Above aerial photograph of the 2019 Global Climate strike in Barcelona, Spain
When Alba Forns (Co-Founder and COO) and I, Will Wiseman (Co-Founder and CEO), started Climatize, we didn’t want to build another investing platform. After joining 100,000 people at the 2019 Global Climate strikes, we felt the power of being part of a movement. But in that moment, we realized we’d all go home, and the next day, nothing would change. If cardboard signs were our strongest tool, it showed just how much was missing.
How could we rethink our collective power and direct it toward the causes we care about? We envisioned an investment platform where each person in that movement could put their money to work building what we wanted: more renewable energy and fewer emissions. However, most options were narrow and lacked true transparency. Was it too much to ask to see exactly where my money was going?
As renewable energy engineers, Alba and I saw a gap in the U.S. renewables funding ecosystem that needed solving, as the IEA reflected on its 2023 report: “Small-scale renewable energy projects often face significant financing barriers, as traditional investors and banks prefer larger utility-scale projects that offer lower transaction costs per MW and higher returns¹.” Meanwhile, smaller, community-focused projects (the ones with local impact) kept getting left behind. Might we solve both problems in one move?
In just over two years, that vision has become real: more than $9 million has been invested via Climatize, helping fund 19 solar, battery storage, energy efficiency and EV charging projects across the U.S. This was all possible thanks to a small but rapidly growing community of over 2,300 investors (+202% YoY) who decided to Climatize their portfolio.
Powering Up Climate Action Through Renewable Energy Investing
Climatize has hosted a range of investment offerings, with many more on the way. Each project is vetted by our team, who bring deep experience in renewable energy engineering, finance, and law to evaluate the project’s potential to deliver returns and emissions impact. To date, all projects have been repaid in full and on time; however, past performance does not guarantee future results. This intersectional mission is why we are here: to make impact investing easy and trustworthy for everyone.
I think of Joshua Dowdy, owner of Liberty Hill Farms and an Army veteran. During a recent visit to the projects, he shared how his solar installation transformed his farm, boosting energy independence and turning him into a local clean energy pioneer. You can watch our Climate Conversation #1 with Joshua below. His story is just one example of the resilience and community impact made possible by all the investors who chose to back their renewable energy projects.
POWERED with Joshua Dowdy on Installing Solar in Rural America
For me and the team, Climatize keeps showing that the renewable energy ecosystem works and is ready to scale. One important reminder here: Over 95% of new energy generators waiting to be interconnected in 2024 are zero-carbon resources like solar, wind, and battery storage².
So, Why Should Anyone Care?
We want to reframe climate change from a narrative of sacrifice to one of opportunity.
At this point, we all know that climate change isn’t a threatening future problem, but a concerning reality that’s shaping our everyday lives right now. Just look at the recent floods in Texas, which took more than 120 lives.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), highlighted dramatic alterations in the way weather changes patterns behave from one extreme to another in shorter periods, how our food systems’ productions struggle to keep up and how this affects the quality of their final products³, and in the rising costs that are impacting our current lives. But if you’re reading GreenMoney, then we’re preaching to the choir.
Another success story is MB Reps, an auto shop in Nashville, Georgia. Their solar and battery system, funded through Climatize, became a lifeline during Hurricane Helene. When the town lost power for seven days, they kept cooling and cold storage running for food and medicine, turning their project into a community resilience hub.
Shifting Gears to Solar, a $143,000 solar and battery storage system on MB Reps’ roof – photo courtesy of Climatize
For many people, climate change feels urgent, yet it’s easy to feel powerless to make a real difference. Figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. But your choices do matter. Research shows that individual decisions can play a significant role in reducing emissions and shaping energy systems⁴. So, every action we take could help drive us closer to a cleaner, more resilient future. We can look at climate change as an opportunity to make our lives more efficient, connected, and sustainable.
For a long time, putting your money to work this way felt out of reach because of high minimums, accreditation rules, and complex terms. Not anymore. New tools like regulation crowdfunding and climate-focused options make it possible for more people to participate directly.
On Climatize, you can choose project offerings that align with your goals, starting at just a $10 minimum.
If you would like to try Climatize, it’s important to know that investing through our platform is a regulated process. As a potential investor, you’ll need to provide your Social Security Number and other basic information to verify your identity and your investment capacity, just like any other brokerage. Data security is important to us, and that’s why we take our gatekeeping role seriously. You can read our Privacy Policy to see how we safeguard your data. We are with you every step of the process.
Are You Ready to Climatize?
We know getting started can feel intimidating. That’s why we created a free guide that breaks down what impact investing means, how Climatize works, and what to expect. We are not asking for anything, just giving you value. This isn’t charity. You can download it from the specific landing page we set for the GreenMoney readers.
We are not done here. We will be back in the next issue with an infographic and a map showing all the funded projects, plus deeper dives into some of the most inspiring success stories from Climatize. We welcome anyone to be part of this journey towards the energy transition. Spread the word. Stay tuned.
Article by Will Wiseman, CEO & Co-Founder of Climatize. Will has over a decade of experience in renewable energy, particularly solar, having operated in every role, including finance, engineering, project management, and construction, where he personally built 15 solar farms. He holds a Double MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering from KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology.
After joining the 2019 Global Climate Strikes, Will quickly learned that while many people view climate change as an urgent problem, they often feel powerless to make a difference. From this observation he founded Climatize which makes it incredibly simple to invest in renewable energy projects across the US with as little as $10 while earning up to 10% in annual interest. As the CEO of Climatize, Will has built a community of over 2,300 investors who have invested over $9,400,000 in 19 solar, battery storage and energy efficiency projects in 9 states.
In 2024 Climatize won the Keeling Curve Prize in the Finance category, in 2023 Will was selected among the Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees in the Social Impact category and in 2022 he was selected among the Young Global Changers by the World Policy Forum. His work at Climatize has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas list.
His goal is to fund $1 billion per year of renewable energy projects within 5 years. Together with the team at Climatize, he’s building the financial network for climate action that will enable anyone to invest in any renewable energy project from anywhere in the world.
