SunPower is rising again through a rebranded Complete Solaria, which will take its name along with the assets it acquired from the bankrupt company last year. SunPower includes another legacy from both companies’ past: the once-retired solar veteran T.J. Rodgers, who bankrolled and helped grow both companies in their early years.
Rodgers, who founded Cypress Semiconductor, first became involved with SunPower in 2001 after running into a friend at a coffee shop. Rodgers said his friend told him he was having financial problems with his new company, SunPower. Rodgers said he wrote a personal investment check for $750,000 and joined SunPower’s board. Five years later, he said he convinced the board of Cypress to invest in a 40% interest in SunPower.
SunPower took off shortly after, enabling the company to modify its Austin, Texas wafer fabrication plant, for example, to train SunPower engineers on silicon manufacturing, which he said pushed SunPower’s A‑300 SunPower solar cell to come to market in high volume at low cost. Under CEO Tom Werner, who joined SunPower in 2005, SunPower began establishing its legacy. For example, the company set a record in 2014 when it achieved an efficiency of 24.1% for a module using silicon cells.
In 2021, SunPower’s CEO Tom Werner announced his retirement, ending an 18-year reign where he led company to go public in 2005, surpass $1 billion in 2008, survive the solar boom-to-bust in the early 2010s and, though it was struggling, make it through to other side as one of the largest residential solar installers by 2019. Then came COVID, and with it: home improvements. Solar was thriving.
And then, things fell apart. Interest rates raised costs and NEM 3.0 devastated the leading rooftop market in California. In December 2023 the company defaulted on its debt and issued a “going concern” warning. A series of missteps and business practices that drew criticism began to mount. In August 2024, the company filed for bankruptcy. It was the end of the line for the U.S. solar giant.
Or so we thought.
When Werner learned SunPower was filing for Chapter 11, he called Rodgers. Rodgers was now in his mid 70s, but the billionaire began to raise funds for Complete Solar, his new solar company, to buy SunPower’s assets. Rodgers said it was difficult to execute given the 65-person “startup” had limited cashflow and time for it to buy and integrate 2,901 employees from his former company.
Rodgers is SunPower’s CEO and once again, chair. Since the asset acquisition, the integrated company has slashed its workforce from nearly 3,000 employees to 900. According to SunPower, it has twice achieved over $300 million in annualized revenue, and turned profitable and cash flow positive.
Bankrolled by Rodgers and John Doerr, Complete Solaria was formed in 2022 through a merger between residential solar provider Complete Solar and solar module maker Solaria.
Following its bankruptcy, SunPower sold its assets to Complete Solaria for $45 million. Complete Solar later sold the patents for its shingled solar modules to Maxeon, the panel manufacturing spinout of SunPower.
TCL SunPower Global will rely on the SunPower installer network, especially in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. “TCL SunPower Global has no ties to US-based SunPower Corporation and is completely independent,” said the spokesperson.
SunPower will present its audited 2024 financial results and unaudited Q1 2025 financial results in its earning call April 30 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webcast here. The company’s ticker symbol will change from “CSLR” and “CSLRW” to “SPWR” and “SPWRW”, respectively, effective April 22, 2025.
This article was amended on 4/25/25 to state TCL SunPower Global’s connection.
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My brother worked for SunPower. He started when they were just a handful of employees. He later was THE GUY who went to China to start up a manufacturing plant to build the solar cells.
It seems like that is where things started to really unravel.
Within months, SunPower was competing with Chinese companies making similar but sub par products and SunPower couldn’t cut it in a marketplace where knockoffs would fail and SunPower would take the hit for bad quality products while at the same time an equally good product JUST LIKE THEIRS was being sold cheaper under a different name.
It’s not just the stolen IP that gets you when it’s available for less, it’s the bad product that your company is associated with that tarnishes your name.
Plus, in some cases they can even use the giant leap forward to improve on your design with very little development cost.
It’s a Win Win Win for the Chinese.
And on top of all of that….. Chinese companies get free shipping from the government while American companies have to pay a lot of money to ship goods back to America that American companies manufacturer in China.
Very tough to compete all the way around.
Won’t happen if Trump’s plan works.
Interesting to see what happens next.
Trump doesn’t care about solar and his tariff plan is too extreme so it hurts the solar industry as much as it helps, but he also doesn’t want to invest in solar in America so it’s a net negative. Biden had tariffs and investment in American products which was the right way to do it.
For people in Hawaii does this company still service our panels for maintenance and cleaning?
We are very concerned about this since Hawaii is isolated from the U.S. mainland. Will it still handle our concerns?
Where does the new sunpower leave the previous customers who have major issues with with installation roof leaks systems turned off for no reason then switched back on calling texting emails to the so called new services with either no response or a terse I can’t help you
I am concerned that the company left in charge to handle servicing (SunStrong), only contactable via an App) will still be in charge. I need service technicians and can’t find any at the present time that can assist with my connections to the WiFi. I have 2 separate sets of panels and can’t get them both online at the same time to monitor to Edison and to SunStrong.
We ae all forgetting that Sunpower bought Solar World – which we had used for over 13 years – and shortly after they got the tax benefit, they closed them down and will not do any warranty support for the hundreds of customers we have who purchase SolarWorld modules. If anybody has any info on how to get SolarWorld support. For over 15 years, we had not problems, but are starting to see occasional severe discoloration and occasional failures.
solarworld panels 15 years old are end of life. today modules are in the 430 range . if you have micro inverters just change the bad panel to any new panel. if you have a string inverter, I would consider upgrading to enphase micro inverters this would allow you to use any mixed modules in the system
I now have the SunStrong app & it’s telling me that I have several panels that are not working. Can’t get anyone on the phone to me. Spent thousands on this system that so am still paying for. Where do so go for help?
As a su power customer with a currently useless system, and battery that is doing nothing how do we get service and help? Sunstrong has provided an app that tells me my system isn’t working, PG&E came and put me back on grid when I had no power, Energyaid came and did an assessment, but I still have no solutions.
So happy I sold spwr back in 2020 and never looked back. I went with fslr instead
Hopefully they can become a good company again. Shareholders and customers got screwed and mismanaged bad solar companies set the industry back and tarnish the reputation of solar as a legitimate business. We need good companies in solar if we’re serious about reducing emissions to combat global warming.
My Sun Power inverters have been down for almost 2 years. After multiple conversations and even a site visit by the repair people, they stated the new inverters were ordered. Several months later, they said they were in the warehouse and I was on the schedule to be repaired. Bankruptcy was then declared and have not heard from them since. I wonder if I’ll ever get them installed. Anybody have any ideas or thoughts.
I now have the SunStrong Management (formerly SunPower Financial). They know that I have several panels that are not working. I have requested a phone or address to contact their legal Department with no responds. Can’t get anyone on the phone to help me. I have been keeping up my end of the financial responsibility, but they have not. Where do I go for help?