PVTIME – Investment activity across the global solar sector recorded substantial growth in the first half of 2026, with total corporate funding rising to $16.9 billion. The latest industry analysis from Mercom Capital Group confirms that this represents a year-on-year increase of 56%, outperforming the $10.8 billion funding volume recorded in the first half of 2025. These findings are detailed in the official 1H and Q2 2026 Solar Funding and M&A Report, which documents an increase in merger, acquisition, and large-scale project transaction activity compared to the previous year. This positive trend contrasts sharply with the 39% year-on-year contraction in funding experienced by the global solar industry during the first half of 2025.
Source: Mercom Capital Group
Sector-wide capital expansion has been underpinned by robust growth in debt financing and public market fundraising, offsetting a general decline in venture capital funding levels. Debt financing made significant progress during the review period, with 44 formal transactions securing $13.2 billion in capital, making a 69% increase on the $7.8 billion raised in the equivalent period in 2025. Public market activity saw the most substantial increase, generating $2.2 billion from 17 completed deals, a 371% increase on the $467 million recorded in H1 2025. Market consolidation activity also strengthened, with 57 verified M&A transactions completed in the first half of 2026, exceeding the 50 deals closed in the same period the previous year.
Venture capital markets performed poorly during the reporting period. Aggregate VC funding fell by 40% year-on-year, dropping to $1.5 billion across 35 transactions. This is in contrast to the 32 deals that secured $2.5 billion of venture investment in the first half of 2025. While overall funding values declined, the number of transactions increased marginally, with investment consistently focused on downstream solar operators. A total of 22 VC transactions targeting downstream assets accumulated investment value of $884 million. Notable VC deals during this period include Inox Clean Energy raising $343 million, Nexamp raising $180 million, Clean Max Enviro Energy Solutions raising $165 million, Amarenco raising $150 million, and GREW Solar raising $118 million.
Securitised financing activity remained subdued across global solar markets in H1 2026. Three completed securitisation transactions achieved a combined valuation of $540 million, representing a 66% year-on-year reduction compared to the four comparable deals worth a total of $1.6 billion recorded in the first half of 2025.
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