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Solar energy company Suniva Inc. is expected to announce Tuesday, Feb. 5, it has received $50 million in a Series B venture capital funding led by New Enterprise Associates of Menlo Park, Calif., H.I.G. Ventures of Miami and a unit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The Atlanta-based company plans to use the money to build a plant that will manufacture solar energy cells, said a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The company had not announced the funding by mid-morning, though Suniva's website showed a link to the Journal-Constitution story. Reuters reported that New Enterprise and Advanced Equities Inc. led the round and that Goldman Sachs's Cogentrix Energy Inc. unit, a power producer, and Quercus Investments also participated in the funding. New Enterprise and H.I.G. are return investors to Suniva, as the company's website lists them as its main previous investors. The company did not disclose the value its previous round of funding, though the Journal Constitution said it raised $5.5 million. Reuters, citing an interview with chief executive John Baumstark, said the plant will manufacture wafer-thin solar cells and expects to begin shipping the cells in the fourth quarter of 2008. The plant is expected to employ 100 people. Suniva was founded in 2006 by Ajeet Rohatgi, a Georgia Institute of Technology professor, and licenses solar cell technology from Georgia Tech's Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics. The company aims to reduce cell manufacturing costs to help bring the price of solar power nearer to that of electricity from conventional sources. Suniva says the thinness of its cells allows them to be cheaper and more energy efficient than those of its competitors. The cells will be used in electricity-generating systems for homes, businesses and public utilities, said the reports. The company reportedly had commitments of more than $50 million but capped the funding at that level because it was sufficient funding for its immediate plans, said Baumstark. The company also said it was in discussion with other jurisdictions about the manufacturing facility including New York, Colorado, New Mexico, India and China, but it opted for Georgia because of the technology available at Georgia Tech and the abundant sunshine in the state.  Deal Video
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