Solar cell and module maker Advent Solar on Tuesday said it had secured more than $70 million in a series D funding to ramp up production at it four-month old U.S. production facility.

The company said it plans to almost triple the capacity of its Albuquerque, New Mexico plant, which produces so-called back-contact solar cells that Advent claims provide higher performance at lower cost than traditional silicon cells.

“With this round of funding we plan to expand to about 70 MW, probably by late next year,” said Rusty Schmit, CEO of Advent Solar.

Advent’s funding came one day after solar concentration technology developer Silicon Valley Solar announced a $10.2 million A-round with Bessemer Venture Partners as lead investor. The Santa Clara, California-based company has developed technology that optically concentrates sunlight before it hits the silicon—the most expensive part of a solar cell—so it can be used more efficiently.

Lowering production costs is a key challenge for the solar photovoltaic industry. Advent Solar is one of many startups that use thinner silicon layers and place contacts—which normally give solar panels a “striped” look—on the back of each cell. The design also allows for a simpler assembly of cells into the module according to Mr. Schmit.

Advent’s technology was originally developed by the U.S. government’s Sandia National Laboratories. Rival SunPower of San Jose, California, also makes back-contact solar cells.

Advent has so far raised $110 million and has 175 employees. New investors in this round include ZBI Ventures, Sun Mountain Capital and Globespan Capital Partners. Existing investors, Battery Ventures, EnerTech Capital, @Ventures, New Mexico Co-Investment Partners and Firelake Capital also participated in the funding.