U.S.-based SPI Solar purchased 100 percent of Italian-based Solar Green Technologies, increasing SPI’s global presence as an engineering, procurement and contracting (EPC) company. China-based LDK Solar had a majority stake—70 percent—in both companies and continues to have a similar stake in the combined entity.

Under the purchase, SPI paid EUR5 million and consisting of 13.4 million shares of stock at 45 U.S. cents per share and a $250,000 payment to Solar Green’s founders, according to a press release. The combined entity will take over Solar Green’s current project pipeline, which includes 20 megawatts of rooftop solar installations for the Century program and Epicuro Fund's 25 megawatt project pipeline in Europe.

With the purchase SPI becomes LDK’s international EPC company. “We are the downstream development platform for LDK everywhere in the world except for China,” said SPI spokesperson Mike Anderson. 

In addition to its California, the new purchase gives the company access to an office that eases access to multiple markets. “It gives us immediate access to the European market and gives us an opportunity to markets in Africa and the Middle East,” Anderson said. 

The company already is taking on Solar Green’s pipeline of projects. “We’ll begin executing on their pipeline and we have ongoing business developments in Europe,” Anderson said. “We’ve been working collaboratively with them for some time now. We’re now functioning as one single entity,” he said. Previously Solar Green had its own book of business.  

“Like Solar Green Technologies, our focus is not residential,” Anderson said. Rather it, like Solar Green focusses on distributed generation systems for commercial and or utility-scale projects. 

While LDK is SPI’s main investor, the company isn’t required to use LDK modules at all installations. “We use a variety of companies, naturally we use LDK wherever we can,” Anderson said. “As an EPC we sometimes use other companies as specified.…In the states sometimes there are requirements associated with a project. To be compliant we will use modules that are compliant.” However, the company mainly uses LDK products.