Lodestone Energy, a solar project developer, has raised an additional NZD50 million (~$30 million) in equity funding. The funding was primarily from existing shareholders, with some participation from new investors.
This additional funding will add to the NZD50 million (~$30 million) development funding raised in 2024, bringing the total funding to NZD100 million (~$60 million). The funding will be used to build new, utility-scale solar projects to serve its customers.
The New Zealand-based company, with a goal of ‘solar farm in every community’, is about to announce the start of construction of its first project in the South Island.
The company’s earlier solar farm announcements included a list of more than 10 sites, including a large project in the Mackenzie District, New Zealand.
“This raise means we can continue to add to our fleet of solar farms and serve more customers who see significant value in Lodestone’s unique solar-backed contracting model. This kind of support from our existing shareholders is fantastic news as it means they continue to see value in the Lodestone vision and the long-term role we can play in the market,” says Gary Holden, Managing Director of Lodestone.
According to Mercom’s recently released Q1 2025 Solar Funding and M&A Report, global VC funding for the solar sector in Q1 2025 came to $1.4 billion in 14 deals, a 237% increase YoY compared to $406 million raised in 13 deals in Q1 2024. Funding increased 40% QoQ compared to the $1 billion raised in 21 deals in Q4 2024.
In February, RayGen Resources, a developer of utility-scale solar and long-duration energy storage, raised A$127 million (~$76 million) in a Series D funding round, led by a technology company, SLB, with A$31 million (~$19 million) follow-on investment along with the execution of a RayGen-SLB Strategic Deployment Agreement (SDA), designed to accelerate the technology’s path to the global energy market.
