Solar startup 1336 Technologies and joint venture AES Solar joined the solar sector this week, each with a hefty amount of cash in their green nest egg.

North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners co-led a $12.4 million Series A round for 1336 Technologies, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinout company.

The startup said it has a new cell architecture that uses low-cost fabrication methods to increase the efficiency of multi-crystalline solar cells.

And it has big plans, aiming to build industrial-scale, 100 megawatt plants around the world.

That kind of talk could put it up against potential heavyweight AES Solar, which is starting off with $1 billion in backing.

Arlington, Va.-based power company AES (NYSE: AES) and New York private equity firm Riverstone Holdings teamed up on the new venture, each planning to commit $500 million over the next five years into the venture.

AES Solar is expected to become a developer, owner and operator of installations ranging from fewer than 2 MW to more than 50 MW in size (see AES, Riverstone in $1B solar venture).

Rounding out the deals are biogasoline backed by Big Oil, cash for cleantech in Ohio, and more.

Deals we saw over the past week:

• Solar startup 1336 Technologies, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinout company, raised $12.4 million in Series A funding. North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners co-led the round. The solar company said it has a new cell architecture that uses low-cost fabrication methods to increase the efficiency of multi-crystalline solar cells. The startup said it plans to build industrial-scale, 100 megawatt plants around the world.
• Madison, Wis.-based Virent Energy Systems is getting an undisclosed amount of funding from oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) for research into biogasoline. Virent said the two will collaborate on developing a sugar-based fuel that could be used like regular gasoline (see Virent's biogasoline gets Big Oil backing).
• The state of Ohio has awarded $20.9 million in grants for cleantech energy projects including wind, solar, biofuel, energy storage and fuel cell technologies. The grants, handed out through the Ohio Third Frontier Commisssion, cover 29 different projects at universities and businesses (see Ohio hands out $20.9M in cleantech energy grants).
• Arlington, Va.-based power company AES and New York private equity firm Riverstone Holdings have teamed up to pour $1 billion into utility-scale photovoltaic projects. Each company plans to commit $500 million over the next five years into the new venture, called AES Solar. The venture is expected to become a developer, owner and operator of installations ranging from fewer than 2 MW to more than 50 MW in size.
• AqWise, a Herzliya, Israel-based developer of wastewater treatment technology, raised $3.6 million in funding. The company said existing investors AHMSA Steel Israel, Elron Electronic Industries (Nasdaq: ELRN) and Israel Clean Tech Ventures participated in the round. AqWise plans to use the proceeds to grow its presence and market reach around the globe, as well as to continue development of its Attached Growth Airlift Reactor fixed biofilm moving bed process.
• Lisle, Ill.-based Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc., a specialty chemical startup, raised $40 million from TPG Growth and TPG Biotechnology Partners. Elevance was formed out of a partnership between Cargill and catalyst technology company Materia. Elevance develops and commercializes value-added chemicals and materials by applying Materia's metathesis technology to low-cost renewable oils, such as soy and canola.
• GMZ Energy, a newly un-stealthed Newton, Mass.-based thermoelectric material startup, raised an undisclosed seed investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. GMZ's technology is licensed from MIT. Thermoelectric materials can convert heat into electricity, as well as convert electricity into heat.
• Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq: ASTI) is rethinking using Bear Stearns & Co. as lead underwriter for its latest public offering. The company said it is watching the Bear Stearns developments, and that it's in talks with other investment banks on the possibility of them becoming lead underwriters for an $80 million stock offering in addition to or in place of Bear Stearns. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has made a bid to buyout the struggling Bear Stearns for a reported $2 per share.
• Baltimore, Md.-based Ceratech, a green concrete company, has raised some cash from Columbia, Md., chemical firm W.R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA). The amount of the investment was not disclosed, but W.R. Grace reportedly took a minority stake in Ceratech. W.R. Grace said Ceratech's technology creates fast-setting concrete using fly ash, a type of waste produced by coal-fired power plants.
• The Chinese government reportedly said it would put $5.9 billion toward environmental protection and energy efficiency projects this year. The country plans to use the funds to scrap obsolete capacity, improve sewers and clean up several rivers. The report also said China is considering a cap and trade system for pollution quotas.
• London's HSBC Holdings (NYSE: HBC) said it plans to hand out £100 million for renewable energy projects in the U.K. The bank teamed up with Partnership for Renewables, a venture set up by the government's Carbon Trust, dedicated to installing renewable energy technology on public-sector land. HSBC committed up to £18 million for a 49 percent share in the partnership and has also put up a £30 million revolving pot of cash that it said would provide Partnership for Renewables with £100 million of equity.

Browse previous deals here.

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