of us feel more alone. The book explores why, and how we can build stronger communities and a real sense of belonging.

Speaks English, conversational Mandarin, and Spanish.

Track record

I see where a market is going, then build the team, product, and go-to-market to get there.

I’ve done it three times with my own companies, and helped do it inside WeWork, Google X, and Qnetic.

Alex Shoer in a hard hat outside the fence of a customer's power generation site
On site at a customer project

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

GridVest

GridVest helps US developers, EPCs, and IPPs get battery storage built. We give them access to the best battery systems from leading global manufacturers, matched to each project rather than tied to one brand, with full technical support from design through commissioning and financing included. One partner covers the equipment, the technical support, and the capital.

With FEOC rules and tariffs reshaping the supply chain, our job is to keep projects financeable and on schedule. We’ve deployed 50+ MWh to date, and Energy Business Review named GridVest a Top Turnkey Energy Storage Solution for 2026.

Watch the GridVest video on YouTube
Co-FounderSeeder Clean EnergyVC-backed renewable energy procurement platform for Greater China.
Co-Foundere8 ResourcesCleantech market entry platform for companies entering the China market.
Global B2B marketing strategyWeWorkBuilt the go-to-market and marketing strategy for enterprise customers worldwide.
CommercializationMakani / Google XWorked on strategic partnerships, sourcing, and fundraising to take an airborne wind energy kite from moonshot toward market.
Venture PartnerElevation VenturesBacking early-stage climate tech founders.
AdvisorQneticHelping the founding team navigate fundraising and bring their utility-scale flywheel storage to market.
Startup coachOctane OC · LaunchpadCoaching early-stage founders through Octane’s Launchpad program, supported by the SBA.

For AI and data center teams

Your bottleneck is power. I can help you get it, fast.

Interconnection queues run for years, but AI demand is arriving in months. I help AI companies, hyperscalers, and data center developers find faster paths to power, drawing on fifteen years in renewables and a storage supply chain I know from the factory floor up.

Talk power with me

Listen

Podcast conversations

Have me on your show →
Featured episode Cleaning Up · Ep. 267 · July 2026
Batteries are the killer tech of the energy transition I joined co-host Bryony Worthington on Michael Liebreich’s Cleaning Up to talk about how China made solar the cheapest electricity on earth, is now doing the same with batteries, and what that means for the US.
Watch the Cleaning Up episode on YouTube “Batteries are the refrigerator of electricity.” From the conversation, on why storage changes the economics of power the way refrigeration changed food.
The Grove · 2026 How Battery Storage Is Changing the Grid Discussing my entrepreneurial journey and learnings along the way.
SolarAcademy · Solar Conversations Simplifying battery storage procurement and financing A conversation with Kerim Baran on supply chain constraints, financing gaps, and what it takes to get storage projects deployed.
Mosaic of China · 2021 · 36 min The Solar Entrepreneur The story of the “Solarcoaster,” a decade of dramatic booms and busts in China’s solar industry, plus lessons on leadership, flexibility, and doing business under shifting regulation.

Speaking & advisory

Candid talks and an operator’s view, from someone who’s done the deals.

I speak for industry conferences, investor audiences, universities, and community groups. Favorite topics:

Powering AI. How data centers can get electrons faster, and what storage has to do with it.
FEOC, tariffs, and the new storage supply chain. What compliance actually requires, and when to skip the tax credit.
Stop fighting the last war: the US, China, and the race for what’s next. Lessons from a decade in China’s solar boom, and where America should compete, partner, and leapfrog.
Request a talk

Selected appearances

IESNA Flagship, speaker2026
Intersolar, developer lunch & learn (host)2026
Navigating FEOC & Safe Harbor, webinar2025
SolarAcademy x GridVest, procurement webinar2025
US-China Renewable Energy Industries Forum2018
“Future is Now: Shanghai”, Enel documentary2018
ICS Shanghai TV, “Up on the Roof”2017
US-China Climate Leaders Summit, Beijing2016

Advisory & consulting

Through ABS Strategy & Consulting, I also take on a small number of advisory and project engagements with climate startups, AI infrastructure, and renewable energy companies: go-to-market plans, market intelligence, and fundraising support. I’m open to board roles as well.

Advisory & project inquiries

Commercialization, Makani (airborne wind energy) at Google X
Climate tech startup advisor for the SBA
Certificate in Entrepreneurship, Stanford GSB (Ignite, 2014)

Impact investing

I’m increasingly drawn to impact investing: supporting founders of climate and environmental startups. If you’re building or raising for that kind of company or fund, I’d like to hear from you.

Venture PartnerElevation VenturesBacking early-stage climate tech founders.

Press

In the news

CFO Brew · 2026Foreign entity rules are throwing a wrench in energy storage financing IESNA · 2026What FEOC compliance means for solar & battery storage financing Energy Business Review · 2026Top Turnkey Energy Storage Solutions: GridVest BBC · 2017China leads world in solar power production Wall Street Journal · 2016Office landlords going green in China TechCrunch · 2016Investors upbeat on energy storage, China, and IoT

What others say

“He is a most impressive person. Not only does he lead a visionary initiative, he is also an action oriented person and most importantly a great team player.”
Yossi Feinberg · Professor of Economics, Stanford
“I invested with Alex and Seeder after only one in person meeting as his commitment was evident.”
Shelli Trung · Proptech VC

Get in touch

Let’s see how we can work together.

Speaking invitations, podcast interviews, board and advisory conversations, power for AI and data centers, or just an introduction worth making. I read every note.

LinkedIn GridVest
© 2026 Alex Shoer · Sausalito, California Views here are my own.