Sungevity is a solar electricity company based in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Founded in 2007, the company designs home solar systems; provides financing options; and manages system installation, maintenance, and performance. Sungevity operates in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Europe. Within the United States, it installed solar panels and solar systems in

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, and Washington D.C. In 2012, the company reported having more than 250 employees,Jeff Himmelmann
'The Secret to Solar Power'
New York Times, August 9, 2012 but in 2017 it laid off almost all its staff and was sold to Northern Pacific Group. In 2020, Sungevity's assets were acquired by Minnesota-based company Pineapple Energy, which resumed activity under the Sungevity name in California only.

History

Founding

Sungevity was founded in 2007 by Danny Kennedy, Andrew Birch (CEO), and Alec Guettel. On September 22, 2009, the firm announced that it had raised $6 million to expand its services to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and California's Central Valley. On May 1, 2010, Sungevity partnered with

US Bank U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American bank holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and incorporated in Delaware. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, and is the fifth largest banking institution ...

and launched its Solar Lease program. In December 2010, the firm raised an additional $15 million toward its Series C funding round. In 2011, it worked with

U.S. Bancorp U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American bank holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and incorporated in Delaware. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, and is the fifth largest banking institution i ...

, Rabobank, and

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...

to fund residential solar installations. Also in 2011,

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

, the home-improvement retailer, purchased a stake in Sungevity. In April 2014, the firm raised $70 million in equity from investors including

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

, Jetstream Ventures, and E.ON, Europe's largest investor-owned utility. On December 15, 2015, it announced its $600 million

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

funding by investors including

GE Ventures __NOTOC__ GE Ventures (founded in 2013) is the venture capital subsidiary of General Electric. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California the firm also has offices in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Shanghai, and Tel Aviv. As of 2015, the CEO is Sue Sie ...

as well as

Apollo Investment Corporation Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, i ...

. In November 2011, the firm announced it was taking an equity stake in Dutch solar company Zonline. Sungevity was to provide Zonline with its proprietary software tools, including the company's Remote Solar Design services and brand-identity assets. In June 2014, Sungevity acquired Zonline and launched Sungevity Netherlands. In April 2012, Sungevity and Australian solar company Nickel Energy announced a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

, called Sungevity Australia, that would provide Australian homeowners with their first pay-as-you-go solar option, which the company dubbed RoofJuice.

Layoffs and first acquisition

In January 2017 the company laid off senior and mid-level managers, and in March it laid off around 2/3 of its staff without notice, with sources at the company suggesting bankruptcy was imminent. The ex-employees filed a lawsuit seeking back pay for 60 days, a requirement under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. In April, after laying off another 2/3 of its staff without severance pay, the remainder of the company was sold to private equity firm Northern Pacific Group for $50 million, who created a new company, Solar Spectrum, which acquired Sungevity's infrastructure, technology, installer network, supplier warranties, and certain agreements. Northern Pacific Group also acquired Sungevity's European businesses which were subsequently sold to French utility Engie. The now Engie owned European business operates under the name Sungevity International. Sungevity laid off 400 people in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, Sungevity's companies Horizon Solar Power and Solar Spectrum, along with Sungevity, before Sungevity resumed operations under Pineapple Energy.

Pineapple Energy Acquisition

In 2021, Sungevity resumed operations under the umbrella of Pineapple Energy, which acquired its assets in 2020. Pineapple Energy is a U.S.-based operator and consolidator of residential solar, battery storage and grid services solutions, which is currently privately owned but will be merging with the publicly traded Communication Systems Inc., an IoT company.

Awards and recognition

* 2009 Green Business Award * Green Jobs Award 20112011 Winners , Green Jobs Award
*

Planet Forward ''Planet Forward'', a project of The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, is an online public forum where experts, engaged citizens and students weigh in on energy, climate and sustainability. The most inventive and ...

Innovator of the Year 2011

References