Standard Solar raises $8.5M for solar systems

  In a sign investors may be warming up again to the residential and commercial photovoltaics market now that  Congress has finally approved the extension of renewable tax credits , Gaithersburg, Maryland-based  Standard Solar  has secured $8.5 million in second round funding from Truecast Capital and a number of private and institutional investors. The money will be used to fund the firm’s expansion into new markets and to scale up its production capacity. The company, which sells and installs small and mid-size solar panel systems built by SunPower for government and business customers, will also ramp up its marketing initiatives and boost its operational capabilities. Standard Solar sells and installs SunPower’s PowerGuard roof tile array systems and is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest solar system installers. Over the summer, the company completed one of its largest installations, a 205 kilowatt array for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Washington, D.C. headq...