CMEA pulls plug on $500M late-stage cleantech fund

CMEA pulls plug on $500M late-stage cleantech fund

CMEA Capital has decided against raising a new $500 million fund to back late and growth-stage cleantech companies, Dow Jones VentureWire reported earlier today. The news is interesting for two reasons: 1) It suggests a shift in strategy for CMEA, one of the largest investors… Continue Reading

Green investing bounces back from recession

Green investing bounces back from recession

Venture Capital investment in green technology companies has jumped to tie pre-recessionary levels, according to a new report out of Greentech Media. With $1.9 billion spread over 112 deals, this year’s third quarter trounced figures from earlier this year, signaling a stronger than anticipated comeback… Continue Reading

Energy Dept., Treasury announce $550M more in grants for green energy projects

Energy Dept., Treasury announce $550M more in grants for green energy projects

Today, Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and Energy secretary Stephen Chu joined forces to announce $550 million more in cash awards for 25 cleantech energy projects and companies under the banner of the U.S. stimulus package. So far, the government has provided more than $1 billion… Continue Reading

Gov’t shines on Solyndra with $535M loan guarantee

Gov’t shines on Solyndra with $535M loan guarantee

Vice president Joe Biden and Department of Energy Secretary Stephen Chu joined forces this morning to officially bestow the $535 million loan guarantee on Fremont, Calif.-based Solyndra, one of the leading makers of cylindrical solar panels. The company plans to build a photovoltaic equipment plant… Continue Reading

SPG Holdings brings in $13 million for solar projects

SPG Holdings, parent company of solar system design firms SPG Solar and Thompson Technologies Industries, has raised $13 million in equity from the Global Environmental Fund and Robeco, according to VentureWire.

Based in Novato, Calif., SPG says it will use the funds to expand its market… Continue Reading

Roundup: Solyndra scores major green, Windows braces for worm, car takes to the skies and more

Roundup: Solyndra scores major green, Windows braces for worm, car takes to the skies and more

Department of Energy shines on Solyndra — The solar company landed a $535 million loan to continue developing its technology. The New York Times has more.

A wormy April Fool’s Day — The Conficker computer worm is set to be unleashed on April 1, exploiting Windows weaknesses to… Continue Reading

Sierra Solar snags $40M for cheaper thin-film

Sierra Solar snags $40M for cheaper thin-film

One of the major barriers standing in the way of solar power’s wider adoption is its high cost. Sierra Solar plans to address this problem by offering cheaper thin-film photovoltaic cells, and just raised $40 million in a second round of funding to do it.

The Fremont,… Continue Reading

Solar co. Solyndra shines with $220M

Solar installation maker Solyndra has every reason to celebrate the new year, raising $219.2 million in fifth-round funding from a flock of 23 investors. This is the second largest investment received by any U.S. cleantech company in the last year, coming in behind the $300… Continue Reading

Innovalight rakes in $5M for solar cell ink

Innovalight rakes in $5M for solar cell ink

Investors Leader Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank have shined on solar cell company Innovalight, providing $5 million in new financing toward the development of silicon solar modules so small they can be painted onto surfaces like ink.

The Sunnyvale, Calif. company uses liquid processing of silicon… Continue Reading

Solar: Solyndra finally shows its hand

Solar: Solyndra finally shows its hand

Most of the heavily-funded solar panel makers out there have let the public know what they’re working on, if not all the specifics of their technology. So it’s somewhat remarkable that Solyndra has managed to stay stealthy for over three years, all while accumulating over… Continue Reading

A123 and Imperium exemplify the boom and bust of cleantech

A123 and Imperium exemplify the boom and bust of cleantech

There’s a bad moon on the rise for Imperium Renewables. The biodiesel maker has lost a major contract that was one of the lynchpins holding the company together, according to the Seattle PI’s John Cook, who has been chronicling the company’s rise and fall.

Imperium, as… Continue Reading

Roundup: Former AOL execs face fraud charges, MetroFi throws in the towel, fingerprinters point fingers, and more

Roundup: Former AOL execs face fraud charges, MetroFi throws in the towel, fingerprinters point fingers, and more

AOL execs add oddly, allege examiners — Eight AOL executives are facing fraud charges at the conclusion of a six-year long investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into alleged revenue overstatement of $1 billion during the company’s merger with Time Warner. Four of the… Continue Reading

Duke Energy invests $100M in rooftop solar projects

Duke Energy invests $100M in rooftop solar projects

Duke Energy — hardly your conventional renewable energy startup — has thrown its hat in the solar ring with a $100 million investment in commercial-scale rooftop solar panels.

The Charlotte, North Carolina, based electric utility will partner with commercial and residential property owners to tap into… Continue Reading

HelioVolt claims CIGS thin film efficiency record

HelioVolt claims CIGS thin film efficiency record

HelioVolt CEO BJ Stanbery is set to announce that his company has set a new speed record for CIGS conversion efficiency, ratcheting up the pressure in the competitive, high-stakes thin-film solar cell sector. The Austin, Texas, start-up, which raked in a cool $101 million in… Continue Reading

Silicon Valley’s new solar cell companies slipping on delivery dates

Silicon Valley’s new solar cell companies slipping on delivery dates

Amid all the excitement about new solar technology, several promising companies are slipping on their delivery dates.

However, most of the companies still say they plan to deliver — it’s just a matter of time before they hit the market

Solyndra, a Santa Clara, Calif. solar company… Continue Reading

Stealth Silicon Valley solar cell developer Solyndra gets $79M

A secretive solar cell developer Solyndra, based in Santa Clara, Ca, has received $79.2 million in venture capital, according to New Energy Finance, a London research group. The money apparently comes from Redpoint and CMEA, to Silicon Valley venture capital firms, reports VentureWire separately (sub… Continue Reading