Major Solar Company Files For Bankruptcy After California Strips Subsidies

SunPower, a major rooftop solar company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, the company announced.

SunPower filed for bankruptcy in Delaware after a string of corporate struggles, changes to California’s rooftop solar subsidy programs and high interest rates weighed down its business, according to Bloomberg News. Before it unraveled, SunPower was among the leading solar companies in the U.S.

SunPower will look to sell some of its assets to Complete Solaria while the company and some of its other subsidiaries file for bankruptcy announced, SunPower said in its Monday announcement.

“In light of the challenges SunPower has faced, the proposed transaction offers a significant opportunity for key parts of our business to continue our legacy under new ownership,” Tom Werner, SunPower’s executive chairman, said of the bankruptcy and the Complete Solaria transaction. “We are working to secure long-term solutions for the remaining areas of our business, while maintaining our focus on supporting our valued employees, customers, dealers, builders, and partners.”

In 2023, state policymakers changed California’s rooftop solar subsidy programs and weakened the incentive for companies to push rooftop solar by reducing payments to homeowners who sell back excess power the panels generate, according to CalMatters. Those changes negatively affected SunPower’s business, culminating in its bankruptcy filing, according to Bloomberg.

Prior to its bankruptcy, SunPower showed signs of distress. In 2023, the firm defaulted on a credit deal and restated its earnings before getting a new CEO, restructuring and stopping new solar shipments and installations in 2024, according to Bloomberg.

SunPower did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

(Featured image credit: Emily Boren/Us Department of Energy, Flickr.com)