Total Corporate Funding in Solar Sector Comes to $4.6 Billion in First Half of 2017

7/11/17

Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the solar sector in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017 and firs t half (1H) of 2017.

Total corporate funding (including venture capital funding, public market and debt financing) in 1H 2017 increased to $4.6 billion (B) raised versus the $4.5B raised in 1H 2016. There were 97 deals in 1H 2017 versus 79 deals in 1H 2016.

Chart: Corporate Funding 1H 2013-1H 2017

Corporate funding in the solar sector fell in Q2 with $1.4B raised in 37 deals versus $3.2B in 60 deals in Q1 2017. Year-over-year (YoY) funding in Q2 2017 was 17 percent lower than Q2 2016's $1.7B.

Full Report: http://bit.ly/ MercomSolarQ22017

"There is a great deal of uncertainty in the solar markets right now, which is reflected in funding activity. However, solar public companies, especially on the U.S. stock markets, have done well this year. A lot is riding on how the Suniva anti-dumping case plays out as it will dictate market dynamics going forward," commented Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Global VC funding (venture capital, private equity, and corporate venture capital) was 23 percent higher in 1H 2017 with $713 million (M) versus $579M in 1H 2016.

Chart: VC Funding 1H 2013-1H 2017

Top VC deals in 1H 2017: $200M by ReNew Power Ventures; $155M by Greenko Energy Holdings; $125M by Hero Future Energies; Silicon Ranch's $55M, $25M by Siva Power, and $25M by Spruce Finance. 55 investors participated in solar funding in 1H 2017.

Solar public market funding in 1H 2017 increased to $934M versus $276M in 1H 2016.

Announced debt financing in 1H 2017 was $3B versus $3.7B in 1H 2016. The only securitization deal in Q2 2017 was Sunnova's $255M.

Announced large-scale project funding in 1H 2017 was $7.4B in 81 projects.

Chart: Top 5 Announced Large-Scale Projects Funded by Dollar Amount in Q22017

Announced residential and commercial solar funds totaled $1.8B in 1H 2017 versus $2.3B in 1H 2016.

1H 2017 had 40 M&A transactions versus 30 in 1H 2016.

100 large-scale project acquisitions in 1H 2017 totaled 10.6 GW versus 90 totaling 4.5 GW in 1H 2016. Investment firms and funds picked up 37 projects totaling 4.2 GW in 1H 2017; project developers had 17 transactions for 4.6 GW.

Chart: Top 5 Project Acquisitions by Megawatts in Q2 2017

Mercom tracked 206 new large-scale project announcements worldwide in Q2 2017 totaling 11.1 GW.

Full report: http://bit.ly/ MercomSolarQ22017

About Mercom

Mercom Capital Group is a global communications and consulting firm focused on clean energy. Mercom produces funding and market intelligence reports covering Solar and Battery Storage/Smart Grid/Efficiency. Mercom advises cleantech companies on new market entry, custom market intelligence and overall strategic decision-making. http://mercomcapital.com.

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