Two major acquisitions made top headlines this week.
French nuclear power developer Areva (CEI.PA) plans to acquire U.S.-based concentrated solar power (CSP) company Ausra for an undisclosed amount. The deal marks Areva’s first move into the solar industry, and the company said its goal is to become a leader in building and operating concentrated solar power plants. Ausra was founded in Mountain View, California in 2006 and has raised about $130 million in venture capital from high profile firms like Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins. The company commissioned a 5-MW demonstration plant in 2008, but in 2009 announced that it was shifting its business plan to sell equipment rather than build power plants. Under Areva’s ownership, Ausra will continue to operate out of its California headquarters and return to power plant development, beginning in the Southwest US.
Solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire SunRay Renewable Energy, a European solar power plant developer that also has offices in the Middle East. SunPower will pay $277 million in cash and promissary notes, and will acquire a 1,200 megawatts (MW) project pipeline in Europe. SunPower is following the path set by competitor First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) over the last couple years, building large solar plants to ensure demand for its panels and take advantage of vertical cost structures. SunPower said it will use cash on hand to complete the deal.
Trillium Power Wind Corporation has designated Denmark’s Vestas (VWS.Co) as its preferred supplier for all four of its offshore wind projects currently under development on the Ontario side of The Great Lakes. Vestas will supply up to 740 of its 3-MW wind turbines to be located 17 to 28 km off the mainland in the northeastern section of Lake Ontario. Combined, Trillium Power’s four projects, are planned to provide 3,700 MW of power at a cost of $14.8 billion over a 10 to 12 year development period.
Media powerhouse IHS (NYSE: IHS) continued a consolidation trend in the industry this week, acquiring market analysts Emerging Energy Research for $18 million. This follows similar deals last December by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters (NYSE: TRI) to build their expertise and content offering concerning alternative energy. Emerging Energy Research has offices in Cambridge, Mass., and Barcelona, Spain and produces reports on emerging technologies ranging from solar and wind to nuclear and carbon capture.
Petra Solar, Inc., a New Jersey company making pole-mounted solar systems for utilities, has raised $40 million in funding. The company intends to expand its customer base and expand to 165 employees by the end of the year. Petra Solar is currently shipping its pole-mounted photovoltaic systems in volume to New Jersey utility PSE&G, which is installing 200,000 of them as part of its distributed generation plan. Petra Solar has also received Department of Energy funding to develop a smart grid technologies to be used in conjunction with the pole-mounted solar.
Geothermal developer Vulcan Power Company received $108 million in funding from an affiliate of the investment firm Denham Capital. This raises Denham’s total investment in the company to $166 million. Vulcan’s portfolio consists of approximately 170,000 acres of geothermal properties in Nevada, California, Oregon and Arizona. With the new investment, the company will continue the ongoing development of half of these properties, which are estimated to have a combined geothermal potential of more than 300 MW. The company has signed power sales contracts with California and Nevada utilities and is in the permitting process for two project sites.
The two previous funding announcements go against the grain, according to a new report that states venture capital funding in the cleantech sector is moving away from capital intensive projects in favor of companies developing energy efficiency solutions. The Ernst & Young analysis shows that funding in the energy efficiency category grew from 24% to 32% in 2009, becoming the number one area of activity. At the same time, funding in the Electricity Generation category fell from 30% to 18%. Authors of the report suggest that venture capitalists are drawn to energy efficiency, in part, because it is essentially an offshoot of information technology, an area in which VC’s have a lot of experience and knowledge.
One Block Off the Grid (1BOG), a company that says it is the nation’s largest solar group discounter and consumer advocate, has closed a $5 million round of Series A financing. 1BOG, as the company is called, organizes interested homeowners into a large solar buying group to negotiate group discount rates from solar installers. Founded in 2008, the company has already helped with the installation of 600 residential systems. Venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) provided the funding.
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