United Arab Emirates-based solar power provider Yellow Door Energy secured $65m on Monday in a series A round that included diversified conglomerate Mitsui and power producer Equinor.
The round also featured International Finance Corporation, the private investment arm of the World Bank, as well as development bank Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation and private equity firm Adenium Energy Capital, while Equinor invested through its Equinor Energy Ventures unit.
Founded in 2015 as a spinoff from founding investor Adenium, Yellow Door designs, builds and maintains solar energy plants on behalf of corporate customers in the Middle East and Africa who then pay for their power on a monthly basis.
The company also installs energy efficiency equipment for businesses, in effect charging them a proportion of the money they save each month. The series A funding will support the planned construction of 300 MW of solar capacity in the next two years.
Akihiro Shirane, general manager of Mitsui’s third department, second projects development division, said: “Mitsui has been active and highly committed to developing infrastructure projects in the Middle East for decades, and we see the market shifting towards renewable energy for further sustainable growth in the region.
“This is an exciting milestone for Mitsui to enter into the distributed solar sector in the Middle East, and we strongly believe through its innovative business model and reliable solution, Yellow Door Energy will contribute to a clean, sustainable future in the region.”
Photo courtesy of Yellow Door Energy.
