13 January '10
10:52 AM UTC
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Solar

Solyndra Racks Up Nearly $200M in VC Cash in ’09

Solyndra, the California maker of thin-film photovoltaic cells, received the most amount of venture capital cash in 2009, raising $198 million. Its backers are counting on a hefty payday with the company having recently filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO). A123 Systems, the Massachusetts battery maker, which IPOed last fall, raised $100 million, according to data compiled by market research firm the CleanTech Group. Swiss smart meter maker Landis + Gyr, smart grid developer Silver Spring Networks and V-Vehicle, a clean vehicle manufacturer, also each raised $100 million last year — see charts below the fold. Read More »

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7 October '09
8:25 AM UTC
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Cornerstone Conversation

Shocker: T. Boone Pickens Is Acting In His Own Interest

Pickens

Bloomberg has a 2,800-word profile on the irrepresible T. Boone Pickens this morning that includes the unsurprising analysis that the Texas-oilman turned green-energy guru is acting partially out of self interest.

He has a 33 percent interest in Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NAS:CLNE), which runs 184 natural gas filling stations and would clean up if legislation that he supports passes. He also has a stake in V Vehicle Co. with Al Gore’s shop Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and 5 percent of Exco Resources Inc. (NYSE:XCO).

The Pickens Plan, to increase investment in natural gas and wind power, might actually benefit these investments, a think-tanker has discovered.

“The Pickens Plan is nothing more than a call to rig the market toward the fuels that Pickens has invested in,” says Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow at Washington-based research group Cato Institute.

To which we respond: yeah, so? Read More »

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