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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, October 15, 2008
Report: Local VCs help fund $21M solar module maker
By Mass High Tech Staff
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Rockport Capital Partners and GE Energy Financial Services, both with Boston offices, have participated in a $21 million second-round financing of Soliant Energy Inc., a Monrovia, Calif.-based manufacturer of photovoltaic modules, according to published reports. The funding was led by Norwegian investor Convexa Capital, with participation from return investors Nth Power and Trinity Ventures.
The brainchild of scientists and engineers from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Soliant Energy aims to make low-cost, efficient solar power modules for commercial rooftops. PE Hub writes. The company is helped by $4 million in funding from a U.S. Department of Energy initiative called “Solar America,” which promotes solar power technology and innovation.
With offices in Boston and California, Rockport Capital has been active on the clean energy investment front. In September, the firm led a $37 million investment round in Wind Power Holdings Inc., the parent company of Barre, Vt.-based distributed power systems developer Northern Power Systems Inc. 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.
Rockport Capital also partnered with California’s Shasta Ventures to provide the first round of funding for home energy efficiency startup Sustainable Spaces Inc., based in San Francisco. The tandem provided Sustainable Spaces with $6 million in Series A funding, aimed at helping the company “build its infrastructure to meet the exploding demand for its services.”
GE Energy Financial Services, an investment arm of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co., has contributed to the clean tech front with a $141 million investment in the Tatanka Wind Farm on the North Dakota-South Dakota border, announced in August. The investment represents GE Energy Financial Services’ first wind equity investment in the Dakotas and the first wind farm in the United States built entirely by ACCIONA, according to the company.
Also that month, GE Energy Financial Services made a splash in the solar industry, with a $235 million investment in Spanish solar energy developer Fotowatio.
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