Monday, September 29, 2008

Wind Power Holdings hauls in $37M in first funding round

By Mass High Tech Staff

Barre, Vt.-based distributed power systems developer Northern Power Systems Inc. reports its parent company, Wind Power Holdings Inc., has completed a $37 million round of funding to support the growth and development of Northern Power’s wind turbine business.

The Series A round was led by Boston-based RockPort Capital Partners and New York’s Allen & Co. LLC, and included additional investors. The two new investors join Century America LLC, Baker Investments LLC and others that participated in Wind Power Holding’s acquisition of Norther Power’s assets in August. To date, the group has raised $56 million.

The funding will be used to help Northern Power scale the manufacturing of its Northwind 100 wind turbines, used for distributed power environments, and to expedite the development of its 2.2 megawatt permanent magnet direct drive wind turbine aimed at the commercial-scale wind farm market, according to CEO Bud Cherry.

Norther Power’s flagship product, the Northwind 100, was originally designed in conjunction with NASA, and was aimed at providing reliable wind power in remote locations, such as the Indian Ocean and the South Pole. With the rise in interest in wind power in more populated areas, Northern Power has applied the turbine technology to distributed energy projects in places like farms, school campuses and private business facilities.