一家开发了用于提高太阳能电池板效率设备的初创公司，从包括前SunPower公司首席执行官Tom Werner在内的投资者手中筹集了3200万美元，用于扩大生产规模。
A startup that developed a device designed to make solar panels more efficient raised $32 million from investors, including former SunPower Corp. Chief Executive Officer Tom Werner, to expand manufacturing.
根据该公司发布的声明，Optivolt的A轮融资由VXI Capital牵头，参与投资的还有RA Capital、Valo Ventures和Atlas Innovate。Enphase Energy Inc.的前首席执行官Paul Nahi也是该公司的投资者之一。
Optivolt’s Series A financing was led by VXI Capital and included RA Capital, Valo Ventures and Atlas Innovate, according to a company statement. Paul Nahi, ex-CEO of Enphase Energy Inc., also is an investor.
Optivolt开发的这款设备被集成到太阳能电池板中，旨在优化电池单元之间的能量分配，从而回收因阴影、灰尘或电池老化不均而损失的能量。据该公司创始人兼首席执行官Rohit Kalyanpur介绍，这家总部位于旧金山的公司已生产并销售了超过20,000块配备了该设备的太阳能电池板。他表示，这种电子设备的应用可以将电池板的发电效率提升至传统系统的六倍。
Optivolt’s device is embedded in a solar panel and is intended to manage energy production among cells to recover power otherwise lost to shade, dirt or uneven degradation. The San Francisco-based company has shipped more than 20,000 panels incorporating the device, according to founder and CEO Rohit Kalyanpur. The electronics can boost a panel’s output by as much as six times compared with a traditional setup, he said.
目前，太阳能开发商面临着提高系统发电效率的压力。其中一个主要原因是：由于特朗普政府实施了更高的关税和更严格的税收优惠政策，太阳能电池板的成本预计将会上升。
Solar developers are under pressure to get more production from their systems. A key reason: Panel costs are expected to rise due to higher tariffs and tighter tax-credit rules that have been imposed by the Trump administration.
尽管面临这些压力，太阳能仍然是最快速、最经济的新能源来源之一。在美国，随着公用事业公司和企业竞相为耗电量大的数据中心及新工厂提供电力，对太阳能的需求依然强劲。
Despite those pressures, solar remains one of the fastest and cheapest sources of new power, and US demand is seen remaining robust as utilities and companies race to secure electricity for power-hungry data centers and new factories.