SJF Leads Investment in Community Energy
SJF Ventures led a $4MM Series A financing in Radnor, PA-based renewable energy developer and retail REC marketer, Community Energy, Inc. NGP Technology Partners partnered with SJF in the round.
Community Energy, Inc. (CEI) has been leading renewable energy development since its founding in 1999. In 2009, CEI expanded into solar project development, focusing on utility-grade projects in advancing solar markets. The investment will fund CEI’s plan to expand its pipeline of utility scale solar generation projects under development in the Northeast, Mid-West, and Southwest. Over the last decade, the company has also delivered voluntary renewable energy certificates to retail electric customers through 20 utility green energy programs and directly to commercial and institutional customers.
Read the full press release and SJF’s blog post.
SJF Recognizes Inc. 500 / 5000 Companies
SJF Ventures congratulates four of its portfolio companies for being named in the 2010 Inc. 500/5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies. CleanScapes, a sustainable solid waste and recycling service provider based in Seattle, WA, was named the #1 fastest growing privately held environmental services company in the United States. groSolar, a leading national solar integrator, installer and distributor was listed as #29 among the list of Energy companies. Ryla, a customer contact center headquartered in Kennesaw, GA, ranked #44 in Business Products and Services. Rustic Crust, a producer of all-natural and organic pizzas in Pittsfield, NH, was listed at #31 among Food and Beverage companies.
Rebranding and SJF Institute Launch
SJF Ventures and SJF Institute unveiled a logo rebranding at the SJF Summit. Please note our new updated look going forward.
SJF Ventures is excited to continue working with its allied not-for-profit organization under the new name and more prominent role, SJF Institute.
SJF Institute helps entrepreneurs and the fields that support them change the world for the better by:
connecting individuals — entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers, and business & community leaders — with each other and with resources to increase their impact;
inspiring people with SJF Institute white papers like the soon-to-be-released Employees Matter report;
accelerating companies providing green solutions and building businesses where employees can grow and thrive.
Please also see SJF Institute’s new dedicated website at www.sjfinstitute.org.
In the future, email bulletin subscribers will now receive separate email newsletters from SJF Institute and SJF Ventures. Please click “Update Profile” at the bottom of this message to opt in or out of either monthly newsletter.
SJF CleanLinks Events in NYC, Oct. 7, and RTP, Oct. 18
SJF, in conjunction PwC, hosted its last CleanLinks NYC event on Thursday, October 7 at the offices of PwC in Midtown Manhattan. The event featured content on “Why Solar Works” and included a group of panelists covering the perspectives from a ConEd representative; a Greentech Media solar analyst; David Giordano, CFO and COO of Community Energy, Inc.; and David Kirkpatrick of SJF Ventures. The panel, moderated by Ed Reitler, provided for lively discussion with a well-attended and engaged audience. Look for the next CleanLinks NYC event in December.
SJF, along with the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, will host its next CleanLinks RTP event on Monday, October 18 at Hotel Indigo in RTP. The event will host a panel on “Lighting up NC – Sustainably” and will feature a discussion on energy efficient lighting in North Carolina. Panelists from CREE, Dialight, Clean Lighting Solutions, Progress Energy and the City of Raleigh will discuss the growth of this evolving cleantech sector. Register here for the RTP Oct. 18 event.
Energy Policy Alert: Update on AB32
SJF stands in support of California’s A.B. 32 and against a recent ballot initiative Proposition 23. The passing of Proposition 23 would essentially overturn A.B. 32, the state’s landmark cleantech legislation that is set to take effect in 2012. Proposition 23 has national implications. Please see the SJF blog post for more information on the topic.
SJF Summit a Success!
Thank you to all those who helped make the 2010 SJF Summit on the New Green Economy: Accelerating Growth and Impact another successful conference. We appreciated the energy and enthusiasm of participants, speakers, and sponsors that helped make it another thought-provoking event. We hope you left as inspired as we did. Read about what others are saying about the event.
SJF Congratulates Attorney Charles Torres
SJF congratulates Charles Torres at Reitler, Kailas & Rosenblatt for being named Attorney of they Year by the New York Enterprise Report, which is a publication focused on helping New York entrepreneurs grow their business. Charles and other Reitler, Kailas & Rosenblatt team members have represented SJF and its portfolio companies on a number of transactions.
SJF Team Members On the Move
In August, Dave Kirkpatrick, served as the keynote speaker at the Georgia Solar Association’s Southern Solar Summit in Atlanta, GA and spoke at the NCSEA conference, Making Energy Work, in Winston-Salem, NC. Kirkpatrick will also be speaking on the cleantech financing panels at the NREL 23rd Industry Growth Forum in Denver on October 19-21 and at SRI in the Rockies in San Antonio, TX on November 18-21. Arrun Kapoor will be a panelist and judge at Venture Association of New Jersey’s 2010 Fall Entrepreneurs’ Expo and Elevator Pitch Olympics on October 25. Please contact Arrun for a discounted registration fee if you would like to attend.
On October 13, Cody Nystrom will be speaking at the Governor’s Conference on Energy in Richmond, VA. Nystrom also participated as an Advisory Judge on the USC-Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge, a national competition seeking to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies in South Carolina. The winners will be announced at the Fuel Cell Seminar & Exposition in San Antonio, TX, held October 18-21. Nystrom, Kapoor and David Griest spoke at the 2010 Initiative for a Competitive Inner City’s Capital Connections Training day on October 12 in New York City.