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Vivint Solar

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Vivint Solar
Company typePublic Company
NYSE: VSLR
Founded2011
HeadquartersLehi, Utah
Number of locations
60
Key people
David Bywater, Interim CEO
Todd Pedersen, Board Member
Alex Dunn, Board Member
Number of employees
5,000+ (2015)
Websitewww.vivintsolar.com

Vivint Solar, Inc. is an American solar energy company. Vivint Solar went public in 2014.[1] Vivint Solar is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It was launched in 2011 by its parent company Vivint, Inc.[2] as a solar electricity provider that designs, installs, and maintains the residential photovoltaic system.

Vivint Solar operates in 12 states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah), and Washington, D.C.,[3] with expansive marketing programs in those markets.[4][5] According to GTM Research, Vivint Solar was the number two residential solar installer in the United States in 2013.[6] It has installed over 40,000 solar panel systems as of the end of March 2015.[7]

The company is considered to be a green home technology company[8] and is the fastest growing solar energy company in the U.S. which uses the power purchase agreement (PPA) model.[9][10] It uses fleet vehicles carrying the traditional Vivint orange coloration.[11]

In February 2015, Vivint Solar broke ground on a new corporate campus in Lehi, Utah near Thanksgiving Point, and will begin operating from there in May 2016.

Vivint Solar's current CEO is David Bywater,[12] who was announced as an interim replacement for Greg Butterfield in May 2016, following Butterfield's resignation.

Vivint Solar is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).[13]

Approach

The company installs solar panels at no cost to the homeowner, usually via a power purchase agreement (PPA).[14] Vivint Solar owns, installs, and maintains solar panels on customers’ homes in exchange for customers agreeing to purchase the solar energy their panels produce.[15] Customers do not pay for installation; in lieu of this the company makes its money by selling back to the customers the energy produced,[16] for the life of the contracts, at rates that are initially substantially lower than their previous electric utility charges.[17][18] Vivint Solar’s customers purchase energy or lease solar energy systems based on one of two types of long-term contracts—a PPA or a lease. In the PPA structure, customers pay a fee per kilowatt hour based on the amount of electricity the solar energy system actually produces. In the lease structure, the customer’s monthly payment is fixed based on a calculation that takes into account expected solar energy generation. The lease includes a production guarantee under which Vivint Solar agrees to make a payment to the customer if the leased system does not meet the guaranteed production level. [19]

The company is similar to other solar companies such as SolarCity, SunRun, and Sungevity. Its innovation in the field is the use of microinverters for each separate solar panel, allowing maximum production when some of the panels are in the shade,[20][21] as well as a quick installation.[22]

Most of Vivint Solar's growth has come from door-to-door sales.[23]

Corporate history

In October 2011, home automation company Vivint, Inc. started and incorporated a new, solar division of the company, Vivint Solar.[24] In November 2012, the Blackstone Group acquired a controlling interest in Vivint, Vivint Solar, and 2GIG Technologies for in excess of $2 billion.[25]After the Blackstone acquisition, the solar division evolved and became Vivint Solar, LLC., a separate, but related company.[26]

In October 2014, Vivint Solar opened for public trading on the New York Stock Exchange.[27] In July 2015, SunEdison announced plans to buy Vivint Solar for $2.2 billion USD.[7] In March 2016, Vivint Solar announced that the SunEdison deal had been terminated, and that the company was suing SunEdison for a "willfull breach" of the planned merger.

In May 2016, Greg Butterfield stepped down as CEO of Vivint Solar. David Bywater was announced as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement for Butterfield.

References

  1. ^ "Vivint Solar prices IPO at $16, the low end of the range". http://www.renaissancecapital.com/. Renaissance Capital IPO Center. Retrieved 19 October 2015. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  2. ^ "Home Security Firm Enters Solar Market With $75M Fund". Forbes. Retrieved Oct 19, 2011.
  3. ^ "Vivint Solar Coverage Area". Vivint Solar. Retrieved Jan 1, 2014.
  4. ^ "Vivint Solar Offers Affordable Solar Energy Solutions in Two New California Markets". Zep Solar. November 29, 2012.
  5. ^ Shimogawa, Duane (March 4, 2013). "Vivint Solar tops in Hawaii sales volume so far this year". Pacific Business News.
  6. ^ "Vivint Solar, No. 2 US Solar Installer, Sets IPO Terms to Raise $370M". Green Tech Media. Retrieved Oct 22, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Fehrenbacher, Katie (20 July 2015). "Why SunEdison is buying Vivint Solar for $2.2 billion". Fortune. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Vivint Recognizes National Green Week Through Energy-Saving Solar and Home Automation". Business Wire. February 4, 2013.
  9. ^ "Vivint Solar Offers Affordable Solar Energy Solutions in Two New California Markets". Business Wire. November 29, 2012.
  10. ^ Tempesta, Matt (February 23, 2013). "Saugus sees sudden spike in solar installations". The Daily Item.
  11. ^ Basich, Greg (January 5, 2012). "Vivint Launches Fleet for New Solar Division". Automotive Fleet.
  12. ^ "Vivint Solar Names David Bywater as Interim CEO, Current CEO Greg Butterfield Resigning, Search for Permanent Exec Beginning in Coming Weeks". Sonoran Weekly Review. May 2, 2016.
  13. ^ "Vivint Solar BBB Business Review". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved Oct 22, 2014.
  14. ^ "Vivint Solar's Popularity Grows in New Jersey, Saves Customers Money". Vivint Solar. August 7, 2012.
  15. ^ Castle, Stephen (October 20, 2011). "Vivint Offers Solar Panels—No Money Down". Electronic House.
  16. ^ "Todd Pedersen, CEO of Vivint on Bloomberg". YouTube. February 27, 2013.
  17. ^ Burns, Matt (October 18, 2011). "Vivint Solar Announces $75m Partnership With U.S. Bancorp, Expansion Into Three New Markets". TechCrunch.
  18. ^ "Vision of Vivint Solar". Vimeo. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  19. ^ Serra, Tanguy. "Solar Leasing". Alternative Energy eMagazine. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  20. ^ "Solar Equipment". Vivint Solar. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  21. ^ Michals, Jacob. "Array of the Week: Vivint Solar". Enphase Energy. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  22. ^ "Vivint Solar timelapse". YouTube. November 17, 2011.
  23. ^ "VivintKnock! Knock! Solar company wins converts going door to door". Reuters. Retrieved Nov 3, 2013.
  24. ^ "Home security packaged with energy and solar". CNET. Retrieved Feb 11, 2011.
  25. ^ De La Merced, Michael J. (September 18, 2012). "Blackstone to Buy Control of Vivint, a Home Security Provider". The New York Times.
  26. ^ "Blackstone $2 Billion Acquisition Ties in Solar and Home Automation". 24/7 Wall Street. Retrieved Sep 19, 2012.
  27. ^ Wang, Ucilia (1 October 2014). "Vivint Solar Makes Public Market Debut, Shares Up Modestly". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
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