BrightSource: A green energy success story
BrightSource Energy announced this morning that it is tapping the deep pockets of the California State Teachers Retirement System and Alstom, among others, for $150 million in equity financing.
BrightSource plans to use the cash to build 14 solar power plants in the U.S. Southwest by 2016 that will generate 2,610 megawatts that are already contracted to Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison.
The Oakland-based company has become a bona fide green energy success story in recent months.
Earlier this year, BrightSource won approval to build the Ivanpah Solar Electric plant in the Mojave Desert –despite facing objections from conservationists – and received a $1.37 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy in February. Construction on Ivanpah slated to begin later this year.
The company also has plans for international expansion.
Today’s Series D financing includes investments from VantagePoint Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley and Draper Fisher Jurvetson and brings the total equity financing to $300 million.
Alstom is putting up $55 million in its first investment in the solar space, according to the BrightSource release.
BrightSource Chief Executive John Woolard said,
A Series D capital raise of this magnitude reflects the market’s confidence in our world-class team and the important role of our Luz Power Tower technology in meeting the growing global demand for cost-effective and reliable solar power.
BrightSource’s technology uses thousands of mirrors, or heliostats, to reflect sunlight onto a liquid-filled boiler on top of a metal tower. The liquid turns to steam and is piped from the boiler to a turbine to generate electricity.