PVTIME – SPI Energy, the company behind the Solar4America solar module brand, has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the United States. The California-registered, formerly US-listed solar firm is backed by former photovoltaic industry figure Peng Xiaofeng, and has already filed for bankruptcy in the Cayman Islands, with its liquidators submitting US bankruptcy relief applications.
Peng acquired a 70% stake in SPI Energy in 2011. Prior to 2020, the company focused on photovoltaic power plant EPC and operations. In 2021, it expanded into the US solar market by acquiring residential solar contracts and the Solar4America brand from the bankrupt installer PetersenDean. It then purchased a Sacramento-based solar module assembly plant, formerly operated by Sunergy, to operate under the Solar4America name.
However, the Sacramento plant never achieved an annual capacity above 750MW and closed in early 2025. SPI Energy’s plan to build a silicon wafer and cell manufacturing facility in Sumter, South Carolina also failed to materialise. Peng had previously aimed to establish a third US-listed company through these expansions.
In the Chapter 15 filing, liquidators noted that SPI Energy reported $231 million in assets and $271 million in revenue in 2022. The firm operates three core divisions: Solarjuice, SPI Solar/Orange Power, and EdisonFutures/Phoenix Motors EV, with key operations in Australia and North America.
SPI Energy was delisted from the Nasdaq in January 2025 and began liquidation proceedings in July, a process which is still ongoing. The US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has set a hearing for 27 May 2026. Meanwhile, the newly formed company Amerisun took over the Sacramento plant last year. However, local media investigations suggest that Amerisun used other companies’ product specifications and likely did not manufacture anything there.
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