SunEdison

SunEdison, Inc. (formerly MEMC Electronic Materials) is a <a href="/facts/Renewable_energy/6Bu6IrpF">renewable energy</a> company headquartered in the U.S. In addition to developing, building, owning, and operating <a href="/facts/Solar_power_plant/NpgmEbU2">solar power plants</a> and <a href="/facts/Wind_energy/vlNN3u16">wind energy</a> plants, it also manufactures high-purity <a href="/facts/Polysilicon/NdywIRGW">polysilicon</a>, <a href="/facts/Monocrystalline_silicon/5tLVyQpe">monocrystalline</a> <a href="/facts/Boule_(crystal)/roE2PyrJ">silicon ingots</a>, <a href="/facts/Silicon_wafer/lCBJAoUL">silicon wafers</a>, <a href="/facts/Solar_module/gufbEu8n">solar modules</a>, <a href="/facts/Photovoltaic_system/rD4rcJB8">solar energy systems</a>, and <a href="/facts/Photovoltaic_mounting_system/VSQvF6qo">solar module racking systems</a>. Originally a silicon-wafer manufacturer established in 1959 as the Monsanto Electronic Materials Company, the company was sold by <a href="/facts/Monsanto_Company/6rVAaIXB">Monsanto</a> in 1989.
It is one of the leading solar-power companies worldwide, and with its acquisition of wind-energy company <a href="/facts/First_Wind/lUxg3m0w">First Wind</a> in 2014, SunEdison became the leading <a href="/facts/Renewable_energy/6Bu6IrpF">renewable energy</a> development company in the world. In 2015, SunEdison sold off its subsidiary SunEdison Semiconductor, marking the completion of SunEdison's transition from a semiconductor-wafer company to a dedicated renewable-energy corporation.
Following years of major expansion and the announcement of the intent—which eventually fell through—to acquire the residential-rooftop solar company <a href="/facts/Vivint_Solar/3F0sR23z">Vivint Solar</a> in 2015, SunEdison's stock plummeted, and its more than $11 billion in debt caused it to file for <a href="/facts/Chapter_11%2c_Title_11%2c_United_States_Code/PjdCBWfn">Chapter 11</a> bankruptcy protection on April 21, 2016, eventually emerging in December 2017 as a restructured, smaller, private company.

SunEdison open-in-new

SunEdison