New York Times – Green Inc. Blog: “Good Energies Invests in Massachusetts Clean Energy Firm.” February 9, 2010. Amid a state-wide feud over the job creation spin-offs of President Obama’s stimulus package, a Massachusetts clean energy design and construction firm announced Tuesday that it has raised $6.5 million in venture financing to help underwrite a national expansion strategy.
The move comes scarcely a week after the company, Nexamp Inc., of North Andover, secured a $20 million deal to install 4 megawatts of solar generation capacity on a dozen state water and waste-water treatment facilities. Company officials say that deal will create about 100 engineering and construction jobs in New England’s fast-growing clean energy market.
“Anyone questioning whether the stimulus package is creating jobs should come to Nexamp,” said the state’s governor, Deval Patrick, according to The Eagle-Tribune.
With 45 employees, Nexamp designs and builds integrated renewable energy and energy conservation projects on behalf of a range of clients, according to the company’s president and chief operating officer, Dan Leary. To date, the company has developed about 5 megawatts of clean energy, a figure that does not include the water treatment deal with the state, or other projects in its pipeline.
The new round of financing comes from three investment companies that specialize in renewable energy, information technology and property management. And while Nexamp is a relatively small consulting outfit, the capital infusion could attract attention because the lead investor is Good Energies, a $5.6 billion global investment fund operated by the Dutch-Swiss retailing family Brenninkmeijer.
Marcel Brenninkmeijer, Good Energies’ founder and chairman, ranked fourth on The Times of London’s 2009 global “Green Rich” list.
The firm has stakes in over 30 renewable energy concerns, including wind developer Sequoia Energy Inc., which has farms in Canada and the midwestern United States. Good Energies’ New York office is headed by Richard Kauffman, a former Goldman Sachs partner who currently sits on the Council of Foreign Relations.
Nexamp in the past has completed projects such as a 110 kilowatt solar roof installation at Boston Sand and Gravel. Mr. Leary says the company is looking to develop integrated solutions by assessing its clients energy use and then identifying energy, equipment and lighting changes that will deliver savings.
Another of its backers, Point Judith Capital, specializes in information technology. Mr. Leary says a key part of Nexamp’s offering involves tracking energy use to ensure that client firms meet their return on investment targets. Link to Article