SunPower and the Competition

© 2015 SunPower Corporation | Confidential | 1© 2014 SunPower Corporation | Confidential

SPD Competitive AnalysisSunPower vs Competitor

© 2015 SunPower Corporation | Confidential | 2

The Strength and Security of SunPower

1. The peace of mind that SunPower is 66% owned by Total, S.A. the 35th largest company in the world (according to Forbes) with a market cap of $125B. The fact that SunPower is backed by Total, S.A. reassures Sun Power's customers that we are the right choice for solar.

2. SunPower has been manufacturing the worlds best solar cells for 30+ years3. The fact that we are the only panel in the world that has outlived its warranty and has

the ability to verifiably speak to the panels long term performance4. US based company with non-Chinese made panels

a) Chinese Vs. Non-Chinese made (tariffs, unsure of product quality, reliability and unstable financial companies, etc.)

5. Over Production w/SunPower – You get the power for freea) Our Competitors (PPA) you get charged for the additional power

6. SunPower’ s Profitability - 14 + consecutive quarters


All Solar is NOT the Same

• SunPower – Founded in 1985, manufacturer with sole focus on solar, reliability, financial stability and our customers• SolarCity – Marketing company founded by Elon Musk in 2007, yet to be profitable• Vivint Solar- Entered solar in 2011, controlling interest sold in 2012, presently negotiating to be acquired by SunEdison• Sunrun- Founded in 2007, operates in 11 states. Recently acquired REC Solar residential division. Posted $162 million

loss in 2014• Sungevity- Founded in 2007. Operates in 8 states / Operates as a sales partner for SunRun • NRG – Began solar in 2009, invested $150M into the Residential Market / Publicly announced that their solar business is

for sale• SunEdison - Had to over pay for Vivint ($2B) to get into the Residential Market, Solvency being questioned by investors;

stock price is down 90% since July• Petersen Dean – American Roofing company, that installs panels owned by a German Company

The Company Behind the Product is Important


Competitor - SolarCity

1. Offer lease, PPA and “MyPower” loan program (offering varies by utility and state).

2. PPA – Doesn’t have any production guarantee and there is no free overproduction

3. Production Guarantee for (Lease) – every two years

4. Customer needs to pay for wireless service to get production guarantee and monitoring

5. 3rd party agreements are owned by SolarCity after 7 years. SolarCity has not been profitable since going public (lost over $100M last year)

6. Currently under investigation by the US Treasury Department

7. Panel and Inverters vary. Use whatever panels are cheapest.

1. Public Company, 30 years in business with a market cap of $3.5 Billion

2. SunPower guarantees lease production for 20 years

3. Over production benefits the customer providing higher savings

4. Guarantee of production is on an annual basis5. Free monitoring for 20 years6. Profitable. 7. SunPower is NOT under any investigation8. SunPower is the only manufacturer who produces

racking, panels, solar cells and inverters9. SunPower has a 25/25/25 year warranty

1. Labor, Power Output and Defects


Competitor - Vivint

1. Doesn't provide additional property insurance for damages

2. Aggressive sales practices lead to very high cancellation rates

3. If customer “Default Payment”, must pay Vivint $7/W, minus 5% a year

4. No production guarantee 5. Roof penetration warranty 1 year6. Only sells a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement)7. Majority of systems are Yingli Panels and

Enphase inverters – both companies facing serious solvency issues


2. SunPower Insures the Property up to $1,000,0003. SunPower will make sure customers roof is leak

free 4. Roof penetration warranty is for 10 years5. Entire leased system is covered for any reason

except gross negligence for 20 years6. Professional contract, easy to read / understand7. SunPower has a 25/25/25 year warranty



Competitor - SunRun

1. SunRun stock is down 40% from its IPO2. Customer pays for power even if the

grid goes down. Counts towards “actual output”

3. SunRun reserves the right to “periodically check your consumer credit report”

4. Customers are suing SunRun for misrepresenting homeowner savings


2. SunPower Insures the Property up to $1,000,000

3. SunPower covers the product and production for the life of the lease term, 20 years

4. SunPower Lease payment would be due monthly, but if you lose production this is covered by our production guarantee

5. SunPower has a 25/25/25 year warranty1. Labor, Power Output and Defects

6. SunPower is not being sued because we provide transparency to customers by showing a 0% utility rate increase scenario


Competitor - Sungevity

1. Small Start-up / Not a public company2. 1 year roof penetration warranty3. Potential 15% loss of production in first 10 years4. Performance Guarantee can be transferred to 3rd party 5. Sungevity will put a Lien on customers home6. The risk of loss to any component of the system passes

to customer upon installation7. They encourage customers to update their property

insurance to cover the system as soon as it is installed8. 10 year workmanship warranty held by Sub-contractors9. Output Warranty – electrical output shall not decrease

by more than fifteen percent (15%) during the period starting on the date the System


2. 10 year roof penetration warranty3. Potential of 13% loss of production in 20 years4. 20 year Production guarantee with our lease5. Performance guarantee stays with Sunpower6. SunPower will NOT put a Lien on customers

home7. 10 year workmanship warranty is with

SunPower 8. SunPower has a 25/25/25 year warranty



Competitor - NRG

1. Performance Guarantee is hard to understand

2. Unclear wording on who the installer is going to be

3. NRG may periodically check the customers credit

4. NRG has the right to not repair a customers system and only compensate them for loss of production

5. NRG install voids all roof warranties 6. One year roof penetration warranty


2. SunPower production is clear and easy to comprehend

3. SunPower owns the 10 yr. workmanship warranty

4. Sunpower does not periodically check credit5. Sunpower warranty covers the system and

production issues6. SunPower offers a 10 year roof warranty7. SunPower has a 25/25/25 year warranty



Competitor - SunEdison

1. Stock has fallen 85% in the past 4 months2. Financially unstable with over 10B in debt and a

market cap of 1.5B3. New to residential market/Small R&D investment4. Relatively undifferentiated products5. Unable to penetrate the residential market so they

have a pending purchase for Vivint 6. 10 Year Product Warranty7. 20 year production guarantee w/o annual break down8. No description of the panels being installed9. SunEd installs a SunEd branded panel, but it is

manufactured by third parties. They have never been a solar cell manufacturer


2. Strong Residential Market share over 15%3. SunPower Invest Millions in R&D Annually4. SunPower Is the Market Leader in Panel

manufacturing, Quality and Efficiency 5. Sunpower has a strong presence in all 3

segments, Residential, Commercial and Utility 6. SunPower has a 25/25/25 year warranty

1. Labor, Power Output and Defects7. SunPower has been manufacturing the worlds

best solar cells for 30+ years


Competitor - PetersenDean

1. The proposal states 30 year protection plan and Manufacturer’s Warranty – but its not found in the contract or addendum

2. Panels and Inverter could be changed based on availability – what are they buying?

3. Any property damage by PerersenDean is the responsibility of the homeowner

4. Cash contract - additional terms and conditions page has very aggressive language, not in the customers best interest

• Damage to Antennas, Satellite Dishes and Other Equipment: Contractor is not responsible

• Protection of Property, Owner shall protect the property and agrees that Contractor is not liable

1. Public Company, 30 years in business with a market cap of $3.5 Billion/ Profitable

2. SunPower has a 25/25/25 year warranty1. Labor, Power Output and Defects

3. Your buying Sunpower and Peace of Mind4. SunPower Is the Market Leader in Panel

manufacturing, Quality and Efficiency 5. SunPower is very careful with our

installations and we will repair any items “we” damage


• Company has never reported an annual profit• Stock is down 87% in 2015 / Announced layoffs of approximately 7% of their work force• Global Warranty is 10 year / USA Warranty is 25 years (this is the same product, why is this?)

– https://enphase.com/en-us/warranties

• Multiple points of failure, likely multiple service trips needed • Which monitoring system is showing module-level monitoring today? Enphase did, but backed off and no

longer shows this to their customers• Heat and electronics don’t mix well long term. Roof temp can reach 160 degrees F regularly• Future service of microinverter that’s more likely to fail and cost more ultimately due to truck rolls?• Warranty only covers component itself, not the cost of labor and truck roll

• Cost to repair & replace system • Company has only been in business 7 years / Recently moved manufacturing to China• Companies using enphase currently are not experienced EPC electrical contractors, cheaper/less skilled labor

force• 60% of the cost of the solar system is in the panel cost, people should not buy based on inverter type when

that is one of the least important parts of the solar system

https://enphase.com/en-us/warranties

https://enphase.com/en-us/warranties


SunPower AC Modules - Design-Driven AdvantagesDesign-Driven

Microinverter ReliabilityNo electrolytic capacitors

SunPower MI design eliminates failure-prone components (e.g. electrolytic capacitors)*

* Inverter reliability community believes e-caps are one of the most likely sources of critical failures. Source: 2013 Inverter Reliability Workshop, Sandia Nat’l Lab and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

An electrolytic capacitor contains a liquid electrolyte, which enables the capacitor to function

Thermal expansion and contraction caused by heating and cooling eventually cause

capacitor’s housing to crack and the liquid to leak

All SunPower DC Panel Advantages

#1 in Panel Quality

#1 in Panel Efficiency

#1 in Aesthetics


SunPower Micro Inverter vs Competitor

© 2015 SunPower Corporation | Confidential | 14© 2015 SunPower Corporation | Confidential

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SunPower and the Competition

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