Solyndra files for $300m solar IPO

Hopes that the solar energy sector will enjoy a bumper 2010 were given a timely boost when US solar cell manufacturer Solyndra announced plans to raise up to $300m (£187m) through an IPO early next year.

The company, which specialises in copper, indium, gallium and selenium thin film solar cells, said in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would float under the ticker symbol SOLY, although it did not specify how many shares it will issue nor at what price.

California-based Solyndra said that the cash raised through the IPO will be used to fund the development of a second manufacturing plant, which is expected to produce up to 500MW worth of the company's cylindrical solar panels.

The high profile firm has already raised $535m towards the project after securing a loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy, and the IPO is expected to raise the rest of the funds the company needs to complete the facility.

Solyndra is still loss making, confirming in its SEC filing that it posted a net loss $119.8m on revenues of $58.8m for the first nine months of this fiscal year. However, the company has enjoyed rapid growth in the past year, and has an encouraging order pipeline that has bolstered hopes of an impressive IPO.

In its SEC filing, the firm said that it sold 17.2MW of panels during the first nine months of the year, compared to just 1.6MW last year. It also has over $2bn worth of sales deals in place in the US and Europe, and has agreements to deliver up to 865MW of its panels and racks by the end of 2013.

The decision to go for an IPO will revive hopes that the window for clean tech IPOs will open in 2010, after rival solar firm Trony Solar recently postponed its planned US IPO citing market conditions.

A large number of clean tech firms are known to be eyeing IPOs as a means of raising the funds needed to scale up manufacturing operations, and optimism is mounting that the first half of 2010 could see a flurry of market flotations following the success of battery specialist A123's $378m IPO earlier this year.