Well, this was not geothermal news.. but still interesting news about alternative energies:
BrightSource gets $115 million in new funding
Google, BP, StatoilHydro invest in solar thermal firm
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
Last update: 12:00 a.m. EDT May 14, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BrightSource Energy, Inc., a specialist in harnessing the heat from the sun to create steam for electric power generation, on Wednesday said it closed a $115 million round of financing from a diverse group of blue-chip backers.
VantagePoint Venture Partners, the company's initial investor, played a major role in forming the syndicate, which includes companies ranging from BP PLC (BP)to Google (GOOG) to StatoilHydro (STO) and BlackRiver, a unit of privately held Cargill.
Existing investors that participated in the latest round included DBL Investors, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Chevron Technology Ventures (CVX)
Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource said the round marks its third major injection of capital for a total of $160 million in funding.
"These additional funds will enable the company to accelerate its plans to deliver utility-grade solar power at a time when many utilities are searching for reliable sources of renewable energy," BrightSource said in a written statement.
"Operating more efficiently than older solar thermal methods, and costing much less to build, our technology will change the way utilities generate electricity," said Arnold Goldman, the company's founder.
In March, BrightSource announced power-purchase agreements with PG&E (PCG) for up to 900 megawatts of electricity. It's now developing solar power plants in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, with construction of the first plant planned to start in 2009.
The move comes amid growing interest in solar from both institutional and retail investors.
In the last few weeks alone, Van Eck Global launched the Solar Energy exchange traded fund (KWT) along with a rival ETF called the Claymore /MAC Global Solar Energy Index (TAN) and a smaller mutual fund, the Firsthand Alternative Energy Fund (ALTEX).
