US solar company Sungevity raises $6m in venture funding, appoints new senior executives

24 September 2009

US online solar provider Sungevity has raised an additional $6m led by Greener Capital, a San Francisco cleantech venture capital firm and has appointed three new senior executives.

The California-based company which claims to reduce its costs by ten per cent in its solar sales process by removing the need for technicians to visit a home, launched to the public in April 2008, it provides residential solar power to the state with its online sales offering.

Charles Finnie, managing partner in Greener Capital, said, ‘This is the best business model we have seen in the residential solar space. Sungevity’s unique web-based direct selling model has enabled the potential for rapid deployment, great customer service and scalability at the lowest installed cost in the industry. We are excited to invest in Sungevity, as solar power becomes competitive with grid electricity across the US.’

As part of the deal, Finnie will join the Sungevity board. The company has also added three key members to its executive team, doubled its sales force, and plans to enter three new regions by the end of the year.

‘We’re very pleased to welcome such a remarkable group to Sungevity,’ said Danny Kennedy, president and cofounder of the company. ‘We believe that the support from Greener Capital and our growing world class team will be a tremendous boost to our mission of giving more customers greater access to solar electricity. We’re making going solar easy, an excellent investment and a smart way for you to reduce carbon pollution.’

Charles Ferer will join the company as CFO. Most recently Ferer served as CFO for SolarCity, a large US-based solar installer, where he helped raise over $60m in tax equity and launch a solar leasing programme. Joining him is Daphne Li, COO, who has held key leadership positions in marketing, product management, strategy and M&A at ADP and Apple. Finally Ariel Tseitlin, vice president, Technology and Product Development. Tseitlin was most recently the founder and CEO of CTOWorks, a software consultancy advising early-stage start-ups on their technology strategy.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: private equity, solar, venture capital

This story was published on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 11:48 am and is filed under North America, deals, solar. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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