Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
Solyndra
The Fremont, California solar start-up that made panels from copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) thin film deposited on glass tubes, won the first loan guarantee of the 2009 stimulus programme — $535m — to build a highly automated factory, and filed for bankruptcy on 6 Sep 2011 after the price of the silicon it was designed to avoid fell by roughly nine-tenths. Its engineering worked; its cost position did not. Taxpayers lost ~$528m (DOE estimate), private investors ~$1bn+, ~1,100 workers lost their jobs, and "Solyndra" became the word every later US argument about industrial policy reaches for — from the 2011 House investigation to the Inflation Reduction Act's manufacturing credits and their 2025 rollback.
At a glance
- Founded
- May 2005, by Chris (Christian) Gronet, a former Applied Materials executive (reported); incorporated in California
- Headquarters
- Fremont, California (Fab 1 and the purpose-built Fab 2)
- Ownership / structure
- Private, venture- and family-office-backed; largest investors Argonaut Ventures (linked to the George Kaiser Family Foundation), Madrone Capital (linked to the Walton family), RockPort Capital, U.S. Venture Partners, CMEA and others (reported); ~$1bn+ of private equity and debt raised (reported)
- Leadership
- Chris Gronet (founder, CEO 2005–Jul 2010); Brian Harrison (CEO from 27 Jul 2010); W.G. "Bill" Stover (CFO) (reported)
- Product
- Cylindrical CIGS modules for flat commercial rooftops: 40 tubes per panel, light absorbed from direct, diffuse and reflected light, no tilt racking and no roof penetrations; cell efficiency ~12–14% flat (company spec, 2008, reported), module efficiency well below crystalline silicon
- Scale
- Revenue ~$100m (2009) and ~$140m (2010) (reported, verify); planned capacity 610 MW a year by 2013 (IPO filing, reported), cut to ~300 MW after Nov 2010; peak headcount ~1,100
- Capital
- DOE loan guarantee $535m (conditional commitment 20 Mar 2009, closed Sep 2009; funded by the Federal Financing Bank); Fab 2 cost ~$733m; ~$25.1m California sales-tax exclusion (reported)
- End
- Fremont plant shut 31 Aug 2011; Chapter 11 filed 6 Sep 2011 (Delaware); liquidating plan confirmed Oct 2012; building sold to Seagate (2013, reported)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding and the cylindrical CIGS bet (2005); the first DOE stimulus loan guarantee (2009); the presidential visit and the withdrawn IPO (2010); Fab 2's opening and ramp (2010); Fab 1 closure and the price war (Nov 2010); the loan restructuring and subordination (Feb 2011); shutdown and Chapter 11 (2011); the investigations and the political legacy (2011–2026)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2005
Founding and Cylindrical CIGS
Founding / technology bet
2009
DOE Loan Guarantee
Financing (state support: federal loan guarantee)
2010
Fab 1 Closure and the Price War
Restructuring / strategy pivot
2010
Fab 2 Opening and Ramp
Construction or commissioning
2010
Presidential Visit and Withdrawn IPO
Spin-off or IPO (failed) / political
2011
Investigations and the Political Legacy
Regulatory or legal action
2011
Loan Restructuring and Subordination
Financing (restructuring of state-supported debt)
2011
Shutdown and Chapter 11
Restructuring or bankruptcy