Chris Gronet founded what would become Solyndra in May 2005. In 2006, Solyndra began deploying demonstration systems globally. The company reported deploying 14 systems that were each instrumented with sensitive
radiation, wind speed, temperature, and
humidity measurement equipment to aid in the development of energy yield forecasting software tools. According to the company, over 1,000 systems were installed worldwide, representing 100 megawatts of power. Major investors included
George Kaiser Family Foundation,
U.S. Venture Partners,
CMEA Ventures,
Redpoint Ventures,
Virgin Green Fund, Madrone Capital Partners, RockPort Capital Partners, Argonaut Private Equity,
Masdar and Artis Capital Management. In 2009, the company posted $100 million in revenue. It was estimated that its production and sales growth could lead to a
market capitalization between $1.76 and 2 billion. In 2010, revenues were approximately $140 million. Brian Harrison, a veteran of
Intel Corporation, briefly led Solyndra. He took the reins on July 27, 2010, a little more than a year before the company went bankrupt. Harrison replaced founder Gronet, who had served as CEO since the company's inception in 2005.
Government support Solyndra received a $535 million
U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee, the first recipient of a loan guarantee under President
Barack Obama's economic stimulus program, the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The loan program took a $528 million loss from Solyndra. Additionally, Solyndra received a $25.1 million tax break from California's Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority.
SoloPower also received similar funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Following the company's 2011 bankruptcy, the government had expected to recoup $27 million under the Solyndra restructuring plan, or up to 100% of loaned funds from a $1.5 billion lawsuit filed against Chinese polysilicon solar-panel makers for alleged price fixing. The outcomes of the lawsuits were that, in November 2015, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd. settled a claim filed by Solyndra for $7.5 million, and in April 2016 Trina Solar Ltd. settled a claim filed by Solyndra for $45 million. In June 2016 a Stipulation Of Dismissal was filed jointly between Solyndra and Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd. and later signed by Hon. Saundra B. Armstrong on November 30, 2017.
Production facilities and layoffs The company manufactured its products in its second fabrication plant, Fab 2, a new $733 million state-of-the-art robotic facility in Fremont, California, which opened in September 2010. Fab 2 was built with the support of a $535 million federal loan guarantee along with at least $198 million from private investors. Solyndra had expanded production in 2008. • The construction of the new complex would employ approximately 3,000 people. • The operation of the facility would create over 1,000 jobs in the United States. • The installation of these panels would create hundreds of additional jobs in the United States. • The commercialization of this technology was expected to be then duplicated in multiple other manufacturing facilities. According to an initial public offering by the company, the combined annual production capacity of the plants was projected to be 610 megawatts by 2013. Solyndra announced on November 3, 2010, that it would lay off around 40 employees and not renew contracts for about 150 temporary workers as a result of a consolidation of its production facilities.
Shutdown and investigation purchased the facility in 2013. Between 2009 and mid-2011 the price of
polysilicon, the key ingredient for most competing technologies, dropped by about 89% due to Chinese advances in the
Siemens process. This precipitous drop in the cost of raw materials for Solyndra's competitors rendered CIGS technology incapable of competing, and other factors, including a contemporaneous drop in the price of natural gas, together with the faltering of the corresponding financial models, also contributed to Solyndra's demise, despite quickly raising capital. On August 31, 2011, Solyndra announced it was filing for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, laying off 1,100 employees, and shutting down all operations and manufacturing. In September 2011, the company ceased all business activity, filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, Title 11, of the United States Bankruptcy Code, and laid off all employees. Solyndra was raided by the FBI investigating the company. Federal agents visited the homes of Brian Harrison, the company's CEO, and Chris Gronet, the company's founder, to examine computer files and documents. Also, in September 2011, the
US Department of the Treasury launched an investigation. Bloomberg reported in 2011 that Solyndra's $733 million plant had whistling robots and spa showers, along with many other signs of extravagant spending. Also in 2011, a US Department of the Treasury official confirmed that the criminal probe of Solyndra was focused on whether the company and its officers misrepresented the firm's finances to the government in seeking the loan or engaged in accounting fraud. Emails showed that the Obama administration had concerns about the legality of the Department of Energy's loan restructuring plan and warned OMB director
Jeffrey D. Zients that the plan should be cleared with the Department of Justice first, which the Department of Energy had not done. The emails also revealed that, as early as August 2009, an aide to then-White House Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel had asked a Department of Energy official if he could discuss any concerns among the investment community about Solyndra but that the official dismissed the idea that Solyndra had financial problems. The bankruptcy court approved the hiring of chief restructuring officer Todd Neilson. In 2012, the US Department of Justice objected to the bankruptcy plan amid allegations that "the plan's primary purpose is
tax avoidance through the preservation of hundreds of millions of dollars of net operating losses after reorganization". Also, the successor company is named
360 Degree Solar Holdings, Inc., which would have control over "approximately US$350 million in tax attributes", such as net operating losses carryovers. "Solyndra's owners, Argonaut Ventures I LLC and Madrone Partners LP" will "realize the tax benefits of between $875 million and $975 million of net operating losses, while more senior creditors, including the Department of Energy, which provided a $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra, will receive nearly nothing." Ultimately, none of the investigations of Solyndra found any evidence of criminal wrongdoing or political corruption, but there was evidence of "bad business judgement" and taxpayers were stuck with half a billion dollars in losses. According to his LinkedIn profile, Gronet has been at Applied Materials since September 2024, having become Vice President, Chief Architect Emerging Products, ICAPS Business Unit, SPG, working remotely from Santa Monica, California. ==Technology==