Enphase Energy attracts $15 million investment

Enphase Energy Inc., a Petaluma startup that makes technology to boost the output of solar panels, has raised $15 million from investors, the company said today.

It’s the second round of venture funding in less than a year for the green-tech company, which was founded in 2006 by two Telecom Valley engineers.

The company, which employs about 50 workers in Petaluma, could double its staff over the next year, said Raghu Belur, Enphase’s co-founder and vice president.

“This is just a start,” he said. “We’re going to be hiring a lot of engineers.”

In June, Enphase began selling its micro-inverters, which maximize energy from individual solar panels. It’s now shipping thousands of units a month, the company said.

“This additional investment will enable us to respond to the accelerating demand,” said Enphase CEO Paul Nahi. “Customer acceptance of Enphase micro-inverters has exceeded expectations.”

The new funding will be used for working capital and to expand manufacturing, according to Enphase.

As energy costs soar, venture capital investors are targeting green power technology, according to Dow Jones VentureSource, which tracks private equity deals.

“They’re focusing on what’s next,” said Jessica Canning, research director at VentureSource.

The Enphase deal was led by Rock-Port Capital Partners, with participation from the Petaluma startup’s original venture partners, Third Point Ventures and Applied Ventures LLC.

Those funds pumped $6.5 million into Enphase in January.

“We’re committed to helping Enphase reach the next levels of success,” said Todd Wilson, RockPort Capital’s general partner.

Enphase micro-inverters convert direct current electricity, or DC, from individual solar panels to alternating current, or AC, which is used to power homes and businesses.

The technology is an improvement over centralized inverters that convert energy from multiple solar panels, Belur said.

With a centralized inverter, a single low-performing solar panel limits the energy output of the entire system, Belur said. Enphase’s micro-inverters handle each panel separately, maximizing energy production.

Tests of the Enphase system show power gains of 5 percent to 25 percent over conventional technology, the company said.

The converters also transmit energy data to Enphase’s Web site, where customers can see how their systems are performing and can make necessary changes.

The system also saves on installation costs, Belur said, because it uses simpler wiring.

The company does product development, sales, service and marketing in Petaluma.

Enphase products are made by a contract manufacturer in Morgan Hill.

Enphase was founded in 2006 by Belur and Martin Fornage.

Belur was an early engineer at Petaluma’s Cerent Corp., which was acquired by Cisco Systems in 1999.

Fornage was a hardware engineer at Advanced Fibre Communications, a Petaluma company that was bought by Tellabs in 2004.

Nahi is former CEO of Crimson Microsystems, which makes integrated circuits for the telecom industry.

You can reach Staff Writer Steve Hart at 521-5205 or steve.hart@pressdemocrat.com.