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Sources: BrightSource Raising $150M Mezzanine Round

The solar thermal player, fresh from $1.37B in Fed loans, needs to raise a mezzanine round.  En route to IPO?

BrightSource Energy, the VC-funded solar thermal hopeful, is looking to raise a $150 million mezzanine round, according to sources. The effort has been going on for a few months -- the firm needs equity to match their DOE loan guarantee.  

Investors in BrightSource have already put in more than $160 million into the firm. Their investment syndicate includes VantagePoint Venture Partners, Google.org, BP Alternative Energy, StatoilHydro Venture,… Read More ›

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SEIA on Utility-Scale Solar

There are over 100 utility-scale solar projects in the U.S. totaling 17,000 MW now in the planning stage.

I listened in on a press conference this morning from the solar advocates at SEIA as they reviewed U.S. solar in 2009 and focused on utility-scale solar.

Rhone Resch, CEO of SEIA, led the call and covered some quick stats:

In 2009 there was 58 megawatts of utility-scale solar deployed in the U.S. in 5 projects.  The compelling news is that SEIA expects to see more than 200 megawatts of utility-scale solar from concentrated solar power (CSP) and… Read More ›

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General Electric To Take On First Solar

A giant awakens in cadmium telluride.

First Solar won't be the only name in cadmium telluride solar panels soon.

General Electric today announced it will research and develop thin-film solar panels with PrimeStar Solar, specifically cadmium telluride solar cells, and then start selling them next year. Although Q-Cells and a few startups have launched plans to get into cad tel, First Solar is virtually the only large mass producer of cad tel solar modules.

GE invested in PrimeStar, a… Read More ›

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Q-Cells Declares 2009 Loss of $1.8 Billion; CEO Resigns Amidst “Huge Loss of Confidence”

They were the number-one cell producer in the world in 2008. What went wrong?

Leading German cell producer Q-Cells has gone from weakness after weakness over the last 12 months, and someone had to pay. As things turned out, it happened to be the man at the top. CEO Anton Milner quit his job last Thursday, citing a "huge loss of confidence" on account of the company's terrible 2009 results. The company declared a loss of 1.36 billion Euros ($1.84 billion) for 2009, compared to a net profit of 190 Euros (about $257 million)… Read More ›

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CPV Semi Startup Solar Junction Gets More Funding

A $13.3M inside round keeps the firm going while they wait for the CPV market to emerge.

It's quiet in the world of Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV). 

While c-Si and CSP are furiously running the race, CPV is still at the starting line.
 
What little news there has been in CPV has been less than dramatic.  There was December's Concentrix acquisition.  And what amounts to a big CPV deployment by Concentrix -- 1 megawatt in New Mexico, which we covered here -- as well as some other minor personnel developments. 

There hasn't been a… Read More ›

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China to Restrict Polysilicon Production

Solar demand is growing, but China wants to prevent a bust.

China will issue detailed entry standards for domestic polysilicon companies, a measure designed to prevent a production boom/bust cycle.

In 2009, China's estimated polysilicon production output skyrocketed by 300% against 2008 levels to reach 18,000 tons, fulfilling half of domestic demand. These data were reported by Li Baoshan, secretary general at Beijing-based Chinese Renewable Energy Society, on March 16 at Shanghai's 6th China SoG Silicon… Read More ›

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News Tuesday: First Solar Joins Desertec, Wave Power Returns from Dead, the FCC talks Grid and More!

Can anyone stop First Solar.

First Solar will participate in the massive Desertec project, one more stop along their plan toward world domination.

The Arizona-based manufacturer of cadmium telluride solar modules will provide know-how on how to build large-scale solar power plants. The Desertec initiative will attempt to build renewable power plants in the deserts of North Africa that will supply a significant amount of power to the Europe, the Middle East and North Africa… Read More ›