Cleantech Investor

First published in Cleantech Infocus: 2010 - Equity Deals of the Year, January 2011. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd.

Asian solar companies were relatively successful in tapping public markets for equity in 2010. Asian solar IPOs included Woogjin Energy (which listed in Korea); Daqo New Energy Corp. and JinkoSolar (both Chinese companies listed on the NYSE); China’s Trony Solar (which listed on the HKSE); and Risen Energy of China (which listed in Shenzhen).

For Europe and the US, however, 2010 was the year of postponed and cancelled IPOs in the solar sector. Spain’s T-Solar, a victim of the European financial crisis and the regulatory uncertainty created by the Spanish Government, shelved its €250 million IPO. US thin-film solar manufacturer, Solyndra, cancelled its US IPO, although it did succeed in raising a round of venture funding.

Corporate investors were notably active during the year. BP Alternative Energy joined in the funding rounds for another thin-film solar technology manufacturer, Abound Solar. BP Alternative Energy also invested in concentrated solar manufacturer BrightSource Energy, alongside a number of investors including Statoil Hydro and Google.org.

Glass facade manufacturer, Fasadglas Bäcklin AB, invested in NLAB Solar, which manufacturers dye sensitised solar cells which can be used on the facades of buildings.