Enphase raises $6.5 million for solar tech

<p>PETALUMA, Jan 29, 2007 – Enphase Energy, a solar technology company operating in stealth mode for the last two years, raised $6.5 million in Series B venture funding.</p><p>Enphase is beta testing a system that includes high-efficiency micro-inverters, communications and web-based analytics to maximize energy harvest and simplify design, installation and management of solar projects. </p><p>The funding was led by Third Point Ventures. The venture capital arm of a large vendor to the semiconductor industry also contributed to the round, which will take Enphase to production, according to President and CEO Paul Nahi. A Series C round will be sought during 2008.</p><p>Enphase technology tracks the electricity collection and conversion of each solar panel in a system, so it's equally effective on a one-panel system as on one that uses thousands of panels.</p><p>"We believe we're the only provider of a system using micro-inverters approved to sell in the U.S.," said Mr. Nahi. This month the testing laboratory CSA gave the Enphase system the necessary certification, an industry first.</p><p>The company has 24 employees currently and will grow to "many times what we have now," said Mr. Nahi. The equipment, scheduled to go to market in the second quarter of 2008, will be manufactured in California, though not in the North Bay.</p><p>Traditional inverters, long the pain point of the solar industry, are expensive to build and need to be replaced about every five years. </p><p>"Our systems are designed to maximize ROI for the owner and the investors," said Enphase Vice President of Marketing Raghu Belur.</p><p>The Enphase team includes several telecom veterans, also experts in electronics, semiconductor technology and communications software and hardware.</p><p>"We have the best of the best. This area is rich in interdisciplinary talent," said Mr. Belur.</p>