Solar Microinverter Startup Enecsys Now in Administration

Enecsys throws in the solar microinverter towel, citing “working capital” issues.

Eric Wesoff February 06, 2015

Eric Wesoff

Editor-at-Large
Greentech Media

Eric Wesoff is Editor-at-Large at Greentech Media. Prior to joining GTM, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields.

His expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

This morning, solar microinverter startup Enecsys announced that the company had fallen into the hands of administrators and is for sale.

In September, Enecsys was looking to raise up to $20 million in an initial public offering on London's Alternative Investment Market. The company desperately needed cash -- and private investors were not forthcoming.

Enecsys CEO Mike Fister left the microinverter firm in December of last year and was replaced by COO Kevin Bushby.

This morning, it was announced that Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery was appointed as administrator and cited "working capital problems" as the source of the microinverter startup's downfall. Acting CEO Kevin Bushby has not responded to today's inquiries from GTM, nor has the U.S. office.

A release claims that Enecsys has sold in excess of 170,000 units in the U.S., European and Australasian markets since 2010. Market-leading microinverter builder Enphase has shipped a total of more than 6 million of its solar electronics modules.

The release asserts that it is the U.K. office that has entered into administration -- and that the administrators are now "pursuing the sale of the business, assets and intellectual property."

It is difficult to imagine that the Enecsys assets are worth acquiring by a microinverter firm such as Enphase or SolarBridge, with the possible exception of the firm's engineers.

Since 2009, Enecsys raised more than $55 million in venture funding from investors including Wellington Partners, NES Partners, Good Energies and Climate Change Capital Private Equity. According to reports, "During its financial year ending 31 March 2013, Enecsys’ revenue soared 66 percent to $11.5 million. [...] For 2014, Enecsys recorded a loss of $18.2 million," as well as a $40 million loss in 2012.

There is a long list of microinverter and optimizer market entrants -- and most of them have to contend with Enphase as the 800-pound gorilla in the channel to the U.S. residential customer. These firms will have to differentiate their product or their channel in order to succeed. The list includes: SMA, SolarEdge, SolarBridge, ReneSola, Power-One, APS, Chilicon Power, Sparq Systems, CyboEnergy, iEnergy, Involar, LeadSolar and Samil Power (a recent Tigo partner).

Source: GTM Research report The Microinverter and DC Optimizer Landscape, 2014