Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE: NOVA) has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 amid continued struggles to continue doing business as sales weaken and debts grow.

Sunnova warned investors earlier this year that there was a “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern.

In March, the Houston-based firm said that its cash is not enough to meet obligations and fund operations.                                       

The current U.S. regulatory environment is not favorable for solar and other renewable energy developers as the Trump Administration is looking to cut the tax credits for projects and installations and is canceling loan guarantees.  

Sunnova and other clean energy companies rely on these tax credits to generate cash.

But Sunnova had its loan guarantee of $2.92 billion granted by the Biden administration canceled in late May by the Trump Administration. 

In a court filing with a bankruptcy court in Texas, the company now said that its assets and liabilities are in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion, with total debt at $10.67 billion as of December 31, 2025.

Sunnova has been struggling recently under the weight of higher interest rates that prompted a stock crash in wind and solar last year. It has also suffered a blow from state governments’ decision to curb the availability of subsidy money for solar as they realized the money supply is not infinite.

Now, the Trump Administration has taken the axe to those tax credits along with a lot more other subsidy options for alternative energy developers and suppliers, which has likely made Sunnova’s position all the more precarious. It has, in fact, made the position of the whole industry a lot more precarious.

Last week, Sunnova Energy’s unit TEP Developer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., while Sunnova Energy itself said it would lay off 718 employees, who represent about 55% of the company’s workforce, as it seeks to reduce expenditures.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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