Seems like Cate invested money in a solar panels company and here is an article about it:
The actress’s ground-floor investment in Sungevity may pay off if the solar-panel maker can woo homeowners.
The opening scene:
Talk about star power. Actress Cate Blanchett has turned an interest in clean energy into a budding investment. The Aussie was an early backer of Sungevity, a start-up based in Oakland, Calif., that leases solar panels to homeowners. In a few short years, the firm has raised more than $40 million in venture financing and gone mainstream, recently signing a deal to offer quotes at some Lowe’s stores.
The backstage story:
It’s no mystery why Sungevity founder Danny Kennedy approached the Oscar winner. Not only does she have solar panels on her home and on the theater she oversees in Sydney, but she’s long been an advocate of all things green. (Blanchett has said she times her showers to save water and recently earned the tag “Carbon Cate” for starring in a controversial ad for an Australian carbon tax.) Of course, it didn’t hurt that Kennedy says he’s “good mates” with the actress and her screenwriter husband Andrew Upton from their university days. He says Blanchett was one of about 20 angel investors and is a “strong holder of equity.”
A Hollywood ending?
Being green and making a greenback aren’t always synonymous especially in the solar business. (The actress declined to comment on her investment, and Sungevity isn’t disclosing its financials.) Analysts say most solar companies are still dependent on government incentives, many of which go to large-scale solar farms providing power to utilities. Still, there’s a decent upside for start-ups like Sungevity if they can get homeowners on board, says James Hines, a solar analyst at Gartner. “There’s something to be said for making solar simple.”
Source: Smart Money
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