- SolarCity, which is developing all-in solar packages for the home (including the solar system, net metering with the grid, and remote monitoring), has raised $10mm in financing led by Elon Musk. Musk will also be taking the Chairman role with the company. It's interesting that net metering is the stated goal, rather than storage, which is another take that other companies such as GridPoint are pursuing. Any other funders besides Musk were undisclosed.
- Several moves among cleantech investors: Russell Pullan has joined Nomura International -- he was formerly with The Carbon Trust... Greg Sullivan has joined Chrysalix as a Managing Director, following their recent fund closing.
- A Denver energy venture capital firm is looking to hire an experienced post-MBA energy technology Associate. Those interested should contact Lynne Ballegeer at Phoenix Group International.
Other news and notes: Lots of talk about Google.org's plans to invest in plug-in hybrids... Here are some very useful stats on various energy markets... And here's a good overview of ocean/wave power... VentureWire mentioned on Wednesday that venture valuations have been going up almost across the board. Notably, median valuations for "advanced materials, agriculture and energy" went up from $7.9mm in 2005 to $14.8mm for the first six months of this year... Heard from an attendee of the recent EEVF in Zurich that there was a lot of interest and a big turnout -- and that the big joke was "Did anyone here NOT invest in Ocean Power Delivery?" (There are now apparently 15 investors)... Finally, Neal Dikeman has some useful thoughts coming out of the recent Investing in Solar Conference.
