Sungevity is a

solar electricity Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to conve ...

company based in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

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

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

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, and

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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 List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

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

US Bank U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American multinational financial services firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota and incorporated in Delaware. It is the List of largest banks in the United States, 5th-largest ban ...

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 multinational financial services firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and incorporated in Delaware. It is the 5th-largest bank in the United States as of 2025. As the largest bank i ...

Rabobank Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...

, and

Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...

to fund residential solar installations. Also in 2011,

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) 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. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...

, 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) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

, Jetstream Ventures, and

E.ON E.ON SE is a European multinational electric utility company based in Essen, Germany. It operates as one of the world's largest investor-owned electric utility service providers. The name originates from the Latin word '' aeon'', derived from ...

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

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

funding by investors including GE Ventures as well as Apollo Investment Corporation. 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 acce ...

, 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, citizens and students weigh in on energy, climate, and sustainability. The most inventive and creativ ...

Innovator of the Year 2011

References