STRATA PARTNERS ADVISES WHITFIELD SOLAR LIMITED
Strata Partners advises Whitfield Solar Limited on a £2.7 million private placement.
The funding round was led by an undisclosed private syndicate of new investors and supported by existing investors Carbon Trust Investment Ltd, the Cascade Fund and Kilsby Ltd.
Whitfield Solar Limited, a spin-out from Reading University, has developed a low-cost platform to enable various cell technologies to be embodied in a range of photovoltaic concentrator (CPV) products for genuinely sustainable solar power generation. Whitfield’s CPV units take the sun’s energy and concentrate it, via an array of Fresnel lenses, onto a fraction of the surface area of various high-performance photovoltaic materials. Designed to be used in both large scale ground-based “solar farms” as well as smaller roof-top installations, this platform offers a number of advantages including low cost of manufacture, minimal weight, high scalability and robustness.
Stephen Bates, CEO of Whitfield Solar, said: “We are very pleased with the significant commitment shown to Whitfield by our new investor syndicate, and for the contribution that they are already making to our board.
“Following the launch of our concentrated photovoltaic solar platform, we are now focused on satisfying the strong interest we have had from markets across the world. We are delighted with the growth of our order pipeline and look forward to working with our customers and partners as we continue to build our order book for delivery in 2010.
“Like all solar products, Whitfield Solar benefits from feed-in tariffs in the immediate near term, but our unique low-cost platform means we are well-placed to lead the charge to the holy grail of the solar industry – grid parity”.
About Whitfield Solar Limited
Whitfield Solar Limited, a spin-out from Reading University, has developed a low-cost platform to enable various cell technologies to be embodied in a range of photovoltaic concentrator (CPV) products for genuinely sustainable solar power generation. Whitfield’s CPV units take the suns energy and concentrate it, via an array of Fresnel lenses, onto a small surface area of various high-performance photovoltaic materials (a tiny fraction of that used by flat plate technology). Designed to be used in both large scale ground-based, solar farms as well as smaller roof-top installations, this platform offers a number of advantages including low cost of manufacture, minimal weight, high scalability and robustness. Whitfield Solar’s first factory-made product, the WS-Si24 360Wp solar concentrator, was launched at the 24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Exhibition in Hamburg in September. Whitfield is generating substantial interest from worldwide customers and partners – the WS-Si24 product is manufactured in Italy and commercial collaborations have been implemented in Spain and Australia.