Domestic Fuel

Virgina-based Greenhouse Gas Services, a company that invests in and develops projects that reduce greenhouse gases, announced today that it has acquired Toronto-based StormFisher Ltd. StormFisher operates projects in North America focusing on turning food or agricultural byproducts into natural gas and electricity. As part of the deal, StormFisher investor Denham Capital is now an investor in Greenhouse Gas Services which is a GE AES venture.

Mauricio Vargas, CEO of Greenhouse Gas Services said of the transaction, “Adding the StormFisher team and its pipeline of shovel-ready biogas projects expands Greenhouse Gas Services’ business line and complements our carbon platform. As carbon and renewable energy policies continue to evolve, we see tremendous opportunity and growth for us in North America.”

The company anticipates breaking ground this year on its first biogas project, a 2.8-megawatt facility in London, Ontario that will convert more than 100,000 tonnes of organic materials from agri-food producers into renewable energy through anaerobic digestion. The electricity produced will be sold to the Ontario Power Authority.

“This deal brings together StormFisher’s project development expertise and pipeline of new opportunities with the carbon credit specialization of Greenhouse Gas Services,” said Bas van Berkel, President of StormFisher. “It represents the combination of two very entrepreneurial firms with the backing of multi-billion dollar companies.”

In addition to the project in Ontario, the company is currently developing other biogas facilities in Wisconsin and California, which are expected to be operational by the end of 2011.

Solar energy is not just for roofs. Petra Solar, a company that specializes in pole mounted solar systems for utilities, announced that it has raised $40 million in funding to be used for expansion initiatives. Current investors in the company participated in this round including Element Partners, Blue Run Ventures, OnPoint Technologies (U.S. Army’s Venture Fund) and Kuwait’s National Technology Enterprises Company, and were joined by two new investors Craton Equity Partners and Espírito Santo Ventures.

“The Petra Solar management team is very pleased to have Craton Equity Partners and Espírito Santo Ventures as investors, especially given their experience in cleantech growth investing and their expertise in the regulated energy sector.  We are also thankful for the continued support of our existing investors,” said Petra Solar CEO and President, Dr. Shihab Kuran. “Petra Solar has a proven model for green job creation including installation and manufacturing jobs that are local to system deployment. We are very gratified that our business interests line up directly with the public’s interest in producing reliable, clean energy and green jobs.”

The company plans to use the additional funding to add green jobs and expand its customer base. Petra Solar anticipates that it will immediately add 30 new employees and have a team of 165 people by year end. The company’s SunWaveTM system generates clean energy and increases reliability to the distribution grid. In the future, the company plans to expand its product line to address new applications and market segments that leverage its Smart Energy Module TM platform, which integrates utility grade power management, smart grid communications and grid availability features into a single system.