Clean energy funding: Ex-Tesla CTO raises $40 million to recycle batteries, plus nuclear fusion and fission
Investors continue to invest and clean energy entrepreneurs continue to innovate — despite global setbacks. Here are five companies that have raised more than $60 million in funding in recent days — ranging across the cleantech spectrum from batteries to fusion to solar software for O&M.
Morning Brief: SunPower and Maxeon are now independent companies, a battery can sell three types of products
Also in the brief: More financing news on Longroad’s 331-MW Prospero 2 solar project in Andrews County, Texas, Duke Energy storage projects abound, and solar on military housing.
Raptor Maps secures funding, sets sights on scaling the solar industry with software and data
With monitoring data from more than 25 GW of PV installations across 35 countries, Raptor Maps is looking to expand the company’s influence even further, after closing on $5 million in Series A financing.
Clean energy VC funding roundup: Nuclear fusion, utility-solar foundations, electric trucks, smart metering
Investors continue to invest and clean energy entrepreneurs continue to innovate — despite global setbacks. Here are four companies that won more than $45 million in funding in recent days — ranging across the cleantech spectrum. Plus $1.9 billion for Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Morning Brief: 5 GW of solar coming to Africa, the pressing need for panel recycling
Also in the brief: Pennsylvania has its first project using Commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy financing, Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana has signed two executive orders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance coastal resilience and more.
Blackstone pumps $300 million into Loanpal’s residential solar finance platform
The new investment will allow for the financing of more than 10,000 residential solar systems.
Adding long-duration storage to the gas fleet lets the grid absorb more solar and avoid brownouts
Bill Conlon, founder of Pintail Power, believes hybridizing the existing gas turbine fleet with long-duration molten salt storage can help balance today’s complex grid and absorb more now-curtailed solar.
Energy Jobs: Vote Solar has a new programs director, plus Primergy, Ginlong, Leidos, Aypa Power, Prologis, US Bank
Executive, career and boardroom moves in solar, storage, cleantech, utilities and energy VC — plus some select job openings.
The ‘Rubber-Band Effect’ on renewable energy project margins
On the journey from concept to monetized power plant, renewable/storage projects tend to get tugged toward “zero” margin (from either direction); and the further the rubber band is stretched, the stronger the pull back toward zero.
Power and utility deal activity is down significantly to start 2020, but renewables show strength
A new report released by Ernst & Young shows that power and utility deals in the Americas saw huge drops in volume and value due to the Covid-19 pandemic, though commitment to renewable investment remains strong.
