2024 Sees Solar Companies Raise Record USD 26.3 Billion in Funding, Mercom Reports
January 23, 2025 – Mercom Capital Group, an integrated communications and research firm focused exclusively on clean energy, released its annual report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the solar sector in 2024. It also includes data and information for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024.
Total corporate funding, including venture capital (VC) funding, public market, and debt financing into the solar sector, decreased 24% year-over-year (YoY) in 2024, with $26.3 billion raised in 157 deals, compared to $34.4 billion in 161 deals in 2023.
“2024 was a year of uncertainties for the solar industry, with inflation, high interest rates, trade disputes, and policy ambiguity contributing to declines in funding and M&A activity. The market is awaiting clear policy signals from the new administration on the IRA provisions, ITC extensions, and tariff measures before investors come off the sidelines and deal-making can return to healthier levels,” commented Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.
Global VC and private equity funding in the solar sector in 2024 came to $4.5 billion in 60 deals, 36% lower than the $7 billion raised in 70 deals in 2023. There were 14 VC funding deals of $100 million or more in 2024.
Of the $4.5 billion in VC funding raised in 60 deals in 2024, $3.9 billion (87%) went to Solar Downstream companies. Solar PV companies raised $401 million; Balance of System (BOS) companies raised $117 million; Thin film companies raised $33 million; CSP companies raised $22 million; and Service Providers raised $1 million.
The top VC-funded companies in 2024 were Pine Gate Renewables ($650 million), Nexamp ($520 million), BrightNight ($440 million), Doral Renewables ($400 million) and MN8 Energy ($325 million).
Public market financing in the solar sector in 2024 totaled $3 billion, 59% lower than the $7.4 billion raised in 2023. Nine companies went public in 2024, bringing in $1.3 billion, compared to seven companies that raised $2.1 billion in 2023.
In 2024, announced debt financing came to $18.8 billion, 6% lower compared to $20 billion in 2023. Securitization deals were a key contributor, with a record $5 billion in 16 deals.
M&A activity was 15% lower YoY in 2024, with 82 corporate M&A transactions compared to 96 in 2023. The largest transaction was by Brookfield Asset Management, along with institutional partners, including Brookfield Renewable and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, which agreed to acquire a 53.12% stake in Neoen, a solar, wind, and energy storage project developer, for $6.54 billion.
Solar Downstream companies led corporate M&A activity in 2024, acquiring 66 companies, followed by Manufacturers with six, and Service Providers and Balance of System (BOS) companies with five acquisitions each.
The number of large-scale solar project acquisitions in 2024 fell to 217, compared to 231 in 2023. The total acquired capacity also dropped to 37.7 GW, a 17% decrease from 45.4 GW the previous year.
Of the 37.7 GW of large-scale solar projects acquired in 2024, 38% were acquired by Project Developers and IPPs. Investment Firms and Infrastructure Funds acquired 35%, followed by Others (insurance providers, pension funds, energy trading companies, industrial conglomerates, and IT firms), with 13% in 2024. Utilities, Oil and Gas, and Installers acquired the remaining 14%.
Two hundred and eighty-nine (289) companies and investors are covered in this 136-page report, which contains 107 charts, graphs, and tables.