Smart Energy News

Berkeley, Calif. — Scientific Conservation Inc. (SCI), a provider of energy efficiency and system optimization software for the commercial building market, has raised $5 million in its first round of venture capital, which was led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ).

SCI was founded in 2007. The company offers software that predicts, detects, diagnoses, and prioritizes energy system faults and anomalies in commercial buildings. It claims the platform helps cut annual energy spending up to 25% by comparing predicted energy and system efficiencies against real-time operation.

SCI is headquartered in Berkeley and has offices in Atlanta. The company has a strategic alliance with the consulting firm Natural Logic, which helps companies and governments implement sustainability programs.

On Wednesday, SCI named Russ McMeekin as its CEO. McMeekin previously served as president and CEO of Progressive Gaming International, a gaming management systems provider for casinos.

Scientific Conservation Inc. website

Petaluma, Calif. — Enphase Energy, a developer of solar microinverter systems, has raised $40 million in a new round of venture capital led by Bay Partners.

Founded in 2006 and based in Petaluma, Enphase offers solar energy management systems for residential and commercial markets. The company markets a system that includes high efficiency solar microinverters, communications and web-based monitoring and analysis. Enphase claims its systems offers a 5-25% increase in energy yield over traditional central inverters.

Enphase’s technology is designed to increase solar energy “harvest,” to simplify installation and management and improve system reliability. The company has already shipped about 250,000 of its inverters, according to Greg Clark, a managing director of Horizon Technology Finance, which also invested in the deal.

The company’s micro-converter attaches to the racks beneath solar modules and converts DC power to grid-compliant AC power. Its communications technology transmits performance information from each solar module to a website, which is used by customers to monitor and manage their solar power systems.

Other investors in the company include Bridge Bank (NASDAQ:BBNK), Third Point Ventures, Madrone Capital Partners, RockPort Capital Partners, and Applied Ventures.

Enphase Energy website

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will invest $37.5 million over the next five years in a joint U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) that will focus on technologies for building energy efficiency, clean coal, carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles.

Grant recipients of the funding in the U.S. will provide matching funds for total U.S.-based funding of $75 million, according to the announcement. Chinese sources will also provide a total of $75 million for the program.

The R&D operations will be spread geographically between the two countries. Funding from the U.S. government will support work conducted by U.S. institutions and individuals only, the DOE said.

CERC will support research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from both the U.S. and China, as well as serve as a “clearinghouse” to assist the researchers.  DOE said it will provide one award for each of the CERC’s initial work areas, including building efficiency, clean coal and clean vehicles.

Universities, national labs, private companies and other parties can apply for the available grants through the website below:

U.S. Government Grants website

Franklin, Tenn. — Nissan North America, on Tuesday announced that it is pricing its all electric vehicle, the LEAF, at about $32,500, which after a $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit will make the price about $25,000.

A range of state and local incentives may further defray the costs, such as a $5,000 statewide tax rebate in California, a $5,000 tax credit in Georgia, and a $1,500 tax credit in Oregon, Nissan said.

In addition to the vehicle purchase process, Nissan will offer personal charging docks, which operate on a 220-volt supply, as well as their installation by AeroVironmen, for an average cost of $2,200. The charging dock and installhttp://smartenergynews.net/wp-admin/post-new.php?preview=trueation are eligible for a 50% federal tax credit, up to $2,000.

The LEAF will cost less than $3 to “fill up,” based on current national electricity average prices, according to Nissan.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has made a $1.4 billion loan to Nissan to retool the company’s factory in Smyrna, where it plans to LEAF model automobiles and an advanced battery manufacturing facility.

Nissan LEAF website

Union City, Calif. — Glacier Bay, a developer of energy-efficient power management technology, has raised $15 million in its third round of venture capital, which was led by City Light Capital.

Glacier Bay was founded in 1990 and the following year introduced the world’s first refrigerator to use the non-ozone depleting refrigerant HFC–134a, which is marketed to long-distance cruising sailboats. The company now offers high efficiency refrigeration and power management products for a range of industries and applications.

Glacier Bay said it will use the proceeds from the new investment to fund the growth of ClimaCab, an efficient climate control system for the trucking industry, as well as other unspecified “strategic new product initiatives.”

Other investors in Glacier Bay include The Westly Group and New Enterprise Associates (NEA).

Glacier Bay website