GreenVolts, a company in the field of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technology, has secured $30 million in Series B funding from Oak Investment Partners.
GreenVolts will use the funds to continue to build out its organization, accelerate its advanced R&D efforts, and scale capacity for anticipated 2009 deployments.
A portion of the funds will also be used for its GV1 project, the world’s largest non-silicon CPV power plant built as part of its agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric. The first megawatt of GV1 will be delivered later this year.
"We will soon be generating energy from the sun at what will be the world’s largest non-silicon CPV power plant," said Bob Cart, founder and CEO of GreenVolts. "Having a partner like Oak that shares our vision for CPV is a great asset as we make the long-term decisions necessary to meet existing demand while continuing to innovate for the future."
"GreenVolts has quietly built a company and a technology that will alter the playing field for solar energy," said Brian Hinman, Venture Partner of Oak Investment Partners. "We believe that over time the GreenVolts system can produce solar energy more efficiently and at a lower levelized cost than competing photovoltaic technologies, dramatically accelerating the adoption timeline for CPV systems."
GreenVolts is a utility-scale solar technology company focused on delivering wholesale-distributed generation solutions that can produce the world’s lowest cost solar energy on a massive scale. The company has developed state-of-the-art concentrating photovoltaic technology that achieves unparalleled solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency through an innovative integration of optics and solar tracking.
Like central station power plants, GreenVolts’ technology is a complete power plant designed for delivering the lowest levelized cost of energy; yet GreenVolts’ power plants are sited close to loads, increasing efficiency and further reducing cost.
About GreenVolts
GreenVolts, Inc., based in San Francisco, was founded in 2005 to deliver solar power at costs competitive with that derived from fossil fuels. The company’s breakthrough concentrating photovoltaic technology efficiently integrates tracking and optics into a system that dramatically lowers energy cost. In addition, the low-profile tracker design minimizes issues associated with wind loading and eliminates the need for concrete supports to allow for rapid deployment. Through low cost, high efficiency systems, the company can access large markets previously inaccessible to solar. GreenVolts is currently developing the initial phase of a two-megawatt facility in Byron, California, under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric. The company is currently exploring additional deployments for 2009 both within the U.S. and internationally.
About Oak Investment Partners
Oak Investment Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm with a total of $8.4 billion in committed capital. The primary investment focus is on high growth opportunities in communications, information technology, internet new media, financial services, clean energy, healthcare services, and consumer retail. Over a 28-year history, Oak has built a track record as a stage-independent investor funding more than 435 companies at key points in their lifecycle.
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