Enecsys Solar Microinverters get $41 M to deploy

* Climate Change Capital Private Equity leads the funding round and joins existing investors Wellington Partners, NES Partners and Good Energies for the largest private equity raise by any European cleantech company, so far, in 2011 *

Enecsys Limited, the leader in reliable, long-life solar micro inverter systems for residential and commercial applications, has secured a further £25 million ($41 million) in equity financing to invest in its growth plan.

Enecsys was founded in 2003 and its patented technology was originally developed at Cambridge University in the UK. Solar inverters convert the DC power produced by solar photovoltaic (PV) modules into AC power for supply to the electricity grid. Enecsys micro inverters are installed on the rail behind solar modules, either one inverter per solar module or one for every two modules. The Enecsys micro inverter represents a breakthrough in inverter design for residential and commercial solar PV installations as its technology has, for the first time, eliminated components that limit inverter life. Additionally the Enecsys micro inverter enables solar PV systems to harvest between 5% and 20% more energy; it makes planning and installation of PV systems easier and safer due to the elimination of high voltage DC wiring, and it enhances system optimization by monitoring the performance of each solar module. Enecsys has recently launched its products in Europe and North America and the latest financing has been arranged to facilitate substantial expected growth.

Climate Change Capital Private Equity led this Series B equity financing with an investment of £11 million ($18 million). The balance, £14 million ($23 million), was secured from the existing Enecsys investors, Wellington Partners, NES Partners (formerly known as Bankinvest New Energy Solutions) and Good Energies, who together previously invested £8.5 million ($14.3 million) in Enecsys in a Series A financing in 2009. The latest financing round represents the largest private equity raise in the European cleantech sector so far this year.

Mossadiq Umedaly, Enecsys’ Executive Chairman, said: “We chose Climate Change Capital Private Equity, one of the largest and most experienced investors in clean power, because of their excellent fit with us and they have decided to invest in Enecsys after a thorough investigation of our business strategy, technology and product road map, management team and future prospects. We welcome Climate Change Capital Private Equity to our strong investor team and board. We also appreciate the confidence shown by our existing investors who have again participated in such a significant way in this financing round.”

Simon Drury, a Partner at Climate Change Capital Private Equity, who will join the board of Enecsys commented: “The ability for Enecsys to provide high performance, cost effective micro inverters with the reliability and life expectancy to match that of solar modules fundamentally changes the economic model of solar PV and will play an important role in growing the market for this clean power source. We are delighted to have the opportunity to participate in the company’s success.”

Bart Markus of Wellington Partners, an existing Enecsys investor, added: “We are pleased with the progress that Enecsys has made since our initial investment in 2009, and the opportunity the market currently presents to Enecsys is huge; as of today Enecsys has the only certified micro inverter solution in production in the European market, which represents 75% of the world’s residential solar market – this round of funding will allow us to accelerate the execution of this opportunity.”

Henrik Raunkjaer, Enecsys’ CEO commented: “The resources from this financing will be used to execute our growth strategy by accelerating our product development and cost reduction plan and expanding our global presence in sales, marketing, customer service and manufacturing to serve every major market.”
http://www.enecsys.com/

REC Solar and Tigo Energy Reach Development Agreement, to use Micro Inverter Architecture

Tigo Maximizer Boosts Output of Solar Arrays by As Much As 20 Percent, Available Throughout the United States under REC Solar Agreement

REC Solar, Inc. and Tigo Energy® jointly announced today that the two companies have reached a development agreement to offer the Tigo Energy Maximizer SolutionTM as part of REC Solar’s commercial and residential installations throughout the United States.

REC Solar is one of the leading solar electric providers in the United States, and Tigo Energy has developed a technology that increases power output efficiency, management and control in solar photovoltaic (PV) installations.

The Tigo Energy Maximizer Solution creates smart modules that provide as much as 20 percent more energy production, active management capabilities and enhanced safety for utility, commercial and residential solar arrays.

“Tigo’s Maximizer Solution enables PV systems to output more electricity and achieve an industry-leading level of efficiency,” said Tigo Energy CEO Sam Arditi. “This means REC Solar system owners can harvest the maximum energy and financial return from their solar investment.”

REC Solar began offering Tigo’s Maximizer with its San Francisco Bay Area installations in February and has since extended this availability to its Los Angeles, San Diego and Colorado operations. REC Solar will further expand Maximizer availability this summer to all its territories in the United States.

“REC Solar has installed more solar systems than any system integrator in the nation,” said REC Solar CEO Angiolo Laviziano. “We’re constantly evaluating new technologies that will benefit our customers, and we are excited to offer the Tigo Energy Maximizer Solution as a transformative approach to module level control.”

Micro Inverter: Direct Grid Technologies new DGM Series

Direct Grid Technologies, LLC, manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) micro‐inverters and related monitoring systems, announced a new series of OEM grid‐tie microinverters that mate to a variety of monocrystalline and polycrystalline type modules. The DGMS250 offers a power output of 250 watts, and the DGM‐S460 offers an unprecedented 460 watts. Similar to its predecessor, the DGA Series, the DGM Series units use Direct Grid’s unique closed loop MOSFET planar architecture which offers high power and excellent thermal management, resulting in unparalleled efficiency and reliability.

The DGM‐S250 is designed to mate with a single 60 cell 210‐240 watt module, while the DGM‐S460 is suited to mate with a two 60 cell 210‐240 watt modules. For original equipment manufacturers, power tracking voltage inputs can be modified to suit custom maximum power point ranges.

“All of our micro‐inverters are inherently designed with flexibility in mind. While the DGM Series includes the DGM‐S250 and S460, many varieties of micro‐inverters actually exist in‐between. We now have a continuum of products for any wattage between 250 and 460 watts for our OEM customers,” said Frank Cooper, Direct Grid president. “Additionally, unlike some other micro inverters on the market, the system auto‐tunes to any single phase grid it is connected to, so we can handle grid frequencies of 50 or 60 hertz right out of the box,” continued Cooper.

The SMART DGM Series also includes Echelon communication that permits each micro‐inverter in the network to communicate with a remote access node. Power data, temperature, diagnostics and unique identification code are routinely collected from each micro‐inverter. This network communication also enables the benefit of theft deterrence by monitoring the unique identification of each micro‐inverter. The resulting data can be graphically presented to end users for easy system monitoring.
http://www.directgrid.com/

The company announced last week it had secured USD 4,7 M in private equity financing.

Enecsys launches solar PV micro-inverter

Patented technology improves energy harvest by up to 20% and achieves high-reliability and product life expectancy of at least 25 years

Enecsys Limited announces the launch of the first solar PV grid-connected micro-inverter for both the European and North American markets. A solar PV system based on Enecsys micro-inverters will have improved energy harvest and therefore cut the cost of harvested power by up to 20% over the lifetime of the installation compared with a conventional system using string inverters. The Enecsys solar micro-inverter is also designed for high reliability operation and to have a life expectancy of at least 25 years, thereby matching the life of solar modules to which they are directly connected. In addition, PV systems using Enecsys micro-inverters are simpler to plan, easier to install and intrinsically safer as power conversion from DC to AC is performed at each solar module, eliminating the need for high voltage DC wiring and specialized practices or equipment.

Three product versions are available, one for 200W maximum inverter input power, one for 240W and one for 280W.

The Enecsys micro-inverters operate with both European (220-240Vac, 50Hz) and North American (110-120Vac, 60Hz) electricity grids. Products are presently CE certified and country specific requirements, including VDE V 0126-1: 2006 compliance, are achieved through the use of specific Enecsys installation products. The North American market certification, UL1741, is expected in July this year.
http://enecsys.com

Kleiner Perkins bets on Solar Micro Inverters, invests in Enphase Energy

Enphase Energy Inc., the leader in solar microinverter systems, today announced the second close and completion of its latest financing round totaling $63 million. Investors in the round’s second close include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and other strategic partners. The funds will enable Enphase to accelerate product development, launch global expansion plans and strengthen its balance sheet. The first close of the financing round included existing investors Third Point Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, Madrone Capital Partners, PCG Asset Management and Applied Ventures LLC, as well as new investor Bay Partners.

“Our success in commercializing the world’s first microinverter system has placed us in a unique position to accelerate the global shift toward clean energy,” said Paul Nahi, chief executive officer, Enphase Energy. “Kleiner Perkins has shaped multiple industries by helping to build some of the most successful high-tech companies in the world, and we are proud to partner with them to bring clean energy into the mainstream.”

http://www.enphaseenergy.com/