Enphase raises another $8 million

<p>Enphase Energy, a Petaluma startup that makes solar energy technology, has raised another $8 million in venture capital as it prepares to go public.</p><p>Enphase, founded in 2006, makes microinverters that boost the output of solar power systems.</p><p>Microinverters attach to individual solar modules and convert DC to AC power. The Enphase system is more efficient than conventional inverters, increasing energy production up to 25 percent, the company said.</p><p>Enphase revealed the private equity deal last week in a filing with U.S. securities regulators. In June, the company said it's planning to go public with an initial stock offering worth up to $100 million.</p><p>But the IPO hasn't happened yet, and no date or share price have been set. Venture-backed technology startups are waiting for stock markets to improve before going public, according to Wall Street analysts.</p><p>Enphase raised $14 million in venture capital last June.</p><p>The company has grown quickly, reaching $92.4 million in sales for the first nine months of 2011, the company reported last week. Revenue was $41 million for the same period in 2010.</p><p>So far this year, Enphase has sold 614,000 microinverter units, compared to 276,000 for the first nine months of 2010.</p><p>But Enphase has lost $26.8 million this year as it launches new products and expands outside the United States. Enphase has about 286 employees, with most of them at its headquarters in Petaluma.</p><p>The company was founded by telecom industry veterans Raghu Belur and Martin Fornage. They developed hardware and software that changes the way solar energy is processed.</p><p>Conventional inverters manage power from hundreds or thousands of solar panels at a time. Low-performing panels hurt the output of an entire system controlled by a common inverter.</p><p>Enphase microinverters control each panel independently, boosting output, according to Enphase. The company also makes web-based software that collects and processes data from solar arrays and lets system owners monitor system performance. </p><p>Most Enphase customers are solar distributors who sell the technology to solar installers.</p>