Governor Rick Perry of Texas announced the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF) will invest $1.5 million in SolarBridge Technologies Inc. for the development of solar energy in the state.

SolarBridge Technologies is a leading developer of solutions that reduce the costs of energy in solar installations.

“The TEFT is helping create a culture of innovation in our state by moving good ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace”, “Governor Perry said. “ This investment in SolarBridge will help improve solar technology, and increase the use of solar energy.”

According to Governor Perry’s website, “Solar Bridge’s micro-inverter attaches to solar panels, helping address some of the concerns and shortcomings currently found in solar cell technology, including energy production efficiency, reliability and installation.  The product provides greater reliability by eliminating the most failure prone components in solar cell technology, and will help move the market toward more secure distributed generations in the energy grid.”

We have succeeded in creating a module-integrated micro inverter like nothing else on the market, “SolarBridge President Ron Van Dell said. “By making this investment in SolarBridge, the State of Texas recognizes the impact that our technology will have on making solar installations significantly more reliable and affordable.”

The TETF is a $200 million initiative created by the Texas Legislature in 2005.  A 17 member advisory committee of high-tech leaders, entrepreneurs and research experts reviews potential projects and recommends funding allocations to the governor.