Smart Energy News

Salem, Mass. – Wing Power Energy, a developer of small wind turbines, has raised $600,000 in fresh venture capital.

Investors in Wing Power include individuals and institutional investors in five countries on three continents, according to a published statement by the company’s CEO, Harry Ruda, who previously served as CEO of Desktone, as well as Softricity.

Wing Power’s system is a vertical platform that rotates irrespective of wind direction. It stands under 35 feet and generates power even in low wind conditions. It also incorporates solar energy panels in its design.

The company claims that its newest blade design has shown a near doubling of performance and even lower wind start capability that will expand the geographic markets into which the systems can effectively be introduced.

By the first quarter of 2012, Wing Power says, it will have secured installations in six more states in the U.S., including in the Northwest, West, Southwest, South, Northeast and Midwest regions.

Image credit: Wing Power Energy

Wing Power Energy website

Wing Power’s new SEC filing

Charlottesville, Va. – Apex Wind Energy, a developer of commercial-scale wind energy facilities in North America, has raised $10 million in a round of venture capital, according to a new filing by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Apex was founded in 2009 by a group that previously founded Greenlight Energy, which was acquired by BP Alternative Energy in 2006. Apex has affiliated companies in the solar, biodiesel and wave power sectors.

Apex Offshore Wind recently established a partnership with Maersk Line to support the development, financing and construction of utility-scale offshore wind energy facilities in North America. Apex is developing land-based wind projects in several states and offshore wind projects in Lake Erie and in the Atlantic Ocean.

Last year, the company acquired the wind energy project assets in eastern Nevada from Nevada Wind, a regional wind development company based in Las Vegas and Sparks, Nevada. Fully built, the projects have the potential to support up to 810 megawatts of wind energy capacity, according to the company.

Apex Wind Energy website

Apex Wind Energy’s new SEC filing

Boston – First Wind, a Boston-based wind energy company, announced on Monday it has raised $210 million in financing for its wind project located in northern Whitman County, Wash.

As a result, First Wind said it will continue on schedule with construction of the project, which will be largest renewable energy facility in the county with the capacity to generate enough energy to power about 30,000 homes, equal to the total energy load of all of Whitman County, according to First Wind.

The project will feature 58 Vestas 1.8 MW wind turbines with a generating capacity of about 105 MW of electricity. Construction on the wind farm began in October.

KeyBank National Association served as the joint lead arranger and administrative agent, and Nordduetsche Landesbank Girozentrale, CoBank ACB, and Banco Santander served as joint lead arrangers.

First Wind has developed and operates 735 megawatts of generating capacity at 11 wind energy projects so far in New York, New England, Utah, Vermont and Hawaii.

Image credit: First Wind

First Wind website

Santa Barbara, Calif. – Champlin Windpower, a wind energy development company, has raised $9 million in a venture capital round, which it plans to eventually total $50 million, according to a new filing by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Founded in 2006, Champlin focuses on acquiring wind resource rights and developing wind energy projects in the North America.

The company is owned as a joint venture with Good Energies, a renewable energy investment firm that is a subsidiary of COFRA, which is a European-based, family-held company.

Champlin its affiliates currently have in excess of 4,500 MW of new wind energy projects under development in the western U.S.

Champlin Windpower website

Champlin’s new SEC filing

Washington – Elia, a Belgian electrical transmission system operator, announced it has acquired a 10% stake in the first segment of the Atlantic Wind Connection, the planned development of an offshore backbone in the U.S., which will enable the connection of 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind produced off the coasts of several East Coast states.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

By investing in the project, Elia is partnering with Internet giant Google, Marubeni, and Good Energies, the well-financed developer of a network of electric vehicle recharging stations.

As planned, the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC) will enable the integration of offshore wind into the PJM1 interconnection system off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

The backbone is expected to be as long as 345 miles and its development will be divided into five segments. In addition to the 10% stake that Elia has acquired in the first segment, the firm has also acquired 5% stakes in the four other sections.

Google and Better Place reportedly each own 37.5% of the whole AWC project, which has a total estimated value of about $5 billion, according to reports.

Atlantic Wind Connection website

Elia website