(Credit: Pixabay)
Total corporate funding (including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing) for the solar sector in the first 9 months of 2020 (9M) came to $7.9 billion compared to $9 billion in 9M 2019, a 13% drop year-over-year (YoY). That’s according to Mercom Capital Group’s “Quarterly Solar Funding and M&A Report.”
In 9M 2020, global VC funding (venture capital, private equity, and corporate venture capital) in the solar sector was 61% lower with $394 million compared to $1 billion raised in 9M 2019. In July, Energy & Environmental Leader reported that in the first half of 2020, global VC funding in the solar sector was 74% lower with $210 million compared to $799 million raised in the first half of 2019
Solar debt financing activity in 9M 2020 was 6% lower, with $5.4 billion in 32 deals compared to 9M 2019. Six solar securitization deals brought in almost $1.6 billion in 9M 2020.
Project acquisition activity was up 52% in 9M 2020, with 24.3 GW of solar projects acquired, compared to 16 GW acquired in the same period last year. 9.5 GW of solar projects were acquired in Q3 2020, 244% higher compared to 2.8 GW in Q2 2020. Investment Firms were the most active project acquirers in Q3 2020, picking up 4.2 GW, followed by Project Developers and Independent Power Producers, who acquired 3.8 GW of projects.