09 Mar 2011 11:03:15

2011 solar lending exceeds $522m so far

Venture and lending rounds have just surpassed the $522m mark for US, European and Asian solar companies and projects, according to SEC filings and recent calculations reported by Greentechmedia. California-based companies came out on top for funding rounds and money raised.

California-based CIGS thin film panel maker MiaSolé took the lion's share of the total raised so far this year, attracting $106m Investors include heavy weights such as Kleiner Perkins, Firelake Capital and VantagePoint Venture Partners. BrightSource Energy, another company that hails from California, raised $89.5m as part of a $100 million round to help accelerate plans for their large-scale CSP project deployments.

Solyndra and Solo Power, both based in California, were amongst the top fund raising rounds with Germany's Sulfurcell being amongst one of the European companies to raise funds in recent months and Mumbai, India-based Kiran Energy also attracting $30m from investors New Silk Route, Bessemer Ventures and Argonaut Ventures, to fund solar project financing in India.