Tesla Unveils Solar Roof Tiles, Longer-lasting Batteries
Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Friday unveiled new energy products aimed at illustrating the benefits of combining his electric car and battery maker with solar installer SolarCity Corp. The products include solar-powered roof tiles that eliminate the need for traditional panels and longer-lasting batteries aimed at helping to realize Musk's vision of selling a fossil fuel free lifestyle to consumers.
Tesla Wins U.S. Antitrust Approval to Buy SolarCity
Tesla Motors Inc has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy solar panel installer SolarCity Corp, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday. The deal was on a listing of proposed transactions that have won "early termination." The deal was announced on Aug. 1 and is part of an effort by Tesla to improve economies of scale in electrical energy management systems, battery production and marketing. (Reporting by Diane Bartz)
Gigafactory Costs may Exceed Expectations
Tesla Motors Inc said the cost of building and operating the Gigafactory could exceed the company's current expectations. The Gigafactory may also take longer than anticipated to come online, the electric carmaker said in a filing on Friday. Tesla, which is buying solar panel installer SolarCity Corp for $2.6 billion in shares, unveiled the massive battery factory, the Gigafactory, in Nevada last week.
Solar Company Sungevity To Go Public in Reverse Merger
Sungevity Inc, the No. 5 U.S. rooftop solar company by market share, on Wednesday said it would list its shares after a reverse merger by a shell company, allowing it to tap the public markets at a difficult time for solar stocks. Easterly Acquisition Corp, a company set up as an acquisition vehicle by private equity firm Easterly Capital, will purchase the Oakland-based company in a deal worth about $357 million, the companies said.
California Decision Looms on Rooftop Solar Energy
California, which boasts more than half of the households with solar panels in the United States, will decide on Thursday whether to stick with a policy that has allowed rooftop systems producing electricity to flourish or to implement reforms that would make it more expensive to go solar. The decision by California's Public Utilities Commission is being watched far beyond the Golden State…
Sunrun Exits Nevada, Affecting 'Hundreds of Jobs'
Solar panel installer Sunrun Inc said it has ceased all operations in Nevada, after the state reduced credits customers receive for selling excess solar power to the grid. Sunrun, which partners with local installation companies, said on Thursday it expects hundreds of job losses in the state. Sunrun's rival SolarCity Corp said on Wednesday that Nevada utilities commission's decision would affect 550 of its employees in the state.
SolarCity to Cut 550 Jobs in Nevada
Solar panel installer SolarCity Corp said it would cut 550 jobs in Nevada, two weeks after the state's utilities commission approved changes that would reduce credits customers receive for selling excess solar power to the grid. The company, which has more than 13,000 employees, said it would relocate the affected workers to business-friendly states. (Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto in Bengaluru)
SunEdison to buy Vivint Solar for about $2.2 bln
Solar company SunEdison Inc said it would buy Vivint Solar Inc in a deal valued at about $2.2 billion, including debt, to expand in the residential and commercial solar power business. SunEdison has offered Vivint shareholders $9.89 in cash, $3.31 in stock and $3.30 in notes for every share held. The offer works out to $16.50 per share, a 51.7 percent premium to Vivint's Friday close.
Two US Solar Financing Startups Combine
Two solar financing startups backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - Kilowatt Financial and Clean Power Finance - said on Wednesday they will combine to create a larger company that will offer loans, leases and other products to help U.S. consumers go solar. Terms of the deal, which will enable the companies to compete more effectively against larger rivals including SolarCity Corp and SunRun Inc, were not disclosed.
Solar Energy Company Sunrun Files for IPO
U.S. solar energy company Sunrun Inc on Thursday filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering of its common stock. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs & Co and Morgan Stanley were among the underwriters for the IPO, the company told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus. Sunrun, which installs and maintains solar panels for homes, has about 79,000 customers across 13 states, as of March 31.
Prison Labor Keeps Solar Manufacturing at Home
One of the largest companies to manufacture solar panels in the United States uses a surprising resource to keep costs low and compete against producers from China: prison labor. Suniva Inc, a Georgia-based solar cell and panel maker that is backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, farms out a small portion of its manufacturing to federal inmates as part of a longstanding government program intended to prepare them for life after prison.
SolarCity First-quarter Installations Top Forecast
SolarCity Corp, on Tuesday said first-quarter solar installations were higher than expected despite a particularly snowy winter in many of its key markets. The company, which is backed by Tesla Motors Inc founder Elon Musk, reported first-quarter installations of 153 megawatts, above its forecast of 145 MW. SolarCity reported a quarterly loss attributable to common shareholders of $21.5 million…
SolarCity Launches fund for U.S. Solar Projects
SolarCity Corp has started a fund that includes an investment from Credit Suisse to finance more than $1 billion in commercial solar energy systems for companies, schools and government organizations in the United States. The fund is expected to finance more than 300 megawatts of new commercial solar projects over the next two years, SolarCity said in a statement on Wednesday. SolarCity, the top U.S.
Google Invests $300 mln Residential Solar Projects
SolarCity Corp on Thursday said it created a $750 million fund to finance about 25,000 residential solar projects, with Google Inc investing nearly half the funding. The money will be used by SolarCity to put solar panels on homes. Homeowners then will pay a monthly fee to lease the panels from the company. The growth of such financing has made generating…
SolarCity Buys Solar Panel Maker to Lower Costs
SolarCity Corp, the largest residential solar panel installer in the United States, said it would buy solar panel maker Silevo to drive down costs. SolarCity's shares rose 18 percent to $64.77 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq. The company, backed by Tesla Motors Inc's founder Elon Musk, will pay $200 million in shares and an additional $150 million in shares upon the achievement of certain milestones, SolarCity said in a regulatory filing.
SolarCity Sales Jump on 'Unprecedented Demand'
The company's revenue rose to $61.3 million in the second quarter ended June 30 from $38 million a year earlier. However, the net loss attributable to stockholders widened to $47.7 million from $39.5 million as operating expenses jumped 123 percent. SolarCity last reported a quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of 2013. Prior to that, the company had not reported a profit since the first quarter of 2012.
Some Fund Managers Take Shine to Pricey Solar Stocks
Some notable fund managers are betting on solar energy shares, expecting a wave of industry consolidation and lower costs to pay off for the notoriously volatile industry. The optimists, a mix of specialized environmental managers and mainstream investors, are going against several trends, since solar companies have already had a sizeable run-up this year and more fund managers have been selling the stocks than buying them.
SolarCity Offers $200 mln Solar Bonds in First Public Offering
SolarCity Corp, the largest installer of residential solar panels in the United States, said it would offer up to $200 million of solar bonds and launch a new online investment site for investors to buy the debt. SolarCity, which has sold solar panel-backed securities before, said this was the first registered public offering of solar bonds in the United States. (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath in Bangalore)
SolarCity Q3 Revenue up 20%
SolarCity Corp, the largest U.S. solar panel installer, on Wednesday reported a 20 percent rise in quarterly revenue as it added more customers. The company, which is backed by Tesla Motors Inc founder Elon Musk, said revenue rose 20 percent to $58.34 million. Analysts were expecting revenue of $60.23 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company…
Fidelity's Wymer: Oil Plunge Does Not Cloud Solar Bet
One of Fidelity Investments top stock pickers said he remains positive on solar power despite a drop in oil prices that hurt shares of First Solar Inc and dragged on his own portfolio's performance. Steven Wymer, who runs the $42.3 billion Fidelity Growth Company Fund, is the biggest fund investor in First Solar, a large maker of photovoltaic panels for power systems.
