COVID-19 Impact: Solar Module Manufacturer SunPower Halts Production Temporarily

The company says it is on track to complete the planned split into two public related companies

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Companies across the globe are trying hard to tackle the unprecedented economic crisis caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In one such case, a U.S. solar panel maker, SunPower Corp, has decided to stop production in its factories across five countries temporarily.

The company, which is one of the leading manufacturers of solar modules, has stopped production in its facilities in France, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States. The company revealed the development in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As per the company’s documents, the company expects to have existing inventory to meet its customers’ needs. The company is planning to continue investing in its storage, digital initiatives, and Maxeon 7 technology while maintaining customer service and expects to bring the production online in the coming weeks.

The residential and commercial solar installations have been hit hard by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown that has put brakes on construction and has crippled consumer and business spending.

Apart from stalling the production, the California-based company has reduced the pay of its senior executives for the second time in a week. The company has also asked some of its employees for a four-day week. In addition to this, the company’s $55 million credit revolver remains undrawn, and the company anticipates that its existing tax equity and debt capacity is sufficient to fund all projects throughout the remainder of 2020.

The company said that it is on track to complete the planned split into two public companies by the end of the quarter. The transaction is expected to separate SunPower’s panel manufacturing business from its U.S. solar and energy storage business.

Recently, Total announced that its affiliate, Total Solar Distribution Generation, will provide 25 MW of solar rooftop systems to Betagro, a food company in Thailand.

Previously, Mercom had reported that Enphase Energy and SunPower Corporation had announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Enphase would acquire SunPower’s microinverter business.

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