Sunnova Energy International said Monday it has “substantial doubt” it can stay in business in the next year, putting a spotlight on challenges facing the solar industry as the fate of key tax credits remains in doubt.
The Houston-based rooftop solar company said it doesn’t have enough incoming cash to meet obligations, prompting its stock price to collapse more than 60 percent Monday. The announcement came days after Sunrun, the nation’s largest rooftop solar company, said its residential installments are unlikely to grow this year, sending its stock plunging as well.
“The overall environment is terrible,” John Berger, CEO of Sunnova, which has installed more than one million solar panels in the U.S., said on an earnings call Monday. “It’s the political environment, the capital markets,” he said.
Berger’s comments come as multiple political headwinds face the solar industry, including the fate of technology-neutral tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act that replaced the investment tax credit for solar. It remains unclear whether Congress may move to overturn those credits as part of the budget process. President Donald Trump has not attacked solar in the same way that he has wind, but he has taken steps that hinder projects, such as pausing funding under the climate and infrastructure laws.
