A history of accelerating the future of energy, together

From its founding and to today, AES has led lasting positive change in the energy sector based on its stakeholders’ most critical needs.

Gloved hands planting a tree.

80s

  • 1981: Roger Sant and Dennis Bakke form Applied Energy Services (AES), an energy consulting company as the first CEO and Roger became AES’ first CEO and Chairman of the Board
  • 1988: Pioneering the model of Independent Power Producer (IPP), AES became the first and largest IPP in the US with three cogeneration plants in operation in California (Placerita), Pennsylvania (Beaver Valley) and Texas (Deepwater)
  • 1989: Caring for our carbon before it was common, AES created the first documented carbon offset program in the US by planting 52 million trees in Guatemala to offset carbon emissions from a plant in Connecticut
New York Stock Exchange

90s

  • 1991: Going public with investors, AES listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AES)
  • 1992: Expanding on our work in the US, AES extended its business globally for the first time to broaden our impact
  • 1994: Dennis Bakke became AES’ second CEO as the company continued its international expansion
Windmills in a field at sunset

00s

  • 2000: The S&P 500 welcomed AES
  • 2001: Focusing on improving lives, AES entered the retail customer arena with the acquisition of IPL in Indiana
  • 2002: Paul Hanrahan became AES’ third CEO as the company made its first investments in wind and solar
  • 2003: 2003: Dick Darman became AES’ second Chairman of the Board
  • 2005: Seeing a greener energy future for the world, AES made an investment in wind generation, acquiring SeaWest, one of the largest wind companies in the US and starts its expansion into cleaner energy sources
  • 2006: Focusing on continuous improvement means continuous benefits for our stakeholders that matters most, AES launched AES Performance Excellence Program (APEX) to drive greater innovation, efficiency and process improvement in its day-to-day operations
  • 2007: Working together with Latin America, we won our first Edison Electric Institute Award for systematic performance improvements for our Latin America businesses
  • 2008: Phil Odeen became AES’ third Chairman of the Board
  • 2009: Beginning a new era of firm renewables with utility-scale energy storage, AES connected the first utility-scale system in the world in Indianapolis and installed the first commercially operating system at the Los Andes facility in Chile
Fluence logo over blue tinted background

10s

  • 2011: Together with the Philippines, AES became the first company to win two Edison Electric Institute Awards within a five-year period for its world-class turn-around of the Masinloc facility in the Philippines
  • 2011: Andrés Gluski became AES’ fourth CEO and initiated the company’s plans to accelerate the future of energy
  • 2011: Expanding its focus on retail customers, AES reached an agreement to acquire DP&L in Ohio
  • 2011: Supporting a greener PJM grid, AES added energy storage to its Laurel Mountain facility to become the first to provide ancillary grid services
  • 2012: Working together with Chile, AES received an Edison Electric Institute Award for its hybrid plant model for the future combining energy storage with conventional generation
  • 2013: Charles Rossotti became AES’ fourth Chairman of the Board
  • 2013: Working together with Cameroon, AES won its fourth International Edison Electric Institute Award for its work in Cameroon to improve the electricity sector and the overall economy and social well-being in Cameroon
  • 2015: Expanding its distributed energy capabilities, AES acquired Mainstreet Power to add distributed solar resources to its portfolio in the rapidly expanding distributed solar market
  • 2016: Working together with the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, AES again received the International Edison Electric Institute Award for its Advancion technology and the global expansion of its energy storage services
  • 2017: Seeing the future in solar, AES acquired sPower, the largest independent solar developer in the US with Alberta Investment Management Co (AIMCo)
  • 2017: Applying technologies with Measure, AES scaled its drone program to improve safety and increase efficiency
  • 2018: AES became the first publicly traded US-based energy company to publish its portfolio’s resiliency to the climate change scenario put forth in the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) with a strategy to reduce its carbon intensity by 70 percent by 2030
  • 2018: Joining forces to usher in an era of firm renewables, together with Siemens, AES launched Fluence, the world’s leading energy storage platform
  • 2018: Flying high with drones, AES pioneered new uses for the technology resulting in a second place showing for operations and safety organization at the AUVSI Xcellence Awards
  • 2018: Empowering utility customers, AES made a strategic investment in Simple Energy that enables actionable energy-savings tools information
  • 2018: Jay Morse became AES’ fifth Chairman of the Board
  • 2019: Together with KIUC in Kauai, AES won the Edison Electric Institute Award for helping the island meet its renewable enable targets with the world’s largest solar PV Peaker plant and energy storage facility
  • 2019: Developing the most comprehensive suite of customer-facing solutions for electric and gas utilities, AES announced the merger of Simple Energy with Tendril to form the digital energy management company, Uplight
  • 2019: Committed to creating the future of energy, AES signed strategic alliance with Google to accelerate the growth and adoption of clean energy through leveraging Google Cloud technology to pioneering innovation in the sector
Eromanga

20s

  • 2020: Together with Chile, AES launched its virtual reservoir in Chile, a first of its kind energy storage facility
  • 2020: Investing in speeding the availability of solar and making it more accessible, AES announced a partnership with 5B, an innovative solar technology company
  • 2020: Being recognized for our people being our energy, AES named to the Fast Company List of the Best Workplaces for Innovators
    Sept 2020: Dayton Power & Light announced Smart Operations Center in Ohio, the first of its kind in the United States
  • Oct 2020: AES continued to accelerate the future of energy with the launch of a new brand and product offerings
  • Nov 2020: AES achieved its 2020 coal reduction target by reducing energy generation from coal to less than 30%
    Nov 2020: AES attained second investment grade rating
  • Nov 2020: sPower merged with AES’ clean energy business in the United States to form AES Clean Energy, one of the leading renewables platform in the United States
    Dec 2020: Fluence received major investment from Qatar Investment Authority to accelerate growth and global deployment of grid-scale energy storage technology, increasing the company’s valuation to $1B
  • Jan 2021: AES Alamitos Battery Energy Storage System commissioned, the world’s first standalone energy storage project for local capacity
  • Feb 2021: Fluence ranked #1 Utility-Scale Energy Storage Systems Integrator by Guidehouse
  • Jun 2021: AES Wins Annual Edison Award for Alamitos Battery Energy Storage Project in California
  • Oct 2021: AES' Energy Storage Joint Venture, Fluence Energy, Achieves Historic Milestone with Initial Public Offering
  • Nov 2021: Microsoft and AES Partner to Bring Around-the-Clock Renewable Energy to Data Centers
  • Dec 2021: AES Launches First-of-its-Kind Robot to Accelerate Solar Construction
  • Dec 2021: AES Acquires US Renewables Developer Community Energy Adding 10 GW of Renewable Projects to Growth Pipeline