SUNation, LI's largest solar installer, to merge with Georgia company

SUNation Energy, one of Long Island’s oldest and largest solar-panel installation and service companies, on Monday announced it will merge with solar-cell maker Suniva in a deal that will allow the Georgia-based company to become publicly traded to help fund expansion of its solar manufacturing business.

The SUNation name and its board will be replaced by five Suniva board appointees, according to company information.

Under terms of the transaction, which has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors, but awaits shareholder approval, a newly created subsidiary of SUNation will merge into Suniva, which will become the "surviving corporation of the merger."

Scott Maskin, co-founder and chief executive of SUNation, said he will remain with the surviving company to run the Long Island solar installation and service business post-merger, while acting as a liaison to Suniva. He said the Long Island operation will continue as is, without the operational burden and costs of running a public company.

SUNation in its first quarter financial report had noted cash-flow concerns. It issued a notice that "substantial doubt exists" around its ability to "continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time," given its financial position and projected future cash flows. The company reported it would need "additional capital resources" to continue.

On April 9, SUNation’s board of directors authorized a "review of a full range of strategic alternatives" for the company to increase shareholder value and "best position the company for long-term success," hiring the Maxim Group as a mergers and acquisitions adviser to help in the process.

The review would include "a potential sale of the company, strategic merger or other business combinations, acquisitions, divestitures of assets, further optimization of the corporate structure, or other strategic or financial transactions that could enhance shareholder value and further optimize capital resources," according to the filing.

While specific financial terms of the Suniva merger weren’t immediately released, the holders of Suniva stock are expected to own 98.2% of the new company when the deal is closed, while pre-merger SUNation stockholders will own around 1.8%, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Asked what the deal would mean for SUNation solar customers on Long Island who continue to hold leases for systems installed over the past two decades, Maskin said, "We started this local industry and we will be here for good to serve our community."

Maskin earlier this year met with LIPA and is advocating for moves to boost the solar industry, including a new rooftop solar rebate for those who purchase systems and a "coordinated effort" to identify, assess and maintain Long Island's existing 100,000 rooftop systems.

Earlier this year, SUNation announced it had surpassed 10,000 system sales since its founding in 2003, but it also disclosed the impact of the Trump administration's elimination of generous federal tax credits for solar panels on its business had led to a reduction in sales after a brisk end to 2025. The company laid off 20 workers in April, Newsday reported.

Tony Etnyre, chief executive of Suniva, in a statement indicated that becoming a public company was central to the transaction.

"Access to U.S. public capital markets means we can move faster, invest deeper, and expand further into the domestic manufacturing capacity this country urgently needs," he said. "SUNation brings an established, customer-facing business that strengthens our foundation as we build toward that future together."

Suniva in 2019 had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but it emerged as a reorganized company in 2024, and the bankruptcy case was closed. It has since begun construction of a large solar-cell manufacturing plant in South Carolina.

SUNation in March reported first quarter sales declined 42% to $7.2 million compared with $12.6 million for the quarter a year ago. The net loss for the March quarter was $4.09 million compared with $3.5 million a year ago.

On March 31, the company had $1.686 million in cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents, with a working capital deficit of $3.5 million, consisting of $9 million in assets and $12.5 million of current liabilities, according to its first-quarter report.

"After two years of fighting every single thing that this industry could throw at a company, we’ve emerged and can utilize the [public entity] to attract a major manufacturer," Maskin said Monday. "We are growing a vertically integrated public company that has the scale to be able to do" what SUNation couldn’t as a stand-alone company.

Maskin said he’s holding a meeting with his 100 employees at the Ronkonkoma headquarters Monday day to explain the Long Island business "just got propped up" and it would be business as usual.

Long Island has seen a series of departures in the solar industry since federal tax credits for solar panels were eliminated. EmPower Solar, a Bethpage-based installer, closed its doors earlier this year, and other smaller installers are scaling back or closing their doors, Newsday has reported.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.