Mumbai, Jan 18 (FN Bureau) Total corporate funding across the globe in the solar sector increased by 91 per cent in 2021 to USD 27.8 billion as compared to the previous year, a recent report said. According to a report by consulting firm Mercom Capital Group, global corporate funding including venture capital and private equity, debt financing, and public market financing, stood at USD 27.8 billion, a 91 per cent increase compared to the USD 14.5 billion raised in 2020. The corporate funding in 2021 was the highest in ten years, it said. “2021 was the best year for solar corporate funding as well as mergers and acquisitions since 2010. Financing activity bounced back strongly following a Covid-19-affected 2020. There was more money than ever chasing deals and more demand than supply of attractive companies and assets as organizations and funds look to fulfill their ESG and clean energy mandates,” Mercom Capital Group Chief Executive Raj Prabhu said.
Global venture capital and private equity funding in the solar sector in 2021 stood at USD 4.5 billion in 58 deals, a 281 per cent increase compared to the USD 1.2 billion in 2020. “This is the highest amount of VC funding for the solar sector since 2010. There were 11 VC funding deals of over USD 100 million apiece in 2021,” it said. The top VC funded companies in 2021 were GoodLeap, which raised USD 1.6 billion in two separate transactions of USD 800 million each, followed by Silicon Ranch Corporation, which brought in USD 775 million, Aurora Solar, which raised USD 250 million, Nexamp, with USD 240 million, Enpal with USD 175 million, and GameChange Solar, which raised USD150 million. As many as 154 VC and PE investors participated in funding deals in 2021, with seven involved in multiple rounds. Public market financing in 2021 totalled USD 7.5 billion, which was 49 per cent higher compared to USD 5.1 billion in 2020. The largest deal was by Shoals Technologies Group, a provider of BOS components for solar projects, which raised USD 2.2 billion through its IPO.
Ten solar companies went public through IPOs and SPACs in 2021, the report said. In 2021, announced debt financing came to USD 15.8 billion, a 91 per cent increase compared to USD 8.3 billion raised during 2020. M&A activity in the solar sector soared with 126 transactions in 2021 – the highest number of deals ever recorded. Most of the transactions involved solar downstream companies. The largest transaction in 2021 was Adani Green Energy (AGEL), which acquired a 100 per cent stake in SB Energy India at an enterprise valuation of around USD 3.5 billion. There were 280 large-scale solar project acquisitions in 2021 compared to 231 transactions in 2020. In 2021, the sector also saw the most project acquisition activity in terms of gigawatts, with more than 69 GW changing hands compared to 40 GW in 2020, the report stated.