SunPower buys 42% of Oz renewables group Diamond Energy

SunPower, the US-based solar-panel manufacturer that’s majority-owned by French oil company Total, has bought a 42 per cent stake in Australian renewables retailer and developer Diamond Energy, the two companies have announced today.

SunPower’s acquisition of what the Melbourne-based Diamond describes as a “cornerstone shareholding” heralds the first time that a major international solar manufacturer has moved to vertically integrate in Australia, in this case through buying the privately-owned, alternative energy project developer and clean electricity retailer – a strategy that will boost the roll-out of commercial and larger-scale PV, in particular.

Indeed, SunPower said in its announcement of the deal that the two companies would “work to grow development of commercial and utility solar power projects in Australia, leveraging SunPower’s experience delivering more than 1,000 megawatts of cost-competitive, large-scale solar power systems worldwide.”

As Bloomberg notes, SunPower is also looking to diversify its business in the face of plummeting solar panel prices, which are down 61 per cent since the beginning of 2011. The company began offering solar leases for residential rooftop systems last year and said in August that this kind of business may account for 25 percent of sales by mid-2013.

SunPower says that aligning with Diamond Energy will allow it to offer “more comprehensive and customizable clean energy solutions” for Australian customers, creating a one-stop shop for high efficiency solar systems, grid-source renewable energy, as well as retail services.