Fulcrum BioEnergy squeezes fuel from garbage
Fulcrum BioEnergy claims it can derive commercial-scale ethanol from municipal waste — and it just ran the first demo that proves it, the Pleasanton, Calif. company says. Already, it’s moving on its planned Sierra BioFuels Plant, a facility that could turn 90,000 tons of garbage into 10.5 million gallons of ethanol every year, and one of the first of its kind.
To give you some context on the size of the plant — slated to be… Continue Reading
SolarReserve promises a first in energy storage with $140M solar power financing
The problem with solar power is that it only works when the sun is shining. Once the sun goes down, there’s no more power. SolarReserve hopes to change that, with a design it says can store solar power at 99 percent efficiency.
SolarReserve’s basic technology is similar to that of other companies, including Ausra, Brightsource and eSolar. Called solar thermal power, it uses mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a centralized structure, in this case a tower…. Continue Reading
Geothermal engineering firm ThermaSource raises $41.5M
Just as in the oil industry, drilling and engineering for geothermal projects is an expensive proposition. To help buy drilling rigs and develop its services, ThermaSource has taken a hefty funding of $41.5 million.
The Santa Clara, Calif. company employs 210 people, but plans on doubling in size by the end of this year.
Riverstone Holdings, US Renewables Group and Rustic Canyon Partners provided the funding. ThermaSource has taken $93 million to date, counting both equity and… Continue Reading
ThermaSource, geothermal co., raises cash
ThermaSource, a Santa Rosa, Calif. provider of drilling, engineering and consulting services to the geothermal energy sector, has raised an undisclosed amount of cash from US Renewables Group, Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group.
From the statement:
Funds will come from USRG and Carlyle/Riverstone Renewable Energy Infrastructure Fund (”CRREIF”) and be used to acquire new and reconditioned drilling rigs. US Renewables Group and Carlyle/Riverstone are making their investment through their affiliate GRR Holdco, LP, an owner… Continue Reading