Tioga Energy captures $1M to broker solar power purchase agreements
Tioga Energy, a San Mateo, Calif. company that facilitates affordable power purchase agreements between solar energy generators and commercial, government and non-profit consumers, has raised $1 million in debt and rights, according to a filing with the SEC.
This type of power purchase agreement allows energy providers and consumers to agree to a rate that is compatible with or less than market rates. Tioga goes as far as to install and maintain rooftop solar panel systems… Continue Reading
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 large enough to employ 1,000 people permanently.
Talk of the guarantee isn’t new — in fact, the DOE extended it to the company back in March and then waited for it… Continue Reading
GE participates in $14.2M for Advanced Electron Beams
General Electric announced today that it has poured more cash into Advanced Electron Beams (AEB), a company working on making electron beam technology more energy efficient. With electron beams used widely to instigate industrial and manufacturing chemical reactions, the company’s offerings could add up to substantial energy savings if it can increase its market share.
Flagship Ventures led the round of $14.2 million — AEB’s third — which also included, Atlas Venture, General Catalyst Partners, RockPort… Continue Reading
Enphase catches $22.6M for solar micro-inverters
Enphase Energy, maker of micro-inverter systems for solar applications, has raised $22.57 million in capital, according to peHub. The Petaluma, Calif. company says the funding came from Applied Ventures, Rockport Capital Partners and Third Point Management.
Enphase’s flagship system consists of three separate processes. Its micro-inverters are installed on individual solar modules to turn collected sunlight into grid-compliant energy. Then its communications gateway sends information regarding the efficiency of each module back to a centralized database…. Continue Reading
Soros pushes Powerspan to $50M for carbon capture
A group of investors, including George Soros, has funneled $50 million into Powerspan, a company that devises ways to remove carbon dioxide from coal plant emissions. The Portsmouth, N.H.-based company says it will use the new money to set up its system at a utility-scale demo plant in Ohio.
Already, Powerspan is implementing its ammonia-based technology at a 120-megawatt demo plant that is slated to be operational by 2012. The company claims it will catch and… Continue Reading
Project Frog raises $8M for cheap, green modular buildings
To some, the idea of buildings that can be delivered by trucks conjures up visions of depressing rural trailer parks. But Project Frog’s designs offer a modern variation on the prefabricated building theme, with cheap modular buildings that are also energy efficient.
Project Frog’s buildings are making inroads in education and child care. Because they are well lit and comfortable, but snap together into well-defined floorplans, they work well for classrooms and play areas.
The company’s building… Continue Reading
Second Rotation picks up $6M for electronics recycling and resale
Second Rotation is a service company that buys electronics from consumers for resale on eBay, as well as accepting older, valueless items for recycling. The company, which brands its service as Gazelle, has raised $6 million in a second round of funding.
We covered Gazelle back in July when it took on the new name and launched its service. The company is attempting to establish a recognized brand for resale of all used electronics, where other… Continue Reading
Sustainable builder Project Frog leaps ahead with new $4M
Sustainable building developer Project Frog has raised $4 million in the first tranche of a second round of funding led by Rockport Capital Partners. The total goal for the round is $8.6 million, which will go toward supplying schools with materials for energy-efficient classroom modulars.
The San Francisco-based company, a spinoff of environmental architecture firm MKThink, charges about $150,000 to $200,000 per classroom, and offers schools the option of installing solar panels to save even more… Continue Reading
Concentrating solar outfit Soliant Energy gets General Electric investment
General Electric seems to be covering its bases when it comes to solar power. The company, which four months ago bought a controlling stake in thin-film solar panel maker PrimeStar Solar, has added concentrating solar to its portfolio with a $2.5 million bet on Soliant Energy, based in Monrovia, Calif.
The two startups are about as different as they come. Whereas thin-film solar, such as PrimeStar makes, is very low efficiency but dirt cheap, Soliant makes… Continue Reading
ISE raises $5.5M for hybrid city buses
ISE, a bus manufacturer located in Poway, Calif., has raised $5.5 million of a planned $25 million fourth round of funding, according to peHUB.
It’s easier to convert a bus into a hybrid electric vehicle. The vehicles already cost hundreds of thousands of dollars new, with much invested in the chassis and body, so the cost of adding expensive new components and batteries causes less of a percentage increase than with hybrid or electric cars.
ISE’s vehicles… Continue Reading
Wind Power Holdings snags $37M for wind turbines
As the rest of the economy tanks, the cleantech sector has remained buoyant, with investors continuing to dump cash into wind, solar and other renewable energies. Banking on a recent wave of enthusiasm for wind power, Barre, Vt.-based Northern Power Systems announced that its parent company, Wind Power Holdings, has raised $37 million in first round funding.
The round was co-led by Allen & Company and RockPort Capital Partners. The proceeds will be used to expand… Continue Reading
Green cement maker Hycrete raises $15M
Hycrete, a Carlstadt, New Jersey-based green cement maker, has nabbed $15 million in third round funding led by Mohr Davidow Ventures. Returning investors included NGEN Partners and RockPort Capital Partners, according to VentureWire.
The company will use the funding to expand its operations overseas, particularly in fast-growing Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Hycrete does not plan on licensing its technology and says it is ready to expend a large amount of capital building and operating its… Continue Reading
Eka Systems raises $18.5M for smart metering
Eka Systems, a Germantown, Maryland-based utility metering company, has completed a $18.5 million fourth round of funding, led by Flybridge Capital Partners. Returning investors included RockPort Capital Partners, The Westly Group and Metropolitan Investments.
Eka’s scalable smart networking technology allows utilities to monitor and analyze their energy consumption on a near real-time basis. It also helps them cut down on costs by preventing leaks and detecting outages.
Its submetering systems can be installed in residential and commercial… Continue Reading
Aspen Aerogels raises $37M for nano-insulation materials
Aspen Aerogels, a Northborough, Mass.-based company that uses nanotech-processes to make insulation materials, has wrapped up a $37 million fourth round of funding. The round was led by Arcapita Ventures and joined by existing investors Lehman Brothers Venture Partners Reservoir Capital Group and RockPort Capital Partners.
Its patented aerogels, silica-based jelly-like materials, have a wide range of insulating applications in the apparel, building, transport and energy markets. The firm sells them in fabricated packages and easy-to-apply… Continue Reading
Rockport Capital closes third cleantech fund at $450M
Rockport Capital Partners, a cleantech-focused venture firm co-located in Boston, MA and Menlo Park, Calif., has closed its third fund with $450 million, almost twice the size of its last raise.
One of Rockport’s more notable deals of late, a partnership with Kleiner Perkins to start a North American subsidiary of the Norwegian electric car maker Think, points the way to Rockport’s shifting strategy: Mixing later-stage deals in with new startups, and helping existing companies to… Continue Reading
Norwegian electric vehicle headed to the US
It looks like Tesla Motors will finally have some competition for headlines in the United States: Think, a Norwegian maker of electric cars, has announced a partnership with Kleiner Perkins and Rockport Capital Partners to export its vehicles stateside through Th!nk North America, a new subsidiary.
Out of the many small electric vehicle makers in existence, Think is one of the few that seems credible. The company has proved popular in its home country and taken… Continue Reading
Achates Power, a clean diesel engine startup, funded by Sequoia
Investments in clean-burning combustion engines are picking up, as VCs bet that batteries and exotic fuels like hydrogen won’t be the end of the story for powering automobiles.
The latest is Achates Power, a San Diego, Calif. startup working on a clean diesel. Although details are thin, the company’s website promises to create “new benchmarks in fuel economy and power density.”
Constructing a new type of engine is a risky bet, relying not only on the ability… Continue Reading
The future of solar is nanotech: Nanogram, Sunflake and other upcoming technologies
With a fresh $32 million funding going to nanotechnoloy firm NanoGram, mainly for development of next-generation solar cells, it’s a good time to point out some up-and-coming technologies that work on very small scales to make photovoltaic cells more efficient.
NanoGram has already had several commercial successes, including inventions in both electronics and medicine. However, the company has of late turned its sights on boosting the efficiency of solar cells.
The company is working on ultra-thin crystalline… Continue Reading
Lilliputian Systems, a fuel-cell maker, adds on $20M
As the name implies, Lilliputian Systems is developing tiny fuel cells that the company says will be usable in consumer electronics like cell phones and laptop computers.
Although secretive, the company has made claims that its butane-fueled cells will be far cheaper, and run for much longer, than current battery technology. It has not yet announced plans to manufacture or sell the cells.
Lilliputian is backed by Atlas Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Rockport Capital Partners,… Continue Reading
Think Global gets $60M more for practical electric car
Norwegian electric car company Think Global AS, aiming to roll out its first electric vehicles this years, said it has raised $60 million in its second round of financing.
Its the latest electric car company to get significant funding, following Silicon Valley’s Tesla Motors, which is building a high-end, all-electric sports car.
The two companies are partnering, with Tesla providing batteries for the Think, a much smaller, more practical car.
Think has now raised $85 million this year…. Continue Reading