BrightSource Energy Raises an Additional $200 Million of Equity Financing

OAKLAND, California. March 31, 2011 – BrightSource Energy, Inc., a leading utility scale solar thermal power company, has raised an additional $200 million in its most recent equity financing. The Series E round of funding brings BrightSource’s total equity financing to more than $530 million and will support the company’s existing U.S. solar power plant development plans and international expansion efforts.

The round included existing investors Vantage Point Venture Partners, Alstom, CalSTRS, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DBL Investors, Chevron Technology Ventures, and BP Technology Ventures, together with new investors.

BrightSource currently has solar power contracts for 1,310 megawatts with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and 1,300 megawatts with Southern California Edison. To meet its 2,610 megawatts in contracts, the company plans to build up to 14 solar power plants in the US southwest. Internationally, BrightSource is partnering with Alstom to provide solar thermal power plants to markets in the Mediterranean ring and Africa.

In October 2010, BrightSource commenced construction on the Ivanpah project, a 392 megawatt-gross solar thermal power plant in California’s Mojave Desert. Ivanpah includes the first three plants of the fourteen plants that BrightSource intends to develop to meet its existing power purchase agreements with California utility customers. Once constructed, Ivanpah will nearly double the amount of commercial solar thermal electricity produced in the US today.

About BrightSource Energy, Inc.

BrightSource Energy, Inc. provides clean, reliable and low cost solar energy for utility and industrial companies worldwide. The BrightSource Energy team combines nearly three decades of experience designing, building and operating the world’s largest solar energy plants with world-class project development capabilities. BrightSource Energy’s solar plants are designed to minimize their impact on the environment and help customers reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., BrightSource Energy is a privately held company with operations in the United States, Israel, and Australia. To learn more about BrightSource Energy and solar thermal energy, visit www.brightsourceenergy.com.