Concentrating solar firm GreenVolts nabs $30M, working on utility project
GreenVolts, a San Francisco company taking the approach of focusing large amounts of sunlight onto small, high-efficiency solar cells — called concentrating solar photovoltaic (CPV) — has raised a significant $30 million funding from the giant venture firm Oak Investment Partners.
Other recent solar fundings we’ve seen have been much larger, but for notably different technologies. Nanosolar, Ava Solar and SoloPower raised over half a billion dollars combined for thin film, which tries to make low-efficiency… Continue Reading
Roundup: Americans watch 12 billion online videos, Tesla breaks production logjam and more
Here’s the latest action:
Americans watched 12 billion online videos in May — That’s up 45 percent compared to the same period in 2007. While Google’s sites — especially YouTube — remained dominant, accounting for 34.8 percent of videos watched, Fox Interactive Media (owner of MySpace) climbed to 6.4 percent, up 1.3 percent from the month before.
Tesla breaks production “logjam” — Chief executive Ze’ev Drori acknowledges that the electric car maker has been putting the old adage that… Continue Reading
Greenvolts, solar power concentrator, raises cash
One problem with solar power farms are the massive expanse of land they require. That’s why a crop of companies developing “concentrator” technologies are getting financial backing lately.
These companies use mirrors and other techniques to concentrate the sun on solar cells, which boosts the conversion to electricity.
The latest is GreenVolts, a San Francisco company that says it can concentrate “625 suns of energy onto a highly efficient solar cell,” and which helps it avoid using… Continue Reading
Alternative energy companies keep coming: Zeachem, Catilin, Range Fuels, Sopogy
A host of new alternative energy companies have emerged and raised funding.
Here’s a roundup of the latest action, including news at Zeachem, a cellulosic ethanol company; Catilin, a biodiesel company, Range Fuels, another cellulosic company; Sopogy, a solar thermal company; and finally, a note on Greenvolts, a solar company, and a setback at Greenfuel, an algae-biofuel company.
Zeachem — The company, of Menlo Park, Calif. has developed new way to create cellulosic ethanol, which is… Continue Reading
Greenvolts raises $250,000 for solar concentration
Greenvolts, a Berkeley start-up that is developing solar concentration technology, has raised $250,000 in seed capital and is now looking to raise its first round of venture capital, it told VentureWire (sub required).
Greenvolts’ apparent leak of its plans to the media is notable because it appears designed to leverage the excitement among venture capitalists right now for anything related to clean technology. Solar concentration technology is attractive, because it helps solar power producers get by… Continue Reading