The devastation in Japan caused by this month's earthquake and tsunami has rattled the globe. As Japanese authorities battle to contain a possible nuclear meltdown at a hard hit facility in the northeast part of the country, there have been renewed calls in the U.S. to increase the amount of energy derived from renewable sources.

BrightSource Energy of Oakland, California is a company that endeavors to do just that. The company announced this week it has raised an additional $200 million in funding during its latest round of financing, bringing the total amount of equity raised to $530 million. According to executives from the company, the money will be used to finance the construction of additional solar thermal plants in the U.S. as well as around the world.

The company has a lot of big backers betting on its success including Google's philanthropic arm Google.org, Chevron, BP, Morgan Stanley and VantagePoint Venture Partners. Currently, the company is building what it's billing as the biggest solar power plant in the world, the 392-megawatt Ivanpah project, in San Bernardino County, California.

To meet the surging demand for its solar technology, the company has plans to construct as many as 14 solar plants throughout the U.S. southwest.