SolarReserve Inc., a renewable energy company formed by the private equity firm U.S. Renewables Group LLC, said it raised $140 million to build electricity plants that use mirrors to harness the sun's power.
SolarReserve is developing power plants that focus light onto a tower to heat water into steam, which turns an electric turbine. The plants can store heat in tanks of molten salt, providing a source of power when the sun isn't shining, the Santa Monica, California-based company said in a statement.
“We're turning the sun into a solution,'' SolarReserve Chief Executive Officer Terry Murphy said in the statement.
SolarReserve was founded to build power plants with equipment from United Technologies Corp.'s Hamilton Sundstrand unit, builder of the power systems for Boeing Co.'s new 787 Dreamliner.
The solar company's new funding was raised from investors including Citigroup Inc.'s Sustainable Development Investments unit and Good Energies Inc.
Good Energies manages 4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) of renewable-energy investments for the Brenninkmeijer family, founders of the European clothing retailer C&A Group and named by Quote magazine in 2006 as the richest family in the Netherlands.
