USA: Southwest Windpower receives $10 million from GE

One month after the adoption of federal tax credits to propel small wind energy growth in the U.S., GE joined current investors to provide $10 million to the world’s largest manufacturer of small wind turbines, Southwest Windpower.

Southwest Windpower, which produces small wind turbines up to 3 kW, will use the new funding to accelerate its growth in new markets and products, the company said. Other current investors that participated are Altira, Rockport Capital Partners, NGP Energy Technology Partners, and CTTV Investments, LLC, which is the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures.

“Renewable energy is a critical component of the world’s energy mix, and small, more affordable wind energy will be a key new energy alternative,” said Frank Greco, CEO of Southwest Windpower. “This new capital funding will allow us to expand our markets, helping to bring cost-effective small wind energy to new residential, commercial, and off-grid customers.”

The capital from this most recent funding round will help Southwest Windpower develop new markets, grow its sales offices in Europe, and expand in Asia, as well as help expand the company’s product line to develop even more efficient wind systems, the company said. Southwest Windpower has grown 3.5 times in annual sales volume over the last four-year period at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 37%.

Much of the growth will center on the market expansion and continued enhancement of the Skystream, a residential-scale wind generator that the company says produces electricity up to 60% cheaper than retail electricity. Southwest Windpower is developing new applications for the Skystream system, including commercial uses such as powering light poles for parking lots or municipalities and multiple unit installations for remote electrification.

“The new federal stimulus incentives and the company’s product performance improvements enable Southwest Windpower to offer renewable electricity at attractive rates in different regions of the country,” said Kevin Skillern, managing director and leader of venture capital at GE Energy Financial Services. “In many applications, Southwest Windpower offers the most economic distributed renewable generation technology, and GE is helping the company accelerate adoption of that technology.”

The U.S. economic stabilization and fiscal stimulus laws enacted in late 2008 and early 2009, which allow consumers and small businesses to take a 30% tax credit off the installed cost of a wind turbine, are expected to fuel Southwest Windpower’s continued growth. AWEA predicts the federal incentives, on top of a growing number of state incentives, could help the small-turbine market grow 30-fold in as few as five years.

For more information please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net