Sometimes you need to hedge your bets.

That may be what South Dakota-based VeraSun, one of the biggest makers of corn-based ethanol in the U.S., was thinking when it decided to put some cash into that "other" ethanol.

SunEthanol, one of those upstart cellulosic troublemakers, was the recipient of VeraSun's forward thinking investment.

VeraSun said it took a minority stake in SunEthanol, but no word on the dollar amount.

What's next? Coke buying Pepsi? Dogs and cats living together in peace and harmony? When will it ever end?

Deals we saw this week:

• South Dakota's VeraSun Energy, one of the largest U.S. producers of ethanol, made a minority investment in Massachusetts-based cellulosic ethanol developer SunEthanol. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. In addition to VeraSun, SunEthanol also gets backing from Battery Ventures, Long River Ventures and AST Capital (see VeraSun takes stake in SunEthanol).
• Austin, Texas-based HelioVolt, which specializes in copper-indium-germanium-selenide solar cells, raised $77 million in a second round of financing. Paladin Capital Group and the Masdar Clean Tech Fund co-led the round with support from returning investor New Enterprise Associates as well as Solúcar Energia, Morgan Stanley Principal Investments, Sunton United Energy and Yellowstone Capital. New investor Masdar is backed by emirate Abu Dhabi.
• Velocity Venture Capital reportedly acquired a stake in Jadoo Power, a developer of portable fuel cells. The exact size of the investment is unknown, but it is understood to be the largest ever made by Velocity, which normally invests between $100,000 and $1 million in companies. Jadoo is also financed by MDV, Venrock Associates and Sinclair Ventures.
• Verdant Power Inc., a New York-based hydropower company, is reportedly raising between $20 million and $30 million in Series B funding. Verdant is developing a hydropower plant in New York City's East River, which will be used to power businesses on Roosevelt Island.
• Metrolight, a maker of smart electronic ballasts for HID lighting, raised $9 million in financing. Virgin Fuels and Gemini Israel Funds co-led the deal, and were joined by Israel Cleantech Ventures and Altshuler Shaham. Metrolight has now raised $23 million in total VC funding since its 1996 inception. The company has offices in Brentwood, Tenn. and Israel.
• Altarock Energy, a Seattle-based developer of geothermal technologies still in stealth mode, raised $4 million in Series A funding from Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures and seed backer Aaron Mandell of GreatPoint Energy. The company is run by geothermal consultant Susan Petty.

Browse previous deals here.

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