Flagstaff, AZ. ¨C Southwest Windpower (SWWP), the world¡¯s largest producer of small wind generators, announced completion of an $8 million Series-B equity investment led by RockPort Capital Partners, a venture capital firm in Boston.  CTTV Investments LLC, the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures and existing shareholder Altira Technology Fund IV LP of Denver also participated in the financing.

This funding follows two years of solid growth by Southwest Windpower, as sales of small wind generators have increased 50 percent per year for the past two years.

¡°The possibilities created by this capital boost enable us to grow and increase production of small wind energy systems all over the world,¡± said Frank Greco, CEO of Southwest Windpower. ¡°We have our sights set on continuing to broaden our portfolio with industry-leading products that are grounded in a mission to make renewable energy simple.¡±

The capital will support SWWP¡¯s efforts to launch a new, lower cost, residential wind technology later this year. It is anticipated that this new technology will make it significantly cheaper ¨C by up to 60 percent ¨C to produce wind energy on a residential scale.

¡°This investment gives the company the growth capital it needs to expand its manufacturing and marketing operations as it readies the launch of its game-changing residential wind technology,¡± said Hap Ellis, general partner of RockPort Capital Partners. ¡°We believe Southwest Windpower¡¯s new technology will make inexpensive wind power available to consumers throughout the country and will revolutionize the distributed generation marketplace.¡±

Southwest Windpower attributes much of its recent success to American consumers¡¯ increasing awareness of energy security issues and the volatility of world oil markets. According to Greco, ¡°The growing awareness of windpower and its benefits is a clear indication that we are moving toward energy security one household at a time.¡±
source:http://www.windenergy.com/press5.htm
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