What’s new with venture-backed solar thin film maker HelioVolt? The company has stayed fairly quiet since a big funding announcement last fall and is taking part in a small project in its hometown of Austin, Texas. Read more »
Proving that the venture model is working for at least a few select brand name venture capitalists, NEA announced on Wednesday that it’s closed a massive $2.6 billion new fund. The firm describes the fund as “one of the largest venture funds ever raised.” Read more »
Solar startups have been a favorite target for Korean conglomerates looking to boost clean power investments. TenKsolar certainly has caught the attention of one of them, Hanwha, which just led a series B round of $15.5 million the companies said Wednesday. Read more »
Solar thin film maker MiaSole is fighting for survival in a solar market that has seen many manufacturers shutter factories over the past year. The startup announced Wednesday that it’s raised $55 million to help it enter a new market and boost its sales staff. Read more »
The solar industry has begun 2012 with some trepidation, with many on the warpath to cut costs and reduce output. These moves give the market a chance to reduce inventories and get production more in sync with demand. But recovery will likely come slowly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Nanosolar, which has struggled for years to fulfill its promise as the next major thin-film solar manufacturer, announced Thursday it has a new CEO. Eugenia Corrales, who has been the startup’s head of engineering and operations, is taking over the chief executive post effective immediately. Read more »
While so many startups in the U.S. and Germany have been trying to build commercial-scale businesses off of making solar panels made of copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS), really only one is making strides at any kind of scale: Japan’s Solar Frontier. Read more »
Solar tech companies have suffered in 2011, and a speedy recovery in 2012 doesn’t seem likely. But the market holds huge potential for growth, and this dark time shall pass. Here is our look at solar trends to watch for in 2012. Read more »
India wants a lot of solar energy, and it’s getting a lot of financial help from the U.S.. The Export-Import Bank has provided a $3.7 million loan to a project developer to build a 2 MW project in India using MiaSole’s thin films. Read more »
Venture capital investing in cleantech companies was up slightly in the third quarter of 2011, but still continues to focus on large follow-on rounds as investors’ more capital-intensive companies are maturing and need more capital to scale up, and in some cases, reach a commercial stage. Read more »
Sometimes tech trends end up disrupting huge industries, like when the idea of Skype and free web calls, collided with the phone companies. However, sometimes tech ideas have all the makings of these kind of disruptions but ultimately end up flaming out. Here’s why: Read more »
Solar thin-film startup HelioVolt has lined up Korean conglomerate SK Group as an equity investor as it tries to scale up and move into mass production. SK announced Monday that it’s made an equity investment of $50 million in HelioVolt. Read more »
The future of clean power and greener transportation is being carried by FarmVille and online coupons — at least in terms of venture capital portfolios. Read more »
Thin film solar company HelioVolt has largely adopted a code of silence for more than a year, but it appears to be emerging from the cocoon. The company has borrowed $8.5 million in debt and begun to tout its technology again. Read more »
Western Digital is introducing a new powerline home networking adapter today that’s specifically pitched as a way to get video into the living room. The WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit could be a good fit for people with Internet-ready TVs and set-top boxes. Read more »
