SunPower Installs 8.8 MW Solar Project At Toyota Motor Site

SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) , a subsidiary of TOTAL S.A. (NYSE:TOT) , has recently completed the installation of a 8.79 megawatt (MW) solar power system.

This project covers four parking garages at Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) , North America's new 100-acre headquarters in Plano, TX. The company was responsible for the original design of the solar power system as well.

Notably, the latest installation marks a significant step toward meeting Toyota's Environmental Challenge 2050 that is aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the company's operations.

In fact, Toyota chose SunPower to install over 20,000 of its high-efficiency E-Series solar panels in order to meet its goals in energy planning. These panels produce 30% more energy from the same space over the first 25 years when compared with the conventional solar panels.

With the latest installation, we believe that Toyota will be able to meet approximately 33% of its on-site energy needs with solar. This gives hope for more such collaborations between Toyota and SunPower in near future, which in turn will boost SunPower’s revenue growth.

SunPower Continues to Win Contracts

SunPower continues to secure a number of deals for solar installation from different sources. In August, the company has been selected by Santa Rosa Junior College for installing a solar and storage project. The project includes the installation of a 1.3 MW SunPower Helix Carport system in the college’s 40-acre Petaluma campus. Also, a total of 2.6 MW SunPower Helix Carport system and SunPower's Garage Top Carport system will be deployed in Santa Rosa’ 100-acre campus.

Again in July, the company completed its contract with Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (OG&E), an electric utility subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE) . Per the agreement, SunPower is currently in talks to build a 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Covington, OK.

In May, SunPower initiated the construction of a 28 MW solar photovoltaic system at Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, CA.

Upcoming Solar Power Projects

Currently, SunPower has a number of projects under construction including Boulder Solar II, a 62 MW AC solar power plant in the Eldorado Valley of Boulder City, NV, which is anticipated to be operational from the current year.

Also, Sierra Pacific Power Company will be purchasing the power generated by the plant under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Furthermore, the company’s Iberdrola (MC:IBE) Gala Solar Project with a capacity of 56 MW is expected to be operational from 2017.

In Mexico, SunPower has plans to build few solar projects in different regions with expected delivery dates in 2018 and 2019. These projects are anticipated to generate gross margin above 20% for the company.

Our View

With growing concerns regarding deteriorating climatic changes many companies worldwide are currently shifting attention away from fossil-fuelled energy generation, to tap the benefits of solar and wind generation. In fact, solar power is anticipated to become one of the major sources of renewable energy.

Markedly, the rise in greenhouse gases globally has forced companies to look for eco-friendly energy opportunities. To this end, Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) stated that carbon emission in the United States dipped almost 1.7% in 2016 year on year. Going forward, the generation capacity from the renewable sources is expected to rise significantly.

Based on the current scenario, SunPower’s incoming contracts to build and install cost- saving solar power systems and projects will enable it to develop and avail the benefits of more solar projects, power plants and engineering, procurement and construction systems. Through these cost savings initiatives and strategies the company looks well poised to win over additional customers, thus consolidating position in the market.

Price Movement

SunPower has underperformed the industry in the last year. Shares of the company have declined 16.3%, as against the industry's gain of 9.4%.The lacklustre performance was due to the stiff competition from solar manufacturers that the company is facing globally.

Zacks Rank

SunPower carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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