Wednesday, July 16, 2014: The Global Venture Funding into the solar energy sector in the second quarter of 2014 has increased 72 per cent to $432 million in 21 deals, according to a report by Mercom Capital Group which is a global clean energy consulting firm.
The largest deal recorded during the quarter was $150 million, raised by Sunrun, provider of residential solar systems. Other investors included- Foundation Capital, Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, Madrone Capital and many others.
Sunnova Energy raised $145 million. Other large deals included a $72.5 million funding which was raised by residential solar installer Sungevity, a $15 million deal by Siva Power which is a manufacturer of CIGS solar module and $14.2 million deal by Brite Energy Solar, that provides residential and commercial solar power options.
The two Indian companies to get such funding this quarter are AK Surya PowerMagic, which provides solar energy to farmers and Infuse Ventures, IIM Ahmedabad’s clean tech focused firm.
“It was a solid quarter for the solar sector in terms of fundraising. VC funding went up, public markets remained strong and we are seeing new innovative financial structures. Residential solar funds continue to raise record amounts’ said, Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.
Third party residential and commercial solar funds continued to attract a lot of attention, with more than $1.3 billion raised during the quarter. SunPower topped the list with $492 million in three different funds and its investors includes Google and Admirals Bank.
In India, Welspun Renewable Energy raised $24 million from GE Energy Financial Services for 151 MW solar plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh. CaptureSolar Energy, raised $125 million from PG concept, a Cyprus based PV solution provider for a 75 MW solar project in Pune.
