Sauer Energy Inc. (SENY), a maker of small- scale vertical-axis wind turbines, rose the most in more than two years after it signed a $5 million equity-line financing agreement with St. George Investments LLC.

Sauer climbed 51 percent to 23 cents at the close in New York, the biggest jump since July 23, 2010. That reduced the loss this year to 68 percent.

Sauer Energy will use the funding from St. George to produce its WindCharger wind turbines, the Newbury Park, California-based company said today in a statement.

The equity line from Chicago-based St. George will also be used to make turbines at Helix Wind Corp. (HLXW), which Sauer bought in May, according to the statement. The financing is on a 36-month term and provides a 6 percent discount to market prices. Additional financial terms weren’t disclosed.

“Having this equity mechanism available to us, we are aiming to maintain a debt-free balance sheet,” Chief Executive Officer Dieter Sauer said in the statement.

Sauer Energy’s so-called microwind turbines are smaller than the utility-scale turbines made by Vestas Wind Systems A/S and General Electric Co. and can be used to reduce grid power use at homes and businesses or for off-grid applications.