Funding Roundup: Green Giving Keeps Going

Solar, fuel-cell and vehicle-technology companies raised more cash in the past week as investors continued to bet big on greentech.

Here are some of the deals that caught our attention:

Solar:

• San Francisco-based Recurrent Energy, which pays upfront costs for commercial solar projects in exchange for long-term agreements that customers will pay for the power, on Dec. 10 announced it had raised $200 million from Morgan Stanley for new projects (see Earth2Tech post).
• Energy and Power Solutions, an energy-efficiency consultant for manufacturers, on Wednesday raised $20 million in a Series A round of funding from NGEN Partners and Robeco Groep (see Earth2Tech post and VentureBeat post). Netherlands-based Robeco a week earlier announced a new fund in partnership with Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital (see Chrysalix Announces New €50M European Fund).
• U.K.-based sister companies Solar Home Energy, which installs solar-power and water-heating systems, and Warmroof, which sells spray foam insulation, raised £10 million from Barclays Ventures and Invex Capital Partners, according to Clean Ventures post Tuesday.
• Lincoln, Mass.-based GreenRay Solar, which is developing a micro inverter that it plans to integrate into solar panels, raised $500,000 in seed funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, according to a newsletter published Tuesday.

Other:

• Lilliputian Systems, a fuel-cell developer in Wilmington, Mass., raised more than $20 million from DAG Ventures, Atlas Venture, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Rockport Capital Partners, according to Private Equity Week on Friday.
• Draths Corp., a biochemistry startup based in Okemos, Mich., raised $2.5 million of a $5 million Series B round from Khosla Ventures, according to Private Equity Hub (see Earth2Tech post).
• Nanostellar, based in Redwood City, Calif., on Dec. 10 snagged an undisclosed amount of cash from the World Gold Council (see VentureBeat post). The nanotech company claims its catalytic-converter technology can cut costs while reducing emissions from diesel engines.
• Ocean Renewable Power Co., a Fall River, Mass.-based tidal-energy startup, caught $300,000 in seed funding from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, according to a newsletter published Tuesday. VentureWire has reported that Ocean Renewable Power is in the process of raising $12 million.
• Two Chinese cleantech companies also announced plans to go public last week. Biodiesel producer Gushan Environmental Energy filed for a $250 million IPO on the New York Stock Exchange and plans to list under the ticker "GU" (see Biofuel Forecast Buoys a Bit). Wind-power equipment manufacturer Goldwind Science & Technology Co. plans to raise 1.8 billion yuan (about $244.2 million) in an IPO on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.