While some folks had already left the office to get a jump on their Memorial Day weekend, solar installer and financing-service provider SunEdison announced late Friday afternoon that it had closed on a whopping $161 million in financing.
The Beltsville, Md.-based company said $131 million is equity and $30 million is debt. Investors included Greylock Partner, HSH Nordbank, Applied Ventures, Black River Commodity Clean Energy Investment Fund, MissionPoint Capital Partners and Allco Renewable Energy Limited.
The money has been earmarked to support SunEdison's "operational resources."
This isn't the only good news SunEdison has shared lately. On Thursday, the company announced it would build the nation’s largest solar-electric farm for Duke Energy Corp. In return, Duke will buy all the power from the project (see SunEdison to Build Largest U.S. PV Farm).
Duke isn't the only offering these types of financing deals for solar energy.
In December, MMA Renewable Ventures financed the largest photovoltaic system in North America today, a 14-megawatt project at Nevada's Nellis Air Force Base, built by SunPower Corp.
Likewise, SunEdison isn't the only one talking about huge sums of money for greentech in the past week.
Greentech Media blogger Daniel Englander pointed out Monday that the World Bank, along with the United States, Britain and Japan, will raise at least $5.5 billion for funds to help stop climate change. The money will help developing countries boost their greentech adoption.
The bank also agreed to raise the money by autumn, according to Bloomberg News.
Here are a few other recent funding announcements:
Private
- Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) said Tuesday that it had taken a minority stake, valued at $98.9 million, in Chinese solar wafer-maker Shunda Holdings Co. Suntech purchased its stake from private-equity investor Actis and the Waichun Investment Fund. Suntech also said it had signed a 13-year silicon-wafer supply agreement with Shunda. Under the terms of the agreement, Shunda will provide Suntech 7 gigawatts of wafers starting in 2008.
- International Battery, which makes lithium-ion batteries and power-management systems for electric and hybrid vehicles, is trying to raise $100 million by early 2009, according to a Thursday Earth2Tech blog posting. The funding will help International Battery expand manufacturing 300 percent and ramp up its product sales, the blog said.
- Ecore International, a recycling company that can turn rubber into rugs, said last week it had rolled up $29 million in financing from venture firm Element Partners. The funding will be used for product development and to support sales growth in the United States and abroad.
- SmartSynch, a developer of smart metering technology, announced Tuesday it had raised $20 million in funding. The move marks the company's fifth round of financing, according to PE Week. Investors included Credit Suisse, Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, Battelle Ventures, Beacon Group, Endeavor Capital Management, GulfSouth Capital, Innovation Valley Partners, Kinetic Ventures, OPG Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital. SmartSynch has raised a total of $80 million. The Jackson, Miss.-based company said it will use the latest round for sales expansion and to support advanced metering infrastructure.
- Greener chip maker CamSemi said last week it had raised $8 million as part of a third round of funding. Investors in the Cambridge, England-based company include BankInvest Group, Carbon Trust Investments, 3i, Scottish Equity Partners and TTP Ventures. CamSemi, which designs energy-saving integrated circuits to help power consumer electronics, said the additional funding will go toward product development and sales expansion.
- Green pesticide and herbicide developer Marrone Organic Innovations said Wednesday it was nearly done raising $7 million in a second round of funding. The Davis, Calif.-based company has one product on the market so far, an herbicide based on lemongrass oil that helps control weeds on certified organic cropland. Marrone also has six other products in its research-and-development pipeline and plans to use its new money to develop them for the market (see Killing to Be Green).
- Climos, a San Francisco-based company that hopes to reduce carbon dioxide by fertilizing the ocean, said Wednesday it is raising $10 million to $12 million in a second round of financing. So far, about half of the funding has been committed, according to Climos CEO Dan Whaley (see Climos Seeks $10M to $12M to Fertilize Ocean). About two months ago, the company announced it had raised $3.5 million in its first round of funding (see Funding Roundup: Tesla, Ausra, Pythagoras and More).
Public
- Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ: PEIX) saw its stock drop fall 19.3 percent, or $1, to close at $4.18 per share Friday after announcing $34.3 million in new financing. The ethanol maker did not disclose how it will use the funding.
Government
- The California Air Resources Board approved Thursday a list of diesel emission-reduction projects that will get $221 million, to be taken from $1 billion allocated by a 2006 voter-approved proposition. About 90 percent of the latest funding will help upgrade more than 8,000 trucks with cleaner equipment and engines.
Funds
- Element Partners, which was formed with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, has closed on $270 million, according to VentureWire. The money is part of the investment firm's latest fund, which is expected to take in at least $400 million, according to Cleantech Investing blog.
- Sycamore Ventures the Chinese government got together to launch a $1 billion green-investment fund, the China GreenStar Resources Utilization Investment Fund. Sycamore is putting in $900 million while its partner, the China Association of Resources Comprehensive Utilization (CARCU), part of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, is investing $100 million. The fund managers plan to invest 70 to 80 percent of the money in China, 10 to 15 percent in the United States, 5 to 10 percent elsewhere in Asia and any remaining dollars in other parts of the world.
- Los Angeles-based Craton Equity Partners announced Wednesday it has closed its debut cleantech fund with $191.5 million. The firm had been targeting $250 million, according to PE Week. Portfolio companies include Enlink GeoEnergy, which installs geothermal-energy systems for commercial buildings, and GigaCrete, a developer of green building materials, such as decorative mineral-based plaster for interior walls.
- European technology venture-capital firm Capricorn Venture Partners said Wednesday it had closed its cleantech fund with more than €100 million ($157 million). Investors included ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen and Ethias. The fund will be used to invest in European companies developing technology for a variety of green sectors including renewable energy, energy efficiency, water purification and green chemistry.
- Ohio-based Clean Wave Ventures has started raising $100 million for its first cleantech fund, according to VentureBeat. The fund, according to the blog, will focus on investments in water, energy, transportation and materials. VentureBeat also said the venture firm is close to making deals with several companies, including a wind-turbine developer and an electric-motor manufacturer.