Corporate funding up 10 percent year-over-year

Mercom Capital Group a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the global solar sector in the first quarter of 2019.

Total corporate funding (including venture capital, public market, and debt financing) into the solar sector in Q1 2019 came to $2.8 billion(B). Year-over-Year (YoY) funding in Q1 2019 was about 10% higher compared to the $2.5B raised in Q1 2018.

"Funding levels were up slightly year-over-year in Q1 2019, but the solar industry was on a much stronger footing at the beginning of this year compared to a year earlier, when the industry was hit with tariffs, subsidy and installation cuts in China, and a module oversupply situation. The market is upbeat, and solar equities rebounded strongly in the first quarter. However, China is still a wild card, and depending on its 2019 policy direction, it could have a significant impact on the solar industry," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

Global VC funding for the solar sector in Q1 2019 totaled $176 million(M) in 13 deals, compared to $161M in 22 deals in Q1 2018.

The majority of VC funding raised in Q1 2019 went to solar downstream companies with $111M in seven deals.

The top VC deals in the first quarter of 2019 were: $65M raised by Yellow Door Energy, $41M by Oxford PV, $37M secured by BBOXX, $20M by Aurora Solar, and PEG Africa's $5M deal. A total of 28 VC investors participated in solar funding in Q1 2019.

Solar public market financing came to $247M in three deals in Q1 2019, compared to $103M in four deals in Q1 2018. Ginlong (Solis) Technologies had a rare IPO in Q1 2019.

Announced debt financings came to $2.35B in 19 deals during Q1 2019 compared to $2.3B in 18 deals in Q1 2018. There were three securitization deals in Q1 2019.

Announced large-scale project funding in Q1 2019 reached a high with $5.68B in 43 deals versus $2.7B in 57 deals in Q1 2018.

M&A activity was steady with 18 solar transactions in Q1 2019 compared to 19 transactions in Q1 2018. Of the total 18 transactions, 14 involved Solar Downstream companies.

About 5.9 GW of solar projects were acquired in Q1 2019.

There were 18 investment firms and funds that acquired 20 projects in Q1 2019, totaling 3.5 GW, followed by 14 Utilities and IPPs which picked up 19 projects totaling 1.15 GW. Thirteen Project Developers acquired 14 projects for 803 MW.

There were 297 companies and investors covered in this report. It is 80 pages in length and contains 65 charts, graphs, and tables.

About Mercom Capital Group
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.