After Growing 40% In 2 Years, Why Have SunPower’s Solar Installations Stagnated In 2018?

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SunPower’s (NASDAQ: SPWR) solar shipments grew from 0.97 GigaWatts in 2015 to 1.36 GigaWatts in 2017, a 40% jump. However, in 2018 SunPower’s shipments remained at the same level, meaning net installations have risen 40% over the last 3 years, compared to more than a 100% growth in global solar installations over the same period, from 50.9 GW in 2015 to 103 GW in 2018.

You can view our interactive dashboard- After Growing 40% In 2 Years, Why Have SunPower’s Solar Installations Stagnated in 2018?– to find out more about what drove the slowdown in solar installations.

Why did this happen?

  • SunPower has struggled to keep up with global solar growth, mainly as it shut down its large scale projects department in late-2017.
  • Another factor hampering SunPower’s growth is the increased competition in the solar space, that has driven down selling prices significantly, from $2.70 per watt in 2015 to $1.34 per watt in 2018.
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What does this mean?

  • Even though capacity installed was the same in 2017 and 2018, revenue in 2018 dropped to around $1.81 billion, as compared to $2.13 billion in 2017.
  • The residential segment has been SunPower’s only saving grace, and given the consistent downtrend in module selling prices, a significant growth in both residential and commercial installations seems to be the only way forward for SunPower.

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