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Alternative Energy - Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Alt Energy Is Hopping: Range Fuels Does $130M Round; Nanosolar Goes With $50M

Broomfield, CO-based Range Fuels needs a good amount of capital to build a cellulosic ethanol plant in Georgia - $130M is a good start. The startup completed an oversubscribed Series B round at $130M. The first phase of construction for its Soperton, GA plant is expected to produce about 20M gallons of ethanol and mixed alcohols annually. It's expected to go live in 2009.

Range Fuels is focusing on using leftover wood residues from timber harvesting to make ethanol.

This round was led by Passport Capital with BlueMountain, Khosla Ventures, Leaf Clean Energy Company, Shaw Capital, and Pacific Capital Group. Previously, Range Fuels received a $76M grant from the US Department of Energy plus a $6M grant from the state of Georgia.

The company is led by former Apple Computer pitch-man Mitch Mandich.

View - site

Palo Alto's Nanosolar which sells solar panels, has raised $50M from EDF Energies Nouvelles. The equity is part of a strategic agreement whereby Nanosolar next year will begin supplying EDF with panels.

Nanosolar had also won a grant from the US Department of Energy - $20M. Plus it had raised around $100M from Mohr, Davidow Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Mitsui, Onpoint, SAC Capital, GLG Partners, Swiss Re and Grazia Equity.
Nanosolar has developed proprietary technology that makes it possible to simply roll-print solar cells that require only 1/100th as thick an absorber as a silicon-wafer cell (yet deliver similar performance and durability). It is building a factory in the US, Germany and Wales.

View - Nanosolar site