The sharpest YoY decline was in the venture capital (VC) funding sector, reaching US$401 million across 13 deals, an 81% YoY decrease from US$2.1 billion in Q1 2023. VC funding also fell 68% sequentially, from US $1.3 billion to US$1.4 billion. 70% of all VC funding for the quarter went to downstream solar companies, with 70% going to downstream companies. This follows a trend where downstream companies accounted for US$3.8 billion of the total VC funding. The decline in upstream VC spending is likely to be attributed to low module and component prices and overcapacity in China, particularly in China. The number of merger & acquisition (M&A) deals dropped by around 22%YoY. Public market financing also decreased by 39% from Q4 2023, with public market financing rising more than six times over from just US$195 million. Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, attributed the sector’s decline to global inflation and supply chain issues and peak uncertainty and challenging investment climate.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
