A Seattle clean technology angel investor group has announced its support for eight new cleantech companies.

Northwest Energy Angels, which focuses exclusively on supporting cleantech companies, announced Wednesday (Feb. 22) that it invested $880,000 last year in local companies.

This year, Northwest Energy Angels brought on 20 additional investors, bringing the group’s total up to nearly 50 members.

The group’s eight investments were:

• Banyan Energy, a solar technology company based in Berkeley, Calif., that developed a front sheet for solar modules that cuts down on the number of solar cells required to produce solar power.
• BioVantage Resources, a bio-remediation company based in Golden, Colo., that turns industrial, agricultural and municipal wastewater into biomass products such as fertilizer while providing a clean way to remove contaminants.
• Columbia Power Technology, based in Corvallis, Ore., which created a wave energy harvesting device for off-shore generator technology.
• Flux Drive Inc., based in Sumner, Wash., which creates energy-efficient adjustable speed drives and couplings for rotating equipment.
• OneEnergy Renewables, a company based in Seattle that provides renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets, and develops wind and solar projects to help businesses meet greenhouse gas reduction goals.
• OndaVia Inc., based in Hayward, Calif., which created technology to analyze fluid contaminants without the constraints of a remote lab.
• Virticus, based in Beaverton, Ore., which designed a system to allow companies to manage their lighting more efficiently, reducing energy usage by 30 percent to 50 percent.
• WISErg Corp., a company based in Redmond that created technology to convert compostable organic waste into fertilizers and biogas.

Northwest Energy Angels has also made a follow-on investment in Vancouver, B.C.-based REV Technologies, which develops electric powertrain systems for electric cars as well as the software that allows the cars to then power micro grids, buildings and other equipment.

Emily Parkhurst covers technology for TechFlash and the Puget Sound Business Journal. She can be reached at 206-876-5441 or eparkhurst@bizjournals.com. Follow her on Twitter: @emilyparkhurst.