People, money and deals: 9 - 13 March 2009

Who moved up and who raised funds in cleantech this week? Following are some of the highlights:

• SyncWave Energy Inc. received $2.7 million (Canadian) from Sustainable Development Technology Canada in funding for its tide-to-energy technology;
• Entech Solar has appointed Mark J. O’Neill, the company’s chief technology officer and co-founder, to its board of directors;
• The Biofuels Centre of North Carolina has received 49 grant applications for $2.77 million in funding for the state’s emerging biofuels sector;
• Navajo Wind Energy received a $50 million commitment for a planned 200-megawatt wind farm in China;
• Power Integrations, which makes high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, appointed William L. George to its board of directors;
• Southern Energy Company has brought on board David Shaw as a geological consultant;
• Fairchild Semiconductor this week appointed Randy W. Carson to its board of directors;
• Braemar Energy Ventures, a VC fund for energy technology companies, has named Scott DePasquale as Principal and Executive-in-Residence;
• VantagePoint Venture Partners has committed $1 billion (US) to the cleantech sector;
• New Generation Biofuels completed a $1.5 million (US) private placement of common stocks and warrants;
• Four Rivers BioEnergy has aquired all the assets of Kreido Biofuels for $2.8 million in cash, common stock, warrants and assumption of some obligations;
• BlueFire Ethanol has signed a technology services agreement with William Farone, the original co-founder of the Arkenol process for producing cellulosic ethanol;
• Sixtron Advanced Materials this week received an initial $1.5 million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada;
• SynapSense said it’s raised $7 million (US) to help it develop its wireless energy-efficient technology for data centres;
• Peter Lorenz has been tapped to lead Quanta’s renewable energy services;
• Element Partners closed on a $486 million (US) growth equity fund this week;
• Better Place this week named Charles Stonehill as its new chief finance officer.