Suniva, one of the few US companies making solar cells domestically, has raised about $115 million in Series D funding, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
New Enterprise Associates and Warburg Pincus, two previous investors, combined for $94 million in the latest round.
This follows the Suniva’s decision earlier this year to turn down a loan guarantee offer from the Department of Energy for assistance building a new 400 MW manufacturing plant in Michigan. As reported by GreenTech Media, the company was unhappy with the terms of the loan guarantee.
The decision also opens up the possibility that Suniva may decide to build its next manufacturing facility overseas – though the company has said it would like to expand in the US. Currently the company has a capacity of about 170 MW annually at its facilities in Georgia.
Suniva, which spun out of the solar lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology makes solar panels that are capable of converting about 19% of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA) makes a panel with a 22% conversion efficiency, which is considered top of the class.
Suniva raised $75 million in a July 2009 series C round, and an additional $55 million in earlier rounds.
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