Smart Energy News

Kyle, Texas – Xtreme Power, a developer of utility-scale power management and energy storage systems, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $29.5 million in its third round of venture capital, which was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Dow Chemical, and SAIL Venture Partners.

Founded in 2004, Xtreme engineers, builds and operates integrated power-management and energy-storage systems for use in renewable energy and micro-grid applications.

The company’s technology is intended to meet demand created by one of solar power’s and wind power’s main limitations – the intermittent nature of those technologies’ power generation.

Its systems have been implemented at sites around the world, with units at the South Pole and on the largest operating wind farm in Hawaii, according to Xtreme. In general, the systems made by the company range in scale from 500 kilowatts to 100 megawatts.

In March, a joint venture between Xtreme and Clairvoyant Energy paid $24.3 million to acquire a shuttered Ford plant on a 320-acre-site in Wixom, Mich., where they plan to build solar panels and large-scale power systems.

Other investors in Xtreme include POSCO ICT and SkyLake & Co.

Xtreme Power website

Stamford, Conn. – SynapSense, a privately held, California-based developer of technology that improves energy efficiency and cooling costs for data centers, has raised $5 million in venture capital from GE Energy Financial Services.

Founded in 2006, SynapSense offers wireless hardware and software that supports a sensor platform, which in turn allows data center operators to view their operations’ energy use-patterns and reduce consumption by up to 20%, according to the company.

SynapSense’s technology was initially developed by one of the company’s founders, Raju Pandey, while working at the University of California, Davis. The company’s other co-founder, Peter Van Deventer, formerly served as a sales and marketing executive at Intel.

Its products include software synthesis and scaling tools, and programming languages, as well as solutions for data collection, monitoring integration, and analysis. It also provides solutions for the data centers, fabs and clean rooms, manufacturing, materials handling, facility management, and original equipment manufacturers.

Other investors in SynapSense include American River Ventures, Emerald Technology Ventures, Sequoia Capital, DFJ Frontier, and Nth Power.

SynapSense website

GE Energy Financial Services

South Plainfield, N.J. – Petra Solar, a privately held maker of integrated solar power and smart grid technology, has signed a deal with AT&T under which the telecom giant will market Petra’s products to utility companies.

Founded in 2006, Petra Solar makes solar electric system specifically designed for installation on utility poles. The systems connect directly to the grid’s secondary voltage lines and operate as individual power generation stations, combining solar power, smart grid and power management technologies that help utilities to improve power quality and grid management.

Last July, Petra Solar signed a $200 million contract with PSE&G, the largest largest utility in New Jersey, to generate 40 megawatts of power through Petra’s systems, installed on up to 200,000 poles. The solar units are currently being installed throughout the state’s six largest cities and 300 suburban communities and will be running on the AT&T wireless network.

Petra has raised $54 million in venture capital since 2007 from investors that include Craton Equity Partners, Espírito Santo Ventures, Element Partners, Blue Run Ventures, OnPoint Technologies (U.S. Army’s Venture Fund) and Kuwait’s National Technology Enterprises Company.

Torrance, Calif. — Honda announced today that it will introduce new “advanced environmental technology” vehicles, including a battery-electric and a new plug-in hybrid vehicle, to the U.S. market in 2012.

The company said it will roll out a battery-electric vehicle demonstration program in the U.S. with participation from Stanford University, Google, and the City of Torrance, which will receive a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle for evaluation by the end of 2010.

Honda’s battery-electric commuter vehicle will be introduced in the U.S. market in 2012, the company said. After that, a new plug-in hybrid system for mid-size to larger vehicles will be introduced in the U.S. market in 2012.

The company’s first application of a lithium-ion battery in a hybrid model will be in the new Civic Hybrid, planned for market launch next year. The lithium-ion battery was developed by Blue Energy, a joint venture between Honda and GS Yuasa.

Honda website

Foster City, Calif. — SolarCity, a provider of solar power financing, design, installation, monitoring and related services, has raised $21.5 million in a round of venture capital that was led by Mayfield Fund.

Founded in 2006, SolarCity recently announced a new fund to finance an additional $90 million in commercial and residential solar projects in 2010 with U.S. Bancorp. The two firms have now collaborated on three separate funds to finance a total of $190 million in solar projects in the U.S. in 2009 and 2010.

In March, SolarCity acquired the assets of Building Solutions, an energy efficiency services and technology provider, allowing it to roll out a range of energy-saving services including home energy evaluations; efficient heating, cooling and lighting; water heating; and duct and building envelope sealing.

SolarCity said it plans to extend its integrated solar and energy efficiency services across Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Texas.