Toronto-based CPV start-up Morgan Solar said that it has increased its first-round investment funding to $8.2 million (US) from the $4.7 million announced in October 2009. Strategic investors in the initial round include Iberdrola, Nypro, venture capital firm Turnstone Capital Management (which led the round), and two unnamed Canadian VC groups.
The funds will be used to finance activities leading up to the commercial release of Morgan Solar’s concentrated photovoltaic solar panel, the Sun Simba HCPV, which is designed for utility-scale solar farms and distributed generation.
“The most important goal for solar energy is to become competitive with other electrical generation technologies,” said Nicolas Morgan, the company’s VP of business development and marketing. “Our view is that this can only be achieved with low-cost, scalable, high-efficiency solar panels. The Sun Simba HCPV is our answer to this challenge.”
Early manufacturing for testing and certification has begun at Morgan Solar’s facility in Toronto, with iInitial commercial deliveries expected by the end of the year, the company said. Global sales, manufacturing, and delivery capabilities will ramp up in 2011.
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