Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

Nanosolar secures funds for expansion

Nanosolar Inc. has secured US$70 million in new capital, which it will use to boost the company’s business activities going forward.

Nanosolar will ramp up production of its solar films.

Nanosolar

Specifically, the U.S. solar company says it will use the funds to expand production of its CIGS thin film photovoltaic cells and panels, invest in R&D to drive up efficiencies and look to faster commercialize its technology.

The funds came from both new and existing investors, including OnPoint Technologies, Inc., Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Ohana Holdings LLC, and international Family Offices. "We strongly believe in Nanosolar’s technology and the company’s ability to deliver the most cost-efficient solar electricity for utility scale and defense installations," commented John Trbovich, of Arsenal Venture Partners, the manager of OnPoint Technologies, Inc.

Currently Nanosolar manufactures around 100 megawatts worth of thin film panels. It did not say by how much it intends to expand this by, however. In the lab, the company has achieved efficiencies of 17.1 percent.

In related news, Nanosolar completed a one megawatt photovoltaic installation at Camp Roberts, in San Miguel, California on May 18. In a statement released, the company said the project is part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), "which is testing various green technologies to identify viable solutions to address rising energy costs and minimize the reliance on fossil fuels."