Solar company Suniva gets 50 million in funding

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - U.S. solar cell maker Suniva said it received $50 million in funding from venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and others.

The funds will be used for a manufacturing facility that will open in the second half of this year, Chief Executive John Baumstark said in an interview.

The company, which is based in Atlanta, expects to begin shipping cells in the fourth quarter, Baumstark added. The new facility will be located in the Atlanta area.

Suniva's second round of funding was co-led by NEA and Advanced Equities Inc, a venture capital investment bank. Goldman Sachs unit Cogentrix Energy Inc, a power producer, also participated in the funding, as did HIG Ventures and Quercus Investments.

Suniva licenses solar cell technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology's University Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics. The company's aim is to reduce cell manufacturing costs to help bring the price of solar power closer to that of electricity from the grid.

For the time being, the company is only focused on making solar cells, Baumstark said. Cells are put together to make modules, which then make up solar panels.

"At some point we may expand beyond that, but starting out we felt like it makes sense to produce the best cells out there at the best price," Baumstark said.

Related News

maine electrical worker

Construction starts on disputed $1B electricity corridor

PORTLAND - Construction on part of a $1 billion electricity transmission corridor through sparsely populated woods in western Maine is on hold because of legal action, but that doesn't mean all building has been halted.

Workers installed the first of 829 steel poles Tuesday on a widened portion of the existing corridor that is part of the project near The Forks, as the groundwork is laid for the 145-mile ( 230-kilometre ) New England Clean Energy Connect.

The work is getting started even though the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delayed construction of a new 53-mile ( 85-kilometre ) section.

Three conservation…

READ MORE
beetle electric vehicle

Crowds plug into electric vehicle event in Regina

READ MORE

ev-battery-plant-project-montreal

Northvolt Affirms Continuation of EV Battery Plant Project Near Montreal

READ MORE

powerlines

Florida says no to $400M in federal solar energy incentives

READ MORE

Why rolling back European electricity prices is tougher than appears

READ MORE