The clean air must inspire clean investing.

Switzerland-based Good Energies, a family controlled private equity group that invests in cleantech, put its cash into wind and solar this week.

The company dealt out $55 million to New York-based EverPower Renewables, a developer of wind power, and participated in a $45 million round for Konarka Technologies, a Lowell, Mass.-based organic solar company.

The group, which has a portfolio valued at $5.5 billion, was established in 2001 by the Brenninkmeijer family through their Cofra Holding company. The family's come a long way from its roots in textiles in 1841. The holding company now controls retail, real estate, private equity and financial services.

The family also runs corporate giving programs focusing on sustainable improvements, job creation and children's and youth projects, so it should be no surprise that they like to give green to green.

Rounding out this week's investments were cash handouts to marine power, gasification technology, LEDs and more.

Deals we saw this week:

• New York-based wind power developer EverPower Renewables raised $55 million from Switzerland-based cleantech investment group Good Energies. The company said it has more than 1.5 gigawatts in development in seven states. EverPower plans to put the cash toward turbines for its New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio projects. In August, the company received a $3 million grant for its Buckeye project from the Ohio Department of Energy (see Cleantech.com's EverPower wind attracts Good Energies).
• Konarka Technologies, a Lowell, Mass.-based organic solar company, raised $45 million. The funding was led by Mackenzie Financial and co-led by existing investor Good Energies. The round also included new investor Pegasus Capital, as well as Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Asenqua Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, 3i, and others. Konarka said it plans to accelerate the development and commercialization of its polymer-based organic photovoltaic technologies for consumer, commercial, BIPV and electronic applications.
• Edinburgh, Scotland-based Aquamarine Power Ltd., a new venture of Aquamarine Power and Scottish and Southern Energy, raised $3.1 million from Sigma Capital Group. The venture also received an initial investment of £6.3 million from Scottish and Southern Energy. The new company said it plans to be the first in the world to deploy both wave and tidal devices on a commercial scale. The venture will continue work on Aquamarine's Oyster hydro-electric wave power device, as well as a new tidal device.The Oyster is scheduled for full scale testing in Orkney, Scotland, within the next six months.
• WorldWater & Solar Technologies, a Pennington, N.J., solar electric engineering and water management company, raised $13.4 million in a private stock purchase by Quercus Trust. WorldWater said the funds will be used to extend its production capabilities, particularly for construction of CPV modules for projects in Spain and the U.S., and for the purchase and implementation of concentrator cells and systems that are being developed.
• Liquidia Technologies, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., received $2 million from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Liquidia received the award to develop and manufacture high-efficiency, cost-effective patterned thin film solar cells based on the company's Print platform for precision nanomolding. The company said its system combines photolithographic precision with a scalable continuous manufacturing process. Liquidia said it's currently working with partners to improve light management efficiency across photovoltaic and display applications.
• Braemar Energy Ventures closed its second fund, Braemar Energy Ventures II, at $250 million. The company said the fund will invest primarily in venture and expansion-stage energy technology companies that help deliver cleaner, cheaper, more efficient and reliable energy solutions. Braemar said the fund was significantly oversubscribed, and includes many new institutional investors from the U.S., Europe and Asia. Investors include MassMutual, AlpInvest Partners, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investments, Robeco, GIC Special Investments, Macquarie and the PCG Clean Energy and Technology Fund.
• Pennington, N.J.-based Ocean Power Technologies received $1.9 million in additional funding from the U.S. Navy for its ongoing contract to install the its PowerBuoy systems off the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The company said the extra cash will be used to support the testing and monitoring of the next PowerBuoy system to be deployed at the offshore site. The Hawaii project is for the installation, testing and grid connection of multiple buoys off the Marine Corps Base at Kaneohe Bay.
• ZeroPoint Clean Tech, a Potsdam, N.Y.-based developer of gasification technologies, raised $3.12 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. No investors were named, but the company's website lists Golden Technology Management as a seed backer in 2005. ZeroPoint said it provides its technology for distributed biomass to energy and clean water solutions. The company said its system converts most forms of biomass into clean gas, heat, power, liquid fuels, and other valuable chemicals. It said its evaporative processes are efficient for creating potable water, reducing waste water and improving other industrial processes.
• Santa Clara, Calif.'s LedEngin, a supplier of high power light emitting diodes components and light source modules, closed on $11 million in a Series C round of funding. The financing was led by Partech International, with previous investor WK Technology Fund and private investor Keh-Shew Lu also participating in the round. Lu is president and CEO of Diodes, a Dallas-based semiconductor company. LedEngin plans to use the funding to expand sales channels and manufacturing capacity, and develop additional solutions for ultra bright lighting applications.
• San Rafael, Calif.-based Nordic Windpower received an investment from Goldman Sachs. The manufacturer of two-bladed utility-scale wind turbines did not disclose the amount, but called it "a significant investment in the company." Nordic said the new money enables the company to fulfill growing demand for turbines at a time when the industry faces persistent supply constraints. The company said it will be able to deliver its turbines as early as 2008 and focus on high-growth markets globally.
• San Francisco algae to biofuel company Solazyme received a $2 million grant from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Solazyme said the cash will be used to develop a biopetroleum, a replacement for light sweet crude oil, derived from marine microorganisms. The company, backed by BlueCrest Capital Finance and the Roda Group, is currently developing biofuels and health and wellness products with microalgae and producing next generation biofuels at the semi-commercial scale.

Browse previous deals here.

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