Rumor: Solyndra Doesn’t Get Its $350M

The credit crunch is apparently already having an impact on the renewable energy world.

Solyndra, the secretive maker of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells, in August was trying to raise $350 million to help build manufacturing facilities. While it may have raised some money, it did not get the full amount, say sources. As a result, Solyndra will restructure the deal.

The company has a 400 plus employees but has yet to produce products in commercial volumes, and it is implementing cost cutting, according to sources. Solyndra does not comment on news stories.

For the past several weeks, VCs and others have predicted that the CIGS market would soon crash. Five CIGS companies raised over $344 million through 2007. Then, in 2008, funding seemed to go into overdrive. Nanosolar raised $300 million alone and others like Miasole and Solyndra were seeking $200 and $350 million, respectively. SoloPower raised $200 million, according to sources. Yet few of these companies had produced many panels.

Several analysts, meanwhile, have started to note that the silicon shortage that has plagued the industry has eased, causing prices for traditional silicon solar panels to drop. At the same time, manufacturing capacity for other thin-film technologies, such as amorphous silicon and cadmium telluride, has begun to increase.

Financial risks, low output, intense competition: it’s not a pretty picture.

The credit crunch became the final straw. Other solar companies will likely experience a similar chill. The lucky companies like Nanosolar and SoloPower, which raised money before the crisis, now may have a leg up in the CIGS market. They will have to use the money they recently received wisely, but at least they have it. Competitors will likely have to live off less or merge.

“The door has shut,” says one source.

Solyndra, by the way, was looking for a larger round than most. Under the deal, Goldman Sachs (hey, there’s a name from the headlines) was trying to sell $120 million of convertible securities to existing investors and $230 million to newcomers. The convertible securities could be converted to Solyndra shares in the event of an IPO.

The owners of the convertible securities would have obtained their shares at around a 20 percent discount price from the IPO price. They also would have received interest. Additionally, they would have received more bonuses if Solyndra failed to meet certain criteria on its way to an IPO.