Google moves on plans to cheapen solar thermal energy
Google, not content to only use clean technology on its campuses, has decided to get involved in the solar thermal energy business. The company will work to improve the mirrors used in solar thermal systems, making them more affordable for widespread commercial and utility use.
Solar thermal power generation has been identified as one of the more feasible technologies in the renewable energy space. At most of these facilities, mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight on… Continue Reading
BrightSource gets some backup from Bechtel for 440 MW of solar
BrightSource Energy, developer of large-scale solar thermal plants, has contracted engineering giant Bechtel to build its Ivanpah Solar Energy Generating System in California — a complex of three solar plants expected to produce 440 megawatts (enough to power about 330,000 homes). Bechtel will also be investing equity in the project — giving BrightSource some of the support it needs to fulfill other contracts amounting to 2.6 gigawatts worth of energy.
Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource has already landed… Continue Reading
SoCal Edison signs to buy 500 MW from new First Solar plants
Southern California Edison, the major utility that was conspicuously absent from last week’s bevy of applicants for smart grid stimulus funds, has forged a partnership with First Solar to buy electricity from two new thin-film photovoltaic plants slated to produce 550 megawatts for 170,000 homes.
The deal, still awaiting approval from California energy regulators, already names sites for the two plants — one to produce 300 megawatts and the other 250 — in San Bernadino and… Continue Reading
Solazyme wins big with $57M for renewable oil
Solazyme, producer of renewable oil derived from algae, just raised $57 million in third-round funding to bring its total capital to more than $76 million. In addition to producing so-called green fuels, the San Bruno, Calif., company is expanding its eco-friendly chemicals business — an increasingly common move for companies in the biofuel space. It is also exploring nutritional and cosmetics opportunities.
The bulk of the funding came from VantagePoint Venture Partners, which has made a… Continue Reading
No downturn in the desert — more solar projects hope to hit the sand
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently reported a 78 percent spike in the number of land-use applications received from solar projects interested in setting up shop in the millions of desert acres west of the Rocky Mountains. Last year, it saw 125, this year 223 — which, all told, would take up about 2.3 million of those acres, according to Greentech Media. This is a drop in the bucket relative to the 258… Continue Reading
VantagePoint charges up on $435M for cleantech
The clouds may have rolled in for many other sectors in today’s economy, but the sun still shines on cleantech — and VantagePoint Venture Partners in particular. The San Bruno, Calif.-based firm just landed $435 million for its second fund, reports VentureWire.
The close comes as a solid rebuttal to industry insiders’ concerns that capital might dry up for cleantech in light of plummeting oil prices. VantagePoint’s portfolio includes many names that have remained largely above… Continue Reading
Ausra rakes in $24.5M for solar thermal power
A little over a month after opening its first 130,000-square-foot factory in Las Vegas, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Ausra, a developer of utility-level solar thermal power, has raised $24.5 million in a third roundof funding from returning investors Khosla Ventures and KPCB. New investor KERN Partners, based in Alberta, Canada, also joined the round.
The company plans on raising more money — enough to bring its total closer to $50 million, according to Earth2Tech — during the… Continue Reading
PG&E inks deal with Martifer to buy 106.8 megawatts of solar-biofuel hybrid power
Continuing its streak of recent renewable deals, California utility PG&E announced yesterday that it would purchase 106.8 megawatts of solar thermal-biofuel hybrid power from San Joaquin Solar, a subsidiary of Portugal’s Martifer Renewables.
The two 53.4 megawatt plants combine the use of conventional solar thermal technology with biofuels derived from agricultural waste, livestock manure and grass clippings produced in surrounding Fresno County to allow for 24/7 electricity generation. Although the plants are smaller than other solar… Continue Reading
Could a big geothermal energy play be next for Google.org?
Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has taken a number of stakes in solar and wind startups over the past year, most recently joining a $115 million investment in solar thermal firm BrightSource Energy. It now seems to be focusing its attention on the bustling geothermal energy sector, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently expressing a strong interest in Ormat, a geothermal startup headquartered in Reno, Nevada.
During an interview with the Israeli newspaper, The Marker, Brin confirmed… Continue Reading
Google joins in $115M investment into solar thermal company, BrightSource
BrightSource Energy, an Oakland, Calif., solar thermal startup, has landed a hefty $115 million funding round from investors including Google to develop its solar power tower technology.
Solar thermal technology is one the leading hopes for alternative energy. It uses like mirrors and lenses to boil water, the steam of which is harnessed to generate electricity.
This third round was led by Google.org, VantagePoint Venture Partners, BP Alternative Energy, Statoil Hydro Venture and Black River; returning investors… Continue Reading