New Jersey-based Petra Solar completed its $40 million equity round Monday with a $15 million investment commitment from clean energy fund Craton Equity Partners, according to a release. This is Craton Equity Partner's first investment in Petra Solar.

Return investors in the solar power company include Element Partners, BlueRun Ventures, OnPoint Technologies and NTEC. Its leading technology, the SunWave UP Series solar panel, mounts on utility and streetlight poles and connects directly to an electrical grid.

"Petra Solar is creating jobs and providing clean, renewable energy to Americans," said Craton managing partner Tom Soto. "The company's highly distributed solar and smart grid solution is at the forefront of a wave of clean technologies that address unemployment and energy demands in struggling communities head on."

The investment will be used to create 30 jobs, including account managers, engineers and regulatory personnel, according to a report in NJBIZ.com. Petra Solar is currently fulfilling a $200 million contract with PSE&G to install 200,000 pole-attached solar power systems.

Founded in 2006, Petra Solar is a member of the Solar Electric Power Association. Its SunWave technology is priced comparably to traditional photovoltaic systems, but provides higher return, according to the company's website.