Will Sunpower be around for next 25 years?

[shet]

What do you guys think? Will Sunpower be around for next 25 years? Not sure if I should pay the premium for Sunpower for its high efficiency and 25 year warranty. What if the company folds up 10 years from now. It seems only Canadian Solar has purchased some kind of insurance from a bank to honor their warranties even if they go out of business.

[sensij]

What if your panels work fine for 40 years? What do you think is the most likely scenario, and how much would it really cost to deal with other likely outcomes?

[shet]

What if your panels work fine for 40 years? What do you think is the most likely scenario, and how much would it really cost to deal with other likely outcomes?

Its the inverter I am worried about. Got an quote from Sunpower Master Dealer for around 27 ACPV panels. If lets say after 10 years, each of these inverter starts going bad one by one at the rate of say one per year. And assume sunpower no longer exists after 10 years. How much in labor and parts will I spend for this (assuming parts are available for the now non-existent Sunpower)

[sensij]

Yeah, I'd be worried about the microinverters on those AC panels too. Probably a pain to swap out if something goes wrong, warranty or not.

[peakbagger]

The technology will have changed enough in 10 years that they probably wont even have your inverters in stock to send you replacements

[solarix]

Don't know about Sunpower, as a company - they have as good a shot as anyone to last 25 years. But there is no way I would do the AC panel thing. solar panels should last 40 to 50 years, but inverters won't. Some day people will be throwing away perfectly good solar panels because the built in inverters go bad.

[Sunking]

Who knows, they have a very narrow product line. They make solar panels period. Solar is a passing fad.

On the other hand companies like Kyocera, Sony, Sanyo, Panasonic, and GE are just about guaranteed to be around 25 years from now. Solar is only a small fraction of their product line less than 1%. They can afford to loose money on their solar line as the 99% of their other product lines keep stock owners happy happy. All it would take is another year like this one to put Sunpower out of biz.

SP stock has fallen from $130 per share to $17 per share today. In the last year they have lost $1.91 per share, deep in debt with no cash available. They are loosing money faster than it is coming in, the market is falling, and is expected to keep falling.

f I owned any shares of that dog, I would have sold it a long time ago.

[philipf]

It's pretty interesting to see all of the different vendors disparaging other products. I've had multiple vendors (who actually can sell the ACPV panels) who've told me to stay clear of the SunPower ACPV panels due to reliability. Then of course I have the SunPower only vendors disparaging Enphase. It's messy out there right now.

I like the concept of a vertically integrated solution like the SunPower ACPV - think Apple.
I also like the flexibility and modularity of another solution such as LG/Ephase - think PC and interoperability and modular flexibility

[sensij]

It's pretty interesting to see all of the different vendors disparaging other products. I've had multiple vendors (who actually can sell the ACPV panels) who've told me to stay clear of the SunPower ACPV panels due to reliability. Then of course I have the SunPower only vendors disparaging Enphase. It's messy out there right now.

I like the concept of a vertically integrated solution like the SunPower ACPV - think Apple.
I also like the flexibility and modularity of another solution such as LG/Ephase - think PC and interoperability and modular flexibility

How does a solar panel company that bought a microinverter company and now pre-assembles the two together have anything to do with apple?

[philipf]

How does a solar panel company that bought a microinverter company and now pre-assembles the two together have anything to do with apple?

Maybe a bad example.

The point was that SunPower with an integrated micro converter is vertically integrated (like Apple w/ hardware and software).
Contrast that with another solution from a combination of other vendors such as LG/Enphase for example.

That was my only point.

[Sunking]

The point was that SunPower with an integrated micro converter is vertically integrated (like Apple w/ hardware and software).
Contrast that with another solution from a combination of other vendors such as LG/Enphase for example.

I got the point. From a manufacture POV Vertical Integration is as good as it gets for a company. However beware what Vertical Integration really means and code for:

Vertical Integration = Monopoly

Pure political correctness at work. You cannot call someone stupid, "Stupid" as it reveals the truth.

[sensij]

Maybe a bad example.

The point was that SunPower with an integrated micro converter is vertically integrated (like Apple w/ hardware and software).
Contrast that with another solution from a combination of other vendors such as LG/Enphase for example.

That was my only point.

There isn't any "integration", and the earlier post that people might eventually be throwing away solar panels because of a failed microinverter is misleading. The microinverter is simply pre-mounted and pre-connected, and even uses connectors between the solar panel leads and microinverter leads the same way any arbitrary microinverter system would (LG+Enphase, for example). You can see that clearly in the data sheets, which I would link, but the messed up forum software will route this to moderation if I do.

[shet]

If Sunpower has any reserves allocated for warranty claims that would be nice (assuming that reserve cannot be claimed by creditors in bankruptcy proceedings). If the 25 yrs labor + parts warranty is solid, then it is very good for somebody selling the house. Say I sell the house in 20 years, then if I let the prospective buyers know that there is 5 more years of labor + parts warranty left, then selling is easier.