Noreva in the media – coverage featuring Peter Gardett, CEO, in S&P Global Market Intelligence (April 2026).
In brief: S&P Global Market Intelligence quoted Noreva CEO Peter Gardett on why some developers command a premium: buyers pay for “build knowledge,” and acquirers seeking speed to power should look for portfolio companies that carry that build premium.
Noreva, an energy market data and analytics provider (formerly Karbone Research), was featured in S&P Global Market Intelligence’s April 2026 analysis of how renewable energy companies are courting hyperscaler and private-equity infrastructure buyers to capture the windfall from AI-driven demand growth. The piece turned to Noreva CEO Peter Gardett to explain why some developers command a premium price in that courtship, a premium that goes beyond megawatts.
What the S&P Global Market Intelligence coverage examined
The article tracked a shift already underway in 2026: renewable and independent power producer (IPP) companies actively courting hyperscalers, private equity, and infrastructure funds to unlock capital tied to AI-driven load growth. Data centers now account for a significant share of anticipated demand growth through the end of the decade, and developers are competing for a limited pool of financing from the tech giants that need power fastest.
The reporting’s anchor event was Google LLC’s acquisition of Intersect Power LLC from TPG Inc. for $4.75 billion: a deal announced in January 2026 and closed in March 2026 that made Google the first hyperscaler to buy an IPP outright, rather than simply signing a power purchase agreement. The coverage read that transaction as a signal of how far up the value chain buyers are now willing to go to secure speed to power.
Gardett’s contribution was to name the specific asset buyers are paying for: the proven ability to get projects built, rather than generation capacity in the abstract. As quoted in S&P Global Market Intelligence: “It’s that build knowledge, and they’re paying a premium for it.”
On who should be watching for that premium and where to find it, he pointed directly at the buyer side of deals like Google’s: “If I was Amazon.com Inc. or someone else looking for speed to power, if I was EQT and I’d just raised a big infrastructure fund, I’d be looking at those portfolio companies that look like they have a build premium attached to it.”
Why the build premium matters for developers and investors
For the developers, asset owners, and investors Noreva serves, the build premium works as a valuation signal. If buyers are now paying up for demonstrated development and construction capability, rather than interconnection queue position or signed offtake alone, two portfolios with similar nameplate capacity can be worth meaningfully different amounts. That distinction is easy to lose in generic capacity or REC pricing, and it tends to surface only in transaction-aligned valuation work.
Noreva’s work turns that same signal into transaction-aligned curves rather than theoretical outputs: valuation models that separate build-ready portfolios from paper pipelines, and forward curves that reflect where financing is actually flowing as hyperscalers and infrastructure funds compete for speed to power. The Google-Intersect Power deal drew the headlines; Noreva’s models are built to price the build premium it revealed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the "build premium" in renewable energy deals?
As described by Noreva CEO Peter Gardett in S&P Global Market Intelligence, the build premium is the additional value that buyers (hyperscalers, private equity, and infrastructure funds) are willing to pay for developers and IPPs with a demonstrated ability to get projects built, rather than for capacity or pipeline alone.
Why did Google buy Intersect Power instead of signing a power purchase agreement?
Google’s $4.75 billion acquisition of Intersect Power from TPG, announced in December 2025 and closed in March 2026, made it the first hyperscaler to buy an IPP outright. The deal signaled that some buyers now see owning build capability as faster and more reliable than contracting for power alone.
How does Noreva analyze the build premium for investors?
Noreva builds transaction-aligned valuation models and forward curves for US power and capacity markets. These tools help developers, asset owners, and investors distinguish build-ready portfolios from paper pipelines as hyperscaler and infrastructure capital concentrates on speed to power.
Ready to Price the Future?
Noreva combines trader-verified pricing, proprietary fundamentals, and AI-driven forecasting into transaction-aligned curves across power, capacity, environmental attributes, and fuels. Book a demo to see how the Noreva Hub prices these markets.
