Monday, April 21, 2008

Google.org Boosts eSolar

Google.org, Google's nonprofit arm, has made an investment into eSolar, a Pasadena, California-firm developing utility scale photovoltaic technology. eSolar said that the investment came as part of a $130M investment in the company in a venture round, which also included Idealab and Oak Investment Partners. eSolar is developing utility-scale, modular 33MW photovoltaic technology which can be used to construct solar power generation facilities. The investment follows an investment in eSolar by Google in January, as part of three new nonprofit initiatives focused on identifying hot spots and enable rapid response to emerging threats such as pandemics and global warming; supporting the growth of small and medium sized businesses in the developing world; and improving public services in Sub Saharan Africa and India.