Xconomy San Diego

Envision Solar Reveals Move to Become Public Company

Bruce V. Bigelow2/11/10Leave a CommentFollow @bvbigelow

San Diego architect (and Xconomist) Bob Noble says that Envision Solar, the solar development firm that he founded in 2005, will soon begin trading shares over the counter after completing a reverse merger with a dormant public company. He announced the move at a reception held last night for about 75 friends and colleagues, which he characterized as a “celebration for what we’ve done after a tremendous amount of work over many months.”

Noble tells me that Envision Solar needed capital to expand its capabilities in developing solar-integrated infrastructure and building systems. As a public company, he says Envision Solar can get more exposure and benefit from broader investor interest.

“We have created a platform for growth,” Noble tells me. “I’ve identified key opportunities and business in distributed solar power generation worldwide.”

Noble’s vision for what he calls “distributed solar power generation” represents a scenario that many utilities have been unwilling to contemplate, at least until recent years. Utilities have long preferred a centralized power generation scheme that puts an industrial-scale power plant at the hub of electricity distribution. In contrast, distributed generation is more of a “small is beautiful” concept in which electricity is generated on a small scale by power producers scattered throughout a power grid.