Sometimes you get the feeling that if all of the alternative-energy companies receiving funding these days wind up living up to their promise, we just might be able to make a dent in this energy debacle we find ourselves in. VCs are betting big on a couple of solar-related companies they feel are doing some exciting things to get us to the point where we will rely more on renewable energy.
Late Wednesday, AVA Solar, an advanced thin-film photovoltaic module manufacturer, announced it had raised $104 million in a second round. The investment was led by DCM and included new investors Technology Partners, GLG Partners and Bohemian Companies LLC as well as prior investors, including Invus LP. The funding will be used to complete AVA's first production facility in Longmont, Colo., which will have the capacity to produce 200 megawatts of power photovoltaic modules annually.
The VCs are betting on AVA's ability to produce high efficiency solar energy panels on the cheap. They also are designed for use in a variety of climates, capable of operating in both hot and cold regions under a variety of conditions.
Another solar company, Nanosolar, also is awash in green. The company on Wednesday added $50 million to a funding round announced in March for a total of $300 million. It has now raised half a billion dollars. Its investors include power company AES Corp, the Carlyle Group, electric utility EDF and Energy Capital Partners, which all signed off on investments in the company through Riverstone Holdings. The round also includes financial investors such as Lone Pine Capital, the Skoll Foundation and the Omidyar Network and returning investors GLG Partners, Beck Energy and Grazia Equity.
Nanosolar makes solar panels designed for utility-scale power plants. The company claims its cell and panel design enables its panels to carry five to 10 times more current than typical thin-film panels. -- David Shabelman
See Aug. 27 press release from AVA Solar
See Aug. 27 blog post from Nanosolar
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