daily · energy-economics

Exelon backs AI grid-planning firm Continuum, plans Optioneer rollout

Exelon’s climate investment arm has taken a minority stake in Continuum Industries, and its utility companies plan to use the Optioneer platform for transmission and infrastructure planning.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published September 25, 2026 · Updated 9/25/2026

Exelon's Climate Change Investment Initiative has become a minority investor in Continuum Industries, whose Optioneer software helps plan grid connections and transmission infrastructure, ESG Dive reported on Sept. 23. Exelon did not disclose the size of the investment. Its climate investment arm typically puts $100,000 to $300,000 into cohort companies, according to the initiative's lead, Faith Davis.

Exelon's utility companies plan to deploy Optioneer across their operations in the PJM Interconnection region, spanning five states and Washington, D.C. The companies will work together to identify where the platform should first be used.

Optioneer maps project risks, constraints and land impacts and automates environmental risk analysis. Continuum says the platform has screened more than 420,000 miles of infrastructure alternatives and helped developers find lower-impact routes that may be faster to permit.

Davis told ESG Dive that rising electricity demand is pushing the utility to look for ways to make infrastructure planning quicker and more efficient. The deployment is planned; neither Exelon nor Continuum has reported a measured reduction in permitting time or customer bills from it.

Official source: ESG Dive ↗