BrightSource Energy Exceeds $115 Million in Latest Round of Funding

14/05/2008 - 12:30

BrightSource Energy, Inc., developer of utility-scale solar energy

projects, has secured $115 million in additional corporate funding from

its Series C round of financing, bringing the total the company has

raised to date to over $160 million. 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.
VantagePoint Venture Partners, the company´s

initial investor, played a major role in forming the syndicate, which

includes Google.org, BP Alternative Energy, StatoilHydro Venture and

Black River. All of the company´s existing

investors, including Morgan Stanley, DBL Investors (formerly a

subsidiary of JP Morgan), Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Chevron

Technology Ventures participated in the round.
"The quality of the investors in this round of

financing, coupled with increased support from our earlier investors

underscores the confidence that major strategic players have in our

ability to reliably generate clean, cost-effective, utility-scale solar

power," said John Woolard, Chief Executive

Officer of BrightSource. "We believe in the

transformational role of solar energy, and that the broad reach of our

new investors will enable us to accelerate the growth of solar thermal

into a mainstream energy source."
"With its unique ability to reliably produce

superheated steam at efficient high temperatures, our power tower

technology is the strongest commercially viable approach to solar energy," said Arnold Goldman, Chairman and Founder, BrightSource Energy, Inc. and

Luz II Ltd. "Operating more efficiently than

older solar thermal methods, and costing much less to build, our

technology will change the way utilities generate electricity."
In March 2008, BrightSource entered into a series of power purchase

agreements with PG&E for up to 900MW of electricity. BrightSource is

currently developing a number of solar power plants in the Mojave Desert

of Southern California, with construction of the first plant planned to

start in 2009.
"In working closely with BrightSource over

the past several years, they have greatly impressed us with their

commitment to efficiency and technological prowess," said Alan Salzman, Managing Partner of VantagePoint Venture Partners. "The

work that we are helping finance is both an extraordinary business

opportunity and a catalyst for transformative change to the energy world

as we know it. It is exciting to be part of it."
About BrightSource Energy, Inc.
BrightSource Energy, Inc. designs, builds, finances and operates

utility-scale solar power plants that deliver clean, low-cost solar

energy to utility and industrial customers worldwide at prices that

compete with fossil fuels. BrightSource´s

plants utilize its innovative, proprietary technology, based on the

proven power tower concept, to directly produce very high temperature

steam to drive a standard steam turbine to generate electricity. BrightSource

enables the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels by providing an

alternative clean source of power during periods of peak usage.

BrightSource was formed with seed capital from VantagePoint Venture

Partners, which has increased its investment steadily over time.

Privately held, BrightSource is headquartered in Oakland, California.
Luz II Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of BrightSource Energy, Inc. Based in Israel, Luz II is responsible for solar technology

development, plant design and engineering, and the supply of the solar

reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.