GE Gives Jolt to Solar Power Pioneer Soliant Solar Power International

SAN DIEGO & MONROVIA, Calif.--GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is giving a jolt to solar power pioneer Soliant Energy by joining a group providing the company with nearly $21 million in venture capital. GE Energy Financial Services announced today at Solar Power International ’08 in San Diego that it is investing $2.5 million and providing the power of GE’s ecomagination program to Soliant. The Monrovia, CA-based company -- founded by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers -- is developing what it intends to be the most efficient and lowest cost technology to generate electricity from the sunlight that shines on commercial rooftops, a market it estimates will reach $13.2 billion by 2010. GE estimates that commercial and industrial buildings comprise 60 percent of the total roof area in the United States. Link.