Enphase Energy Inc., the leader in solar microinverter systems, announced the second close and completion of its latest financing round totaling $63 million. Investors in the round's second close include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and other strategic partners.
Enphase Energy was one of the fastest growing inverter companies in 2009 and has sold more than 300,000 microinverters since its launch in 2008.
The funds will enable Enphase to accelerate product development, launch global expansion plans and strengthen its balance sheet.
The first close of the financing round included existing investors Third Point Ventures, RockPort Capital Partners, Madrone Capital Partners, PCG Asset Management and Applied Ventures LLC, as well as new investor Bay Partners.
Ben Kortlang, partner, KPCB said Enphase's technology is a "step change" in the solar industry that's leading to broader adoption.
The Enphase Microinverter System is the first and only commercially available microinverter system. It integrates microinverter technology, power-line communications and web-based monitoring and analytics.
Enphase says its systems offer a number of advantages over traditional inverter systems, including a five to 25% increase in energy harvest, improved system reliability and simpler and safer installation.
Enphase microinverters are used in the AC solar panels produced by Akeena Solar (Nasdaq: AKNS), which recently announced a name change to Westinghouse Solar.
Although Enphase currently has the microinverter market to intself, SolarBridge Technologies is trying to get into the game.
