WESTBROOK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with Small Business Regional Administrator Seth Goodall, toured Pika Energy, a Westbrook-based microgrid power electronics manufacturer that employs 11 people and is on the vanguard of developing clean, renewable energy technologies.

“Innovative companies like Pika Energy continue to lead the way in developing renewable technologies that will not only help drive down the price of energy for people across Maine, but will also put people to work,” Senator King said. “The federal government can and must play a supporting role by continuing to invest in the research and development of these technologies. By getting the right capital into the hands of those who can use it well, we can develop cutting-edge energy systems that will benefit the people of Maine and our environment.”

“Pika Energy is an example of an innovative small business that’s helping grow our economy and create good paying jobs in Maine through research and development focused on bringing new products to the market,” said Seth A. Goodall, SBA New England Regional Administrator.

Founded in 2010, Pika Energy designs and manufactures power electronic products that use clean energy to provide secure power and energy savings for residential and commercial customers.  In July 2014, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – through the U.S. Department of Energy – awarded Pika Energy $700,000 in grant funding for two projects aimed at helping the U.S. wind industry develop competitive, high-performance technologies needed to compete in the global distributed wind market. The research and development efforts were exactly the type of initiatives that Senator King urged Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz last week to continue in the coming years.

The company’s development has also been supported by $150,000 in federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding and is a successful example of private-public partnership. The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) was instrumental in helping to obtaining the SBIR investment and has also provided matching funds. MTI Acting Director Brian Whitney also accompanied Senator King at today’s event.

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