SunEdison continues global expansion with two major deals

International renewable energy firm SunEdison has expanded its solar portfolio with a $2.2bn deal, as well as securing a new channel to the UK energy market in a separate acquisition.


Yesterday (20 July), SunEdison acquired US residential and commercial-scale solar company Vivint Solar for around $2.2bn in cash and stock, moving Vivint’s rooftop solar portfolio of 523MW to its partner company TerraForm Power.

And today, SunEdison has announced the purchase of Mark Group – the-UK based energy solutions and sales provider – for an undisclosed fee. SunEdison believes the move will establish a direct sales channel for UK residential and commercial expansion.

Rapid expansion

Speaking of the MArk Group deal, SunEdison senior vice president of residential and small commercial Vikas Desai said: “This acquisition will enable SunEdison to offer additional energy solutions, products and services directly to customers.

“As we rapidly scale our business globally, we see the Mark Group expanding SunEdison’s expertise and bandwidth in the consumer energy efficiency market, an excellent complement to our residential and commercial distributed solar business.”

Mark Group chief commercial officer Bill Rumble said: “With this acquisition we now have the opportunity to deliver even greater value to our customers, helping them to enjoy long-term benefits from insulation, solar power and other expertly installed energy products.”

Mark Group last year helped install the largest single rooftop solar installation in the UK with a 6MW system for Marks and Spencer.

Next step

SunEdison’s spending spree has seen it become the world’s largest renewable energy development company. The group estimates it will deliver up to 4,500MW capacity in 2016 following its purchase of Vivint Solar.

SunEdison chief executive Ahmad Chatila said: “SunEdision’s acquisition of Vivint Solar is a logical next step in the transformation of our platform after the successful execution of our First Wind acquisition in January 2015.

“As of fourth quarter 2015, our organic growth and recent acquisitions will put SunEdison on track to deploy more than 1GW per quarter.”

SunEdison also recently completed the purchase of First Wind, one of the largest wind power firms in the USA, for $2.4bn. The company has also secured more than 757MW of renewable energy projects across developing markets, with deals in China, India, South Africa and South America.

Matt Field

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