Watch out for giant flying turtles!

Well, guess we know where some of that big wave in cleantech “growth stage” capital is going…  VentureWire is reporting today that Miasole is “wrapping up” a new $200-220mm round of financing, at a pre-money valuation of about $1.2B.  VWire reports that the company was looking initially at a $150mm round, but investor interest pushed the size up a bit.  Doesn’t sound like the deal is closed yet, so details are still yet to be divulged, but it’s a notable piece of news in an otherwise slow week.  [Full disclosure notice:  I am a small personal shareholder in Miasole]

For other deals and cleantech investing news, see GTM’s latest Funding Roundup.

Cleantech cluster news:  Here in the New England region, the big news is that Massachusetts’ Green Communities Act has now been signed into law.  It’s an important change, promoting energy efficiency, renewables, and regional entrepreneurial efforts.  Gov. Patrick wrote about it in an op-ed yesterday that’s worth checking out.  Kudos to everyone involved in the effort (including the New England Clean Energy Council, among other strong proponents)...  Seattle, on the other hand, isn’t moving forward as much as it should, says one observer...  On the opposite side of the planet, meanwhile, IFCI Venture Capital is launching an Indian Green Venture Fund targeted at Rs 330 crore.

Other news and notes:  Early indications are that Q2 remained a strong quarter for cleantech investments, but we’ll have to wait until the numbers start being released soon…  The always snarky Earth2Tech picks on BlackLight Power (dedicated readers might remember them from our mention of them a couple of years ago)...  And finally, here’s the reason for today’s headline.