From: Mercom Capital Group

Brazil-based solar financing company Solfácil has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by QED Investors and involving Valor Capital, its Chief Executive Officer Fabio Carrara. Solfácil is the first fintech venture to focus on solar energy in Brazil, where it finances the installation of solar panels and PV equipment in people’s homes. Solfácil seeks to boost its yearly solar loans from BRL700 million (~$141.28 million) to BRL2.5 billion (~$50.56 million) by 2022.

Electric Hydrogen, a company, delivering hydrogen from renewable electrolysis for heavy industry, announced a $24 million Series A financing led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and joined by Prelude Ventures and Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund. The funding will support continued product development as it expands its operations in the Greater Boston and San Francisco Bay Areas.

Electra Vehicles, an AI-based provider of hybrid energy storage system design and controls for automotive and grid applications, closed a $3.6 million seed funding round. The round was led by the Italian investment group LIFTT and BlackBerry with participation from Club degli Investitori, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Prithvi Ventures, Launchpad Venture Group, TiE Boston Angels, and angel investors. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts.

Nostromo, an Israel-based energy storage company that has developed a revolutionary thermal energy storage cell completed a merger with Somoto, a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange-listed company raising $13.6 million in the process. Somoto is engaged in software development. Nostromo has been listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange through this merger.

Elevation, a residential energy solutions provider including solar, energy efficiency, and smart energy technology, announced the initial close of a Series A financing led by Vesta Ventures, a residential-focused proptech venture capital fund founded by industry veterans Rich Ford and Clayton Wyatt. This latest funding will allow Elevation to invest in and expand its proprietary technology platforms for homeowners, renters, institutional operators of single-family rental portfolios, and utility companies.

Clearway Energy Group, a developer and operator of clean energy generation facilities in the U.S., announced that it closed $285 million in financing for two solar and storage projects in O’ahu, Hawaii. The 39 MW Mililani I Solar and 36 MW Waiawa Solar Power sites will be paired with a combined 300 MWh of storage, becoming among the first integrated utility-scale battery storage and solar projects on the island. Natixis acted as the Coordinating Lead Arranger, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and MUFG each acted as joint lead arrangers. JPM Capital Corporation served as the tax equity investor.

Solar module manufacturer JinkoSolar Holding has announced that its holding subsidiary, Shangrao JinkoSolar Industry Development, plans to invest RMB315 million (~$48.64 million) in equity in Inner Mongolia Xinte Silicon Materials Company – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xinte Energy Company. The investment will be used to construct a high-purity polysilicon production line with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons. Once the transaction is completed, the company will hold a 9% stake in Inner Mongolia Xinte.

Elevation, a provider of residential energy solutions, including solar, energy efficiency, and smart energy technology, announced the initial close of a Series A financing led by Vesta Ventures, a residential-focused proptech venture capital fund founded by industry veterans Rich Ford and Clayton Wyatt. This latest funding will allow Elevation to invest in and expand its proprietary technology platforms.

NextEnergy Capital Group, a solar investment and asset manager announced new investor commitments of $232 million into NextPower III ESG international solar fund (NPIII), taking total funds raised to date to $530 million. The new commitments include a German occupational pension fund, Derigo Gmbh&Co.KG, and a U.K. institutional investor. NPIII is a private fund focused on the international solar infrastructure sector, principally targeting projects in carefully selected OECD countries, including the U.S., Portugal, Spain, Chile, and Italy. The fund has to date, acquired 14 projects plus one portfolio with a total installed capacity of 400 MW. This ten-year closed-ended fund is targeting a gross internal rate of return of 13-15%.

Brazil-based privately-owned lender Banco BV announced it would provide BRL100 million (~$20 million) in financing for solar projects to over 20,000 partners. The credit line will be available to those looking to install solar PV panels to supply their residential or commercial properties.

Daqo New Energy, a manufacturer of high-purity polysilicon, is in the process of applying for an initial public offering of the company’s major operational subsidiary, Xinjiang Daqo New Energy, in the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Sci-Tech innovation board. The issuance process is estimated to be completed within four weeks.

U.S.-based Energea Global, a renewables developer and retail investment platform, has received a funding commitment of $63 million from a London-based private equity firm to co-invest in distributed generation (DG) solar projects across Brazil. VH Global Energy Opportunities, an investment trust advised by Victory Hill Capital Advisers, will support 18 identified ready-to-build solar projects across ten Brazilian states. Each project will involve building a solar farm to supply power to local commercial and industrial customers and large global corporations with operations in the South American country.

Greenvolt, a renewable energy company Altri, and Tresa Energía have reached an agreement that allows the company led by Manso Neto to subscribe to a capital increase, with Greenvolt holding a 29.23% stake in Spain’s Perfecta Energia with effective management participation. Perfecta Energia installs and maintains solar PV systems for its use in the home segment, in the B2C segment (company to consumer).

The Africa Renewable Energy Fund II has achieved its first close at €130 million (~$155.1 million), following a joint investment of €17.5 million (~$20.8 million) from The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Climate Technology Fund through the African Development Bank. The Africa Renewable Energy Fund II, managed by Berkeley Energy, invests in early-stage renewable energy projects. 

For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click here.

Read last week’s funding roundup.