UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

 Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024

Or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _____ to _____

Commission File Number: 001-41306

ALTERNUS CLEAN ENERGY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

17 State Street, Suite 4000, New York, NY 10004

(212) 739-0727

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 739-0727

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐    No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ☐    No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☐    No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes ☐    No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company, in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule12b-2 of the Act).

Yes: ☐    No: ☒

The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 28, 2024, based on the closing price of $9.18 for shares of the Registrant’s Class A common stock as reported by The Nasdaq Stock Market, was approximately $29,500,000. Shares of common stock beneficially owned by each executive officer and director have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates.

The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, on June 6, 2025 was 119,718,354.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Table of Contents

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K regarding our future financial performance, as well as our strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues, losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions, hopes, beliefs, intentions and strategies regarding future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Although we believe such expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently uncertain and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. In addition, management’s assumptions about future events may prove to be inaccurate. All readers are cautioned that the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not guarantees of future performance and we cannot assure any reader that such statements will be realized or that the forward-looking events and circumstances will occur.

As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, our actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include:

Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact the operations and projections discussed herein may be disclosed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our periodic filings with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity and performance as well as other events and circumstances may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

Market and Industry Data

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes market and industry data and forecasts that Alternus has derived from publicly available information, reports of governmental agencies, various industry publications, other published industry sources and internal data and estimates. All market and industry data used herein involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. Although we are responsible for the disclosure contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and we believe the information from industry publications and other third-party sources included herein is reliable, such information is inherently imprecise and we have not had this information verified by any independent sources. The industry in which Alternus operates is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.

SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS

The following is a summary of some of the risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. This summary should be read together with the more detailed description of each risk factor disclosed under “Item 1A: Risk Factors” contained in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

PART I

Item 1. Business

Each of the terms “Alternus,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” and similar terms used herein refer collectively to Alternus Clean Energy, Inc., formerly known as Clean Earth Acquisitions Corp., and where appropriate, our wholly owned subsidiaries.

The Company

The Company was incorporated on May 14, 2021 under the laws of Delaware and currently has 14 employees; 7 employees are located Dublin, Ireland, 2 are located at the Company’s headquarters located in New York, 2 remote employees in the US and 3 are located in Europe. Our employees perform various services such as business development, finance, and management functions.

We are a comprehensive clean energy provider with a current focus on renewable energy generation with plans to expand into additional business activities in other market segments that provide sustainable operations and support a circular economy. Through strategic investments we are building a portfolio of assets poised to lead the transition to a more sustainable energy future. Alternus Clean Energy is building a comprehensive clean energy platform designed to deliver reliable power to customers 24/7- 365, in turn, supporting the global shift toward energy independence and security.

Our current energy generation activities focus on two main market segments: (1) utility-scale solar and storage facilities that connect and supply clean energy directly to national power grids under long-term offtake contracts and (2) microgrids that generate on site, ‘behind-the-meter’, clean energy to corporate clients that have a combination of wind, solar, and storage facilities installed within their own facilities.

The Company currently operates these businesses in North America and Europe.

Business Model

As a comprehensive renewable energy business, Alternus operates across the entire renewable energy project lifecycle, from early-stage development through construction, long-term ownership, and recurring revenue generation. Our high-value “develop-to-own or sell” model is designed to minimize capital and equity requirements while maximizing value capture throughout each project phase.

Alternus Clean Energy Project Stage Classification:

The earlier in the cycle that we acquire new projects means we retain more of the project market value created as it passes each milestone. If we acquire projects further along the value chain, then we pay more capital (and value) to third parties for those projects. The value creation at each stage results from the de-risking of the projects as they get closer to operation and as a result, attract higher valuations at the later stages as the project risk declines. This method of operation is designed to bring more of the value created during the development cycle directly to Alternus, thereby reducing equity requirements to build out a larger portfolio, as the margins captured can be reinvested in future growth. In addition, it provides greater certainty of future revenue streams as the projects owned today reach planned operation dates in the future.

We generate our new project pipeline by working closely with a cultivated network of local and international project development and strategic partners, that provide a continuous pipeline of new projects for acquisition and construction and operation.

We believe that a core benefit of being a long-term owner of these projects are the long-term recurring revenues and income, under long-term Power Purchase Agreements (“PPA”s) or via service contracts to clients created from the stable and predictable income streams as the cumulative operational portfolio grows. Every time we add a new project into the portfolio; we get a potential lift in long-term incomes that accumulates each time creating long-term sustainable value for shareholders from the recurring revenue streams.

Notwithstanding this core focus, Alternus retains the option to sell certain assets at a profit that would be immediately accretive to both income and cash and therefore reduce the need to issue additional equity to public markets to support the business. This is particularly evident in the Microgrids segment where projects that do not meet our long-term economic criteria, or where the client prefers to own the facilities directly, are sold as ‘turnkey’ for the full capital costs plus a margin.

Revenue Model:

Alternus generates revenues from two areas (1) sale of clean energy, under long-term offtake agreements, to national power grids (Utility Scale Solar and Storage) or to corporate clients (Microgrids) and (2) sale of turnkey solutions to clients for the full amount of capital expenditure plus a margin.

Sale of Clean Energy – Utility Scale and Storage

The clean energy generated from a Utility Scale renewable energy project is delivered directly to national utility power grids. Revenues are booked by multiplying the energy produced, measured in megawatt hours (MWh), by the energy rate attributable to the hours during the reporting period. The rates received from either local government or investment grade commercial customers are contracted under long-term contracts and/or from local energy markets at the market rates prevailing as the energy is delivered. At any one time, Alternus aims to have approximately 70% of the energy rates contracted long-term on a portfolio basis. This revenue mix creates high margin and long-term predictable income streams that provide us with more flexible debt options that we deploy in ways to maximize returns on equity.

Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) for Corporates:

The clean energy generated from our Microgrid renewable energy facilities is delivered and consumed by corporate clients where the facilities are installed. Revenues are either booked by multiplying the energy produced, measured in kilowatt hours (KWh), by the rate paid for these hours during the reporting period, or a monthly fixed service fee as agreed with the client.

Sales of Turnkey Microgrid Facilities to Clients:

Where an energy facility or project does not meet the Company’s long-term economic criteria or where the client prefers to own the facilities directly, then Alternus books revenues for these sales by billing the client for the full contracted capital costs plus an agreed margin once all of the criteria contained in the sales contract are delivered. There were no turnkey sales during 2023 or 2024.

Vision and Strategy:

We are expanding beyond our core utility solar operations by integrating microgrids and on-site generation systems that provide customers with energy resilience, grid independence, and long-term cost savings. These customer deployed systems enable faster revenue realization and lower capital intensity compared to utility scale projects.

To accelerate this transition, we are actively forming strategic partnerships and pursuing targeted ventures and acquisitions in high-growth areas such as battery storage and circular economy energy systems. These additions enhance our technical capabilities, diversify revenue streams, and strengthen our ability to meet the rising demand for consistent power driven by AI, data centers, and industrial onshoring.

This strategy builds on our foundation as an integrated independent power producer (IPP) with experience developing a portfolio of renewable energy assets across North America and Europe. By owning and operating long-term contracted energy projects, we generate stable, recurring income while unlocking lasting value for shareholders.

With strong regulatory tailwinds and rapidly growing global demand for sustainable and reliable energy, Alternus is well positioned to scale as a more comprehensive energy provider, broadening our market reach, enhancing financial performance, and advancing our mission to power a cleaner, more resilient energy future.

To achieve its goals, the Company intends to pursue the following strategies:

Given the long-term nature of our business, Alternus operates with a strategic focus on sustained value creation rather than short-term quarterly performance. Our approach prioritizes maximizing long-term shareholder returns by developing projects from the ground up and acquiring assets at various stages of maturity, whether in development, under construction, or already operational. In parallel, we are expanding into complementary market segments that enhance our operational capabilities and financial performance, strengthening the foundation for consistent, scalable growth.  

Our Operating Subsidiaries

As of the date of filing, the Company is a holding company that operates through operating subsidiaries, as listed in Exhibit 21.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Competitive Strengths

The Company believes the following competitive strengths have contributed and will continue to contribute to its success:

We operate as a comprehensive energy provider, managing the full renewable energy value chain across both utility scale and behind-the-meter microgrid markets. This “develop-to-own or sell” strategy enables the Company to capture greater margin and retain control from early-stage development through to long-term operations or strategic monetization, unlike peers focused solely on operational asset acquisitions.

The leadership team brings decades of collective experience in capital markets, energy infrastructure, project development, and public company governance. Recent partnerships also bolster technical and operational capabilities in areas such as microgrids, reinforcing the Company’s strategic direction.

Our approach emphasizes projects with minimal to no owner equity requirements, particularly in the U.S. where tax equity (ITC) and long-term debt can fund up to 100% of project costs. This model allows for rapid, capital-efficient scaling and high-return deployments, freeing up corporate equity for strategic growth.

With operations and revenue targets split between North America and Europe by 2029, Alternus is uniquely positioned to reduce geopolitical and regulatory concentration risk. The diversified presence enhances resilience and positions the Company to capture incentives from multiple clean energy policy regimes.

Through partnerships such as with Hover Energy, Alternus delivers differentiated microgrid solutions combining rooftop wind, solar, storage, and AI-based energy management systems. This provides a compelling and exclusive offering, particularly in the high-growth commercial and industrial market segments.

The Company’s ability to enter new geographies and establish strong local partnerships has enabled consistent expansion across Europe and North America. These local relationships and Alternus’ development track record provide a competitive edge in securing grid access, permits, and financing in highly competitive markets.

Alternus is not tied to specific technologies or suppliers, allowing it to source best-in-class components and services globally. This flexibility supports cost optimization and futureproofing as new solutions and innovations emerge in the renewable energy space.

Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape of the global solar market is dynamic and characterized by intense competition, technological innovation, and evolving market dynamics. The global solar market is expected to continue its strong growth trajectory, driven by the increasing urgency to transition to clean energy sources. The competitive landscape will likely remain dynamic, with companies focusing on technological innovation, cost competitiveness, and strategic partnerships to gain and maintain market share. Diversification of supply chains and the integration of energy storage solutions will be crucial trends, shaping the future of the industry.

Energy generation and infrastructure development remain capital-intensive and increasingly competitive industries. Alternus competes across various segments including utility scale solar, storage, and microgrids projects, against a broad range of market participants such as renewable energy developers, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), institutional investors, and specialist funds and other operators. Competition varies depending on the stage of project development and the segment.

In the utility scale market, the Company competes on factors such as cost of capital, technical and operational expertise, access to pipeline, speed of execution, and ability to monetize green attributes (e.g., tax credits, RECs, carbon offsets). In the microgrid space, Alternus faces competition from vertically integrated solution providers, EPC firms, and local or regional developers targeting commercial and industrial (C&I) customers.

Alternus secures pipeline by entering early into project development stages, partnering with niche and local developers, and locking in acquisition rights via strategic agreements such as right-of-first refusal (ROFR) contracts. These strategies reduce exposure to high competition bidding for operational assets, where institutional capital typically dominates.

Although the clean energy market is increasingly crowded, it remains highly fragmented. Most geographies, especially in the microgrid and distributed generation space, lack consolidation. With its public company status, strong governance, and capital-efficient model, Alternus is positioned to pursue selective M&A and joint ventures, particularly in underserved markets or adjacent technologies, enabling further strategic differentiation.

While competition is expected to intensify as markets mature and renewable energy targets are approached, the Company believes its diversified strategy, operational flexibility, and strategic focus provide sustainable competitive advantages for long-term growth and resilience.

Nevertheless, the Company expects to face increased competition in all aspects of its business, target markets and industry segments, financing options, and partner availability as markets mature as countries reach their targeted renewable energy generation.

The Market

The global energy landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with renewable energy solutions gaining increasing prominence. The world’s appetite for energy is rising at an accelerated pace, primarily driven by the power sector to meet the increasing demands of cooling, industrial consumption, the electrification of transportation, and the burgeoning growth of data centers and artificial intelligence.¹ This surge in demand necessitates a fundamental shift in how energy is generated and supplied. Traditional reliance on fossil fuels is increasingly unsustainable due to environmental concerns and the finite nature of these resources, positioning renewable energy as a critical and viable alternative.

Projections indicate that renewable sources are on track to meet almost half of the global electricity demand by the end of this decade, with solar power taking the lead in this remarkable expansion.² This signifies a major restructuring of the global power mix, underscoring the increasing cost-competitiveness and overall viability of renewable energy technologies. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that global renewable electricity generation is forecast to climb to over 17,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, an increase of almost 90% from 2023. This capacity would be sufficient to meet the combined power demand of China and the United States in 2030.³

Drivers for Renewable Energy Adoption:

Climate Change and Environmental Impact: The combustion of fossil fuels for energy production stands as the primary driver of greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for global warming and widespread environmental damage. As the impacts of climate change become increasingly severe and evident, there is an urgent and growing need to transition to cleaner energy sources. Renewable energy sources, in contrast to fossil fuels, emit minimal to no greenhouse gases during their operational phase. This fundamental difference underscores the direct environmental benefit of adopting renewable energy technologies as a key strategy in combating climate change. Renewable energies play a crucial role in reducing overall Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, thereby contributing to improved air quality and a significant mitigation of the adverse effects of climate change.

Energy Security and Independence: National dependence on fossil fuels, particularly oil and gas, has historically exposed many nations to geopolitical risks and potential disruptions in supply. Renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal, offer a pathway to enhance energy security as they can be developed locally, thereby decreasing reliance on imported fuels and bolstering a nation’s energy independence. These renewable resources are available in virtually all countries, providing a viable route to reduce import dependency and allowing nations to diversify their economies while shielding them from the unpredictable price fluctuations associated with fossil fuels. Expanding renewable power capacity rapidly and strategically not only addresses immediate energy security concerns but also offers a sustainable solution for the long-term. This dynamic is also now driving microgrid deployments as corporates seek energy independence from creaking and overworked and increasingly scarce grid connectivity and performance.

Economic Advantages: Renewable energy has largely emerged as the most economically competitive option for new power generation. The prices for renewable energy technologies have been dropping rapidly in recent years. For instance, the cost of electricity from solar power fell by 85% between 2010 and 2020, while the costs of onshore and offshore wind energy decreased by 56% and 48%, respectively.⁴ This increasing cost-competitiveness makes renewable energy an increasingly attractive choice compared to traditional fossil fuel-based generation. Furthermore, investments in renewable energy infrastructure not only stimulate local economies through job creation but also contribute to lower energy costs for consumers and businesses over time. The growth of the renewable energy sector has already generated millions of jobs worldwide and continues to attract substantial capital investment, positioning it as a key driver of economic growth and job creation in the future.

Long-term Investment Opportunities: The transition towards clean energy is expected to maintain its momentum, driven by the growth of cleantech manufacturing, advancements in artificial intelligence, and the increasing importance of carbon markets. These sectors are generating significant demand for renewable energy, creating substantial investment opportunities in the renewable energy supply chain. While investment in renewable energy has reached record levels, further capital is essential to meet the ambitious global targets for decarbonization. This persistent need for investment presents a long-term potential for financial returns in the renewable energy sector. The declining costs of renewable energy technologies are making them increasingly competitive with fossil fuels, further enhancing their attractiveness as investment options.

Global Solar Market:

Solar continues to be the fastest growing and most cost-effective source of renewable energy globally. In 2023, the world added 447 GW of solar capacity, a growth of 87% over 2022, marking yet another record year for the industry. This brought the global installed solar capacity to 1,624 GW, exceeding the terawatt milestone reached in May 2022. Solar represented 78% of all new renewable capacity added in 2023, outpacing both fossil fuels and other clean energy sources. Despite this growth, solar still only accounts for 5.5% of global electricity demand, highlighting the enormous runway ahead.⁵

The global market for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects is poised for significant expansion. Projections indicate growth from $61.94 billion in 2024 to $98.86 billion in 2029, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5%.⁶

This growth is primarily driven by the increasing global demand for electricity and a strong push towards renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change. Globally, renewable energy capacity is anticipated to grow substantially by 2030, with utility-scale solar PV expected to constitute the majority of this newly added capacity. Large-scale solar farms offer an efficient means of adding significant amounts of renewable energy to the grid, benefiting from economies of scale and technological advancements. The integration of energy storage solutions with utility-scale solar projects is also becoming an increasingly prevalent trend, aimed at enhancing grid stability and ensuring power availability even when solar generation fluctuates.

Overall, the global utility-scale solar market is demonstrating a consistent growth trajectory, fueled by favorable economics, supportive government policies, and the imperative to transition to cleaner energy sources.

Global Microgrid Market:

Growing demand for dependable energy, integration of renewable energy, energy security, regulatory backing, improvements in energy storage technology, and the requirement for sustainable, decentralized power solutions are the main factors propelling the microgrid industry. A microgrid is a local electric system, which can provide power either in parallel or isolation from electric grids. Shifting inclination from remote central station power plants to more localized and distributed generation for enhanced reliability, resiliency, and energy in cities, communities, and campuses is projected to have a substantial impact on market progress.

According to Market Digits, the global microgrid market demonstrated significant value in 2022, reaching USD 35.1 billion, and is projected to experience substantial growth, potentially reaching USD 108.1 billion by 2030.⁷ This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.1%. Astute Analytica in April 2025 estimates the global microgrid market at USD 40.08 billion in 2024, with an even more optimistic projection of USD 191.01 billion by 2033, indicating a robust CAGR of 19.28% during the period of 2025–2033. Research and Markets forecasts the global microgrid market to exceed USD 163.17 billion in total revenues by 2033, growing from an estimated USD 41.69 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of 16.37% from 2025 to 2033.⁸ Meanwhile Grandview Research estimates the global market size at USD 76.88 billion in 2023 and anticipates reaching USD 224.34 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 17.1% from 2024 to 2030.⁹

This consistent trend across multiple reports, despite slight variations in absolute figures, underscores the strong growth momentum in the global microgrid market. The overarching theme is a robust CAGR, generally ranging from 15% to 19% over the forecast period, signaling a significant expansion in the global microgrid market driven by similar underlying factors.

Alternus Specific Markets – US and Europe

Alternus operates across two primary regions: US and Europe. Both markets are undergoing a once-in-a-generation transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, driven by a convergence of climate policy, energy security, and surging power demand, particularly from artificial intelligence (AI) growth and the reshoring of industrial activities in the U.S.

United States

In the U.S., the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has dramatically reshaped the renewables landscape by extending and expanding tax equity incentives and other financial tools designed to accelerate deployment through 2030. These measures have created a predictable investment environment and made clean energy development, particularly solar, storage, and microgrids, more financially attractive.

The United States utility-scale solar sector witnessed record-breaking capacity additions in 2024, demonstrating strong growth in the market for large solar energy projects. Projections from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicate continued growth in solar capacity through the end of 2025. This sustained expansion is expected despite potential uncertainties in federal energy policy, as the underlying demand for clean energy continues to rise. However, a significant challenge that is anticipated to persist in 2025 and beyond is the presence of interconnection bottlenecks and transmission congestion. These limitations in grid infrastructure pose a barrier to the rapid deployment of utility-scale solar projects, impacting commissioning schedules and increasing project costs. While the Inflation Reduction Act has provided a substantial boost to the sector through incentives like the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), the development of adequate grid infrastructure needs to keep pace to support the continued expansion of utility-scale solar in the United States. It has been this market dynamic that Alternus addressed by expanding into microgrid solutions that do not have such constraints, are faster to revenues and have lower capex requirements.

The US microgrid market is anticipated to experience substantial expansion, with projections indicating a reach of USD 58 billion by 2030. This growth is expected to occur at a CAGR of 15.6% from 2024 to 2030.¹⁰ This significant market growth is driven by an increasing demand for reliable power, especially in the face of extreme weather events, and the growing integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid. Another analysis presents a more conservative estimate, valuing the US microgrid market at USD 7.9 billion in 2024 and forecasting it to reach USD 24.4 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 13.3% from 2025-2033.¹¹ A third source estimates the US microgrid market at USD 27.4 billion in 2023, projecting a reach of USD 49.2 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 8.7%.¹² This represents the most conservative growth estimate among the reports. However, despite these differences, all reports concur that the US microgrid market is poised for significant growth over the next five years, with CAGRs ranging from 8.7% to 15.6% and the projected market size in 2030 expected to be considerably larger than current valuations.

Europe

In Europe, the market has been further catalyzed by recent geopolitical instability, which has shifted the energy narrative from climate action alone to one centered on energy independence. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen summarized this shift by stating “Energy security is one of the most pressing topics for Europe. The EU will diversify away from Russian fossil fuels and will invest heavily in clean renewable energy.”

With ambitious renewable energy targets, forecasted to more than quadruple generation capacity by 2030, the EU has introduced robust regulatory and financial support to accelerate the energy transition.¹³

The utility scale solar market in the European Union reached a new peak in capacity additions in 2024, although the rate of annual growth has decelerated compared to previous years. While the market continues to expand, this slowdown could be attributed to various factors such as grid infrastructure limitations and evolving incentive schemes for solar installations. Notably, utility-scale solar emerged as the largest market segment in the EU in 2024, surpassing residential rooftop solar installations in terms of market share. This shift indicates a growing focus on larger solar projects that can contribute significantly to achieving national and EU-wide renewable energy targets. Looking ahead, the European solar market is expected to experience more moderate annual growth rates, projected to be in the low single digits (3-7%) between 2025 and 2028. This stabilization in growth reflects the emergence of structural challenges, including grid bottlenecks and the increasing need for grid flexibility to accommodate the growing share of variable renewable energy. While rooftop solar has played a vital role in the past, utility-scale projects are now taking the lead in the European market, highlighting their importance in the region’s energy transition. Addressing grid infrastructure and implementing policies that promote grid flexibility will be crucial for sustaining the growth of utility-scale solar in Europe in the coming years.

The European microgrid market held a valuation of USD 2.9 billion in 2023, according to UnivDatos, and is projected to experience substantial growth, reaching USD 11.7 billion by 2032. This represents a strong CAGR of approximately 17.3% during the forecast period of 2024-2032. This growth is propelled by the increasing necessity to upgrade aging electricity infrastructure across the region and the implementation of off-grid electricity solutions, particularly in rural areas. Furthermore, the rapid transition towards electric vehicles in Europe has led to an increase in EV charging stations, many of which are powered by microgrids, further driving demand. Databridge market research predicts the Europe microgrid market to reach USD 87.6 billion by 2032 from USD 25.0 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of 17.07% during 2025-2032. The UK, a core market for Alternus, is identified as a key growth area, with its microgrid market projected to reach USD 9.4 billion by 2030, making it the fastest-growing regional market in Europe. Databridge see this rapid growth in the UK as likely driven by supportive regulatory frameworks and increasing investments in smart grid technologies.

Key Collaborating Partners

Alternus works with large expert advisors to ensure the projects acquired are suitable and in-line with local and governmental laws, technologically sound and within appropriate operational parameters. All potential acquisitions undergo extensive and detailed due diligence and verification before completion.

Facilities and Corporate Information

Our headquarters are located at 17 State Street, Suite 4000, New York, NY 10004. Our main telephone number is (212) 739-0727. Our website is https://alternusce.com

Government Regulations

Environmental:

The Company is subject to environmental laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which it owns and operates renewable energy facilities. These laws and regulations generally require that government permits and approvals be obtained and maintained both before construction and during operation of these renewable energy facilities. The Company incurs costs in the ordinary course of business to comply with these laws, regulations, and permit requirements. The Company does not anticipate material capital expenditures for environmental compliance for its renewable energy facilities in the next several years. While the Company does not expect that the costs of compliance would generally have a material impact on its business, financial condition or results of operations, it is possible that as the size of its portfolio grows, it may become subject to new or modified regulatory regimes that may impose unanticipated requirements on the business as a whole that the Company did not anticipate with respect to any individual renewable energy facility. Additionally, environmental laws and regulations frequently change and often become more stringent, or subject to more stringent interpretation or enforcement, and therefore future changes could require the Company to incur materially higher costs which could have a material negative impact on its financial performance or results of operations.

Regulatory Matters, Government Legislation, and Incentives:

As the size of the Company’s portfolio grows, or as applicable rules and regulations evolve, it may become subject to new or modified regulatory regimes that may impose unanticipated requirements on the business as a whole that were not anticipated with respect to any individual renewable energy facility. Any local, state, federal or international regulations could place significant restrictions on the Company’s ability to operate its business and execute its business plan by prohibiting or otherwise restricting the sale of electricity. If the Company was deemed to be subject to the same state, federal or foreign regulatory authorities as traditional utility companies, or if new regulatory bodies were established to oversee the renewable energy industry in Europe or in international markets, its operating costs could materially increase, adversely affecting results of operations.

Available Information

Our website address is https://alternusce.com. We make available on our website, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding our filings at www.sec.gov. The information found on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

Item 1a. Risk Factors.

Investing in us involves a high degree of risk. Before you invest in us, you should carefully consider the following risks, as well as general economic and business risks, and all of the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition and cause the trading price of our common stock to decline, which would cause you to lose all or part of your investment. When determining whether to invest, you should also refer to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements and the related notes thereto, and the other financial information concerning us included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We cannot assure you that we will achieve or maintain profitability and our auditor has expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

We will need to raise additional working capital to continue our normal and planned operations. We will need to generate and sustain significant revenue levels in future periods in order to become profitable, and, even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability. In addition, as a public company, we will incur accounting, legal and other expenses. These expenditures will make it necessary for us to continue to raise additional working capital. Our efforts to grow our business may be costlier than we expect, and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to offset our increased operating expenses. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays and other unknown events. Accordingly, substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern and we cannot assure you that we will achieve sustainable operating profits as we continue to expand our business, and otherwise implement our growth initiatives.

The financial statements included with this Annual Report have been prepared on a going concern basis. We may not be able to generate profitable operations in the future and/or obtain the necessary financing to meet our obligations and pay liabilities arising from normal business operations when they come due. The outcome of these matters cannot be predicted with any certainty at this time. These factors raise substantial doubt that we will be able to continue as a going concern. We plan to continue to provide for our capital needs through sales of our securities and/or other financing activities. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments to the amounts and classification of assets and liabilities that may be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern.

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our renewable energy business, financial condition and results of operations.

We believe that our substantial indebtedness will increase. As of December 31, 2024, we had $23.6 million in outstanding short-term borrowing. It is likely that we will continue to be highly leveraged. The degree to which we remain leveraged could have important consequences to stockholders of the Company, including, but not limited to:

If the Company incurs new debt or other obligations, the related risks the Company now faces, as described in this risk factor and elsewhere in these “Risk Factors,” could intensify.

Our business as a renewable energy company requires significant financial resources, and our growth prospects and future profitability depends to a significant extent on the availability of additional funding options with acceptable terms.

Our principal resources of liquidity to date have been cash from our operations and borrowings from banks and our shareholders. We have leveraged bank facilities in certain countries in order to meet working capital requirements for its activities. Our principal use of cash has been for pipeline development, working capital, and general corporate purposes.

We will require significant amounts of cash to fund the acquisition, development, installation, and construction of our projects and other aspects of our operations. We may also require additional cash due to changing business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions it may decide to pursue in order to remain competitive. Historically, we have used bank loans, bridging loans, and third-party equity contributions to fund its project acquisition and development. We expect to seek to expand our business with third-party financing options, including bank loans, equity partners, financial leases, and securitization. However, it cannot be guaranteed that we will be successful in locating additional suitable sources of financing in the time periods required or at all, or on terms or at costs that it finds attractive or acceptable, which may render it impossible for us to fully execute our growth plan.

Any debt financing may require restrictive covenants and additional funds may not be available on terms commercially acceptable to us, vis-à-vis  acquired assets and subsidiaries. Failure to manage discretionary spending and raise additional capital or debt financing as required may adversely impact our ability to achieve our intended business objectives.

We are a holding company that relies on distributions and other payments, advances and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations.

We have no direct operations and derive all our revenue and cash flow from our subsidiaries. Because we conduct our operations through subsidiaries, we depend on those entities for payments or distributions in order to meet our obligations. The deterioration of the earnings from, or other available assets of, our subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay us and adversely affect our operations.

The reduction, modification or elimination of government subsidies and economic incentives may reduce the economic benefits of existing solar parks and the opportunities to develop or acquire suitable new solar parks.

Government subsidies and incentives have primarily been in the form of FiT price support schemes, tax credits, net metering, and other incentives to end-users, distributors, system integrators and manufacturers of solar energy products. The availability and size of such subsidies and incentives depend, to a large extent, on political and policy developments relating to environmental concerns in a given country. Changes in policies could lead to a significant reduction in, or discontinuation of, the support for renewable energies in such country, which could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Decreases in the spot market price of electricity could harm our revenue and reduce the competitiveness of solar parks in grid-parity markets.

The price of electricity from our solar parks is fixed through PPAs or FiTs for a majority of its owned capacity. A FiT is a policy designed to support the development of renewable energy sources by providing a guaranteed, above-market price for producers. FiTs usually involve long-term contracts, anywhere from 15 to 20 years, whereas the PPAs that currently provide the additional revenue are typically renewed and may be terminated annually. In countries where the price of electricity is sufficiently high such that solar parks can be profitably developed without the need for government price supports, solar parks may choose not to enter into PPAs and would instead sell based on the spot market price of electricity. Revenue for our solar parks in Italy and Romania could fluctuate with the electricity spot market after the expiration of any PPA, unless it is renewed. The market price of electricity can be subject to significant fluctuations.

Decreases in the spot price of electricity in such countries could render PV energy less competitive compared to other forms of electricity. Thus, the spot market price of electricity may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.

Our power purchase agreements may not be successfully completed.

Payments by power purchasers under a PPA may provide the majority of a Subsidiary’s or a project’s cash flows. There can be no assurance that any or all of the power purchasers will fulfill their obligations under their PPAs or that a power purchaser will not become bankrupt, or that upon any such bankruptcy, its obligations under its respective PPA will not be rejected by a bankruptcy trustee. There are also additional risks relating to PPAs, including the occurrence of events beyond the control of a power purchaser that may excuse it from its obligation to accept and pay for the delivery of energy generated by the project company’s plant. The failure of a power purchaser to fulfill its obligations under any PPA or the termination of any PPA may have a material adverse effect on the respective project or project company and therefore on us.

The seasonality of our Subsidiaries’ operations may materially affect our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.

The energy production industry is subject to seasonal variations as well as other significant events. For instance, the amount of electricity and revenues generated by our solar generation facilities is dependent in part, on the amount of sunlight, or irradiation, where the assets are located. Due to shorter daylight hours in winter months, there is less irradiation and the generation produced by these facilities will vary depending on the season.

The seasonality of our energy production may create increased demands on liquidity during periods when cash generated from operating activities are lower and we may also require additional equity or debt financing to maintain its solvency, which may not be available when required or available on commercially favorable terms. Thus, the Company may struggle to maintain sufficient financial liquidity to absorb the impact of seasonal variations in energy productions. Other significant events and seasonal variations may adversely affect the Company’s business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.

The acquisition of renewable energy facilities or of companies that own and operate renewable energy facilities is subject to substantial risk.

A significant part of our business model has been to acquire new renewable energy facilities and companies that own and operate renewable energy facilities. Acquisition of renewable energy facilities or of companies that own and operate renewable energy facilities is subject to substantial risk. While we believe that we have performed adequate due diligence on prospective acquisitions, we may not have been able to discover all potential operational deficiencies in such renewable energy facilities. In addition, our expectations for the operating performance of newly constructed renewable energy facilities as well as those under construction are based on assumptions and estimates made without the benefit of an operating history.

If we consummate any future acquisition, in line with our business model, our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly, and shareholders will generally not have the opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial and other relevant information that we consider in determining the application of these funds and other resources. As a result, the consummation of acquisitions may have a material adverse effect on the our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Further, we may not be able to successfully integrate acquired businesses and, where desired, their product portfolios, and therefore the Company may not be able to realize the intended benefits of such acquisitions. The failure to integrate acquired businesses effectively may adversely impact the our business, results of operations or financial condition.

The delay between making significant upfront investments in solar parks and receiving revenue could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, business and results of operations.

There are generally multiple months between the initial significant upfront investments in solar parks, solar park development and obtaining permits to build solar parks which we expect to own and operate and when we begin to receive revenues from the sale of electricity generated by such solar parks after grid connection. Historically, we have relied on third-party equity contribution, bridging and bank loans to pay for costs and expenses incurred during project development, especially to third parties for PV modules and balance-of-system components and EPC and O&M services. Such investments may be non-refundable. Solar parks typically generate revenue only after becoming commercially operational and once they are able to sell electricity to the power grid. Between our initial investments in the development of solar parks (through its model of working with local developers) and their connection to the transmission grid, there may be adverse developments impacting such solar parks. The timing gap between its upfront investments and actual generation of revenue, or any added delay due to unforeseen events, could put strains on our liquidity and resources and materially and adversely affect its profitability and results of operations.

We may experience delays related to developing and maintaining renewable energy projects.

Development of solar power projects can take many months or years to complete and may be delayed for reasons beyond its control. Development usually requires a company to make some up-front payments for, among other things, land/rooftop use rights and permitting in advance of commencing construction, and revenue from these projects may not be recognized for several additional months following contract signing. Furthermore, we may become constrained in our ability to simultaneously fund other investments in such projects.

Development, operation and maintenance of renewable energy projects and related infrastructure expose us to numerous risks, including construction, environmental, regulatory, permitting, commissioning, start-up, operating, economic, commercial, political and financial risks. This involves risks of failure to obtain or substantial delays in obtaining: (i) regulatory, environmental or other approvals or permits; (ii) financing; (iii) leasing; and (iv) suitable equipment supply, operating and off-take contracts. Moreover, renewable energy assets are subject to energy regulation and require governmental licenses and approval for their operation. The failure to obtain, maintain or comply with the licenses and approvals relating to our assets and the resulting costs, fines and penalties, could materially and adversely affect our ability to operate the assets. Renewable energy projects also require significant expenditure before the assets begin to generate income and often require long-term investment to enable projects to generate expected levels of income. The development of solar power projects also requires significant management attention to negotiate the terms of engagement and monitor the progress of the projects which may divert management’s attention from other matters.

Solar project development is challenging and may ultimately not be successful and miscalculations in planning a project may negatively affect engineering procurement and construction (“EPC”) prices, all of which could increase the costs, delay or cancel a project, and have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations and profit margins.

The development of solar projects involves numerous risks and uncertainties and requires extensive research, planning and due diligence. We may be required to incur significant amounts of capital expenditure for land/rooftop use rights, interconnection rights, preliminary engineering, permits, legal and other expenses before we can determine whether a solar power project is economically, technologically or otherwise feasible. Success in developing a solar power project is contingent upon, among other things:

Successful completion of a particular solar project may be adversely affected by numerous factors, including without limitation:

Accordingly, some of the solar power projects in our pipeline may not be completed or even proceed to construction. If several solar power projects are not completed, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Development activities may be subject to cost overruns or delays, which may materially and adversely affect our financial results and results of operations.

Development of our solar power projects may be adversely affected by circumstances outside of its control, including inclement weather, a failure to receive regulatory approvals on schedule or third-party delays in providing solar modules, inverters or other materials. Obtaining full permits for solar power projects is time consuming and we may not be able to meet the expected timetable for obtaining full permits for solar power projects in the pipeline. In addition, we usually rely on external contractors for the development and construction of solar power projects and may not be able to negotiate satisfactory agreements with them. If contractors do not satisfy their obligations or do not perform work that meets our quality standards or if there is a shortage of third-party contractors or if there are labor strikes that interfere with the ability of employees or contractors to complete their work on time or within budget, we could experience significant delays or cost overruns. Changes in project plans or designs, or defective or late execution may increase our costs and cause delays. Increases in the prices of solar products and balance-of-system components may increase procurement costs. Labor shortages, work stoppages or labor disputes could significantly delay a project or otherwise increase costs. In addition, delays in obtaining, our inability to obtain, or a lack of proper construction permits or post-construction approvals could delay or prevent the construction of solar power projects, commencing operation and connecting to the relevant grid.

We may not be able to recover any of these losses in connection with construction cost overruns or delays. In addition, in certain cases of delay, we might not be able to obtain any FiT or PPA at all, as certain FiTs or PPAs require that it connects to the transmission grid by a certain date. A reduction or forfeiture of FiT or PPA payments would materially and adversely affect the financial results and results of operations for that solar power project.

PV plants quality or PV plants performance.

Insufficient quality of installed solar modules and other equipment resulting in faster than estimated degradation may lead to lower revenues and higher maintenance costs, particularly if the product guarantees have expired or the supplier is unable or unwilling to respect its obligations. Even well-maintained high-quality PV solar power plants may, from time to time, experience technical breakdown. Furthermore, widespread PV plant failures may damage our market reputation, reduce its market share and cause a decline of construction projects. Although a defect in our PV plants may be caused by defects in products delivered by its sub-suppliers which are incorporated into its PV plants, there can be no assurance that we will be entitled to or successful in claiming reimbursement, repair, replacement or damages from its sub-suppliers relating to such defects.

Our holding companies have a significant number of foreign subsidiaries with whom they have entered into many related party transactions. The relationship of such holding companies with these entities could adversely affect us in the event of their bankruptcy or similar insolvency proceeding.

Any reductions or modifications to, or the elimination of, governmental incentives or policies that support solar energy, including, but not limited to, tax laws, policies and incentives, renewable portfolio standards or feed-in-tariffs, or the imposition of additional taxes or other assessments on solar energy, could result in, among other items, the lack of a satisfactory market for the development and/or financing of new solar energy projects, our abandoning the development of solar energy projects, a loss of our investments in solar energy projects and reduced project returns, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We depend heavily on government policies that support utility scale renewable energy and enhance the economic feasibility of developing and operating solar energy projects in regions in which we operate or plan to develop and operate renewable energy facilities. The federal government and a majority of state governments in the United States provide incentives, such as tax incentives, renewable portfolio standards or feed-in-tariffs, that support or are designed to support the sale of energy from utility scale renewable energy facilities, such as wind and solar energy facilities. As a result of budgetary constraints, political factors or otherwise, governments from time to time may review their laws and policies that support renewable energy and consider actions that would make the laws and policies less conducive to the development and operation of renewable energy facilities. Any reductions or modifications to, or the elimination of, governmental incentives or policies that support renewable energy or the imposition of additional taxes or other assessments on renewable energy, could result in, among other items, the lack of a satisfactory market for the development and/or financing of new renewable energy projects, our abandoning the development of renewable energy projects, a loss of our investments in the projects and reduced project returns, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (the “IRA”), which extended the availability of investment tax credits (“ITCs”) and production tax credits (“PTCs”). On January 20, 2025 President Trump was inaugurated and his administration could reduce the amount of ITCs or PTCs available to us and/or our tax equity partners. In this event, we could be required to adjust the terms of future tax equity partnerships, or seek alternative sources of funding for solar energy projects, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Operation and maintenance of renewable energy projects involve significant risks that could result in unplanned outages, reduced output, interconnection or termination issues, or other adverse consequences.

There are risks associated with the operation of our projects. These risks include:

These and other factors could have adverse consequences on our solar projects. For example, these factors could require us to shut down or reduce the output of such projects, degrade equipment, reduce the useful life of the project, and materially increase O&M and other costs. Unanticipated capital expenditures associated with maintaining or repairing our projects would reduce profitability. Congestion, emergencies, maintenance, outages, overloads, requests by other parties for transmission service, including on our facilities, actions or omissions by other projects with which we share facilities, and certain other events, including events beyond our control, could partially or completely curtail generation and delivery of energy by our projects and could lead to our customers terminating their PPAs with us. Any termination of a project’s interconnection or transmission arrangements or non-compliance by an interconnection provider, the owner or operator of shared facilities, or another third party with its obligations under an interconnection, shared facilities, or transmission arrangement may delay or prevent our projects from delivering energy to our offtakers. If the interconnection, shared facilities, or transmission arrangement for a project is terminated, we may not be able to replace it on similar terms to the existing arrangement, or at all, or we may experience significant delays or costs in connection with such replacement. In addition, replacement and spare parts for solar panels, and other key pieces of equipment may be difficult or costly to acquire or may be unavailable.

Any of the risks described above could significantly decrease or eliminate the revenues of a project, significantly increase its operating costs, cause us to default under our financing agreements, or give rise to damages or penalties owed by us to an offtaker, another contractual counterparty, a governmental authority, or another third party, or cause defaults under related contracts or permits. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, NAV, financial condition, and results of operations.

We and any third parties with which we do business may be subject to cyber-attacks, network disruptions, and other information systems breaches, as well as acts of terrorism or war that could have a material adverse effect on our business, NAV, financial condition, and results of operations, as well as result in significant physical damage to our renewable energy projects.

Our operations rely on our computer systems, hardware, software, and networks, as well as those of third parties with which we do business, such as O&M and other service providers, to securely process, store, and transmit proprietary, confidential, financial, and other information. We also rely heavily on these information systems to operate our solar projects. Information technology system failures and network disruptions may be caused by natural disasters, accidents, power disruptions, telecommunications failures, acts of terrorism or war, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins, human errors in using or accessing relevant systems, or similar events or disruptions. Cyber-attacks, including those targeting information systems or electronic control systems used to operate our energy projects and the facilities of third parties on which our projects rely, could severely disrupt business operations, and result in loss of service to offtakers and significant expense to repair security breaches or system damage. In addition, our costs to adequately counter the risk of cyber-attacks may increase significantly in the future. In recent years, such cyber incidents have become increasingly frequent and sophisticated, targeting or otherwise affecting a wide range of companies. While we have instituted security measures to reduce the likelihood and impact of a cyber-attack or data breach and have back-up systems and disaster recovery plans for other disruptions, these measures, or those of the third parties with which we do business, may be ineffective or inadequate. If these measures fail, valuable information may be lost; our development, construction, O&M, and other operations may be disrupted; we may be unable to fulfill our customer obligations; and our reputation may suffer. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of our employees who are capable of performing their functions remotely are telecommuting and may continue to do so for the foreseeable future, which may exacerbate these risks. Such risks may also subject us to litigation, regulatory action and fines, remedial expenses, and financial losses beyond the scope or limits of our insurance coverage. These consequences of a failure of security measures could, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, NAV, financial condition, and results of operations.

Terrorists have attacked energy assets such as substations and related infrastructure in the past and may attack them in the future. We cannot guarantee adequate protection from such attacks on our projects and have little or no control over the facilities of third parties on which our projects rely. Attacks on our or our counterparties’ assets could severely damage our projects, disrupt business operations, result in loss of service to offtakers, and require significant time and expense to repair. Additionally, energy-related facilities, such as substations and related infrastructure, are protected by limited security measures, in most cases only perimeter fencing. Our current portfolio, as well as projects we may develop or acquire and the facilities of third parties on which our projects rely, may be targets of burglary, terrorist acts and affected by responses to terrorist acts, each of which could fully or partially disrupt our projects’ ability to produce, transmit, transport, and distribute energy. To the extent such acts constitute force majeure events under our PPAs or interconnection agreements, the applicable offtaker generally may reduce or cease making payments to us and may terminate such PPA or interconnection agreement if such force majeure event continues for a period typically ranging from six to twelve months as specified in the applicable agreement. We are also generally unable to, or do not, obtain insurance coverage to compensate us for losses caused by terrorist or other similar attacks. As a result, any such attack could significantly decrease revenues, result in significant reconstruction or remediation costs, or otherwise disrupt our business operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, NAV, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our holding companies have historically entered into multiple transactions with their affiliates. These transactions include financial guarantees and other credit support arrangements, including letters of comfort to such affiliates pursuant to which the holding companies undertake to provide financial support to these affiliates and adequate resources as required to ensure that they are able to meet certain liabilities and local solvency requirements. These holding companies are currently party to many such affiliate transactions, and it is likely they will enter into new and similar affiliate transactions in the future.

In the event that any of these affiliates become bankrupt or insolvent, there can be no assurance that a court or other foreign tribunal, liquidator, monitor, trustee or similar party would not seek to enforce these intercompany arrangements and guarantees or otherwise seek relief against the holding companies and their other affiliates. If any of our material foreign subsidiaries (e.g., subsidiaries that hold a significant number of customer contracts, or that are the parent company of other material subsidiaries) become subject to a bankruptcy, liquidation or similar insolvency proceeding, such proceeding could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We are in a highly competitive marketplace.

The renewable energy industry is highly competitive and we face significant competition in the markets in which we operate. Some of our competitors may have advantages over us in terms of greater operational, financial and technical management as well as additional resources in particular markets or in general. Our competitors may also enter into strategic alliances or form affiliates with other competitors to its detriment. Suppliers or contractors may merge with our competitors which may limit our choices of contractors and hence the flexibility of its overall project execution capabilities. Increased competition may result in price reductions, reduced profit margins and loss of market share. 

Moreover, our current business strategy is to own and operate all of the solar parks which we develop and acquire. As part of our growth plan, we may, in the future, acquire solar parks in various development stages through a competitive bidding process as part of the auction schemes in the various jurisdictions we plan to grow and establish ourself in as well as the current countries we operate in. The bidding and selection process is affected by a number of factors, including factors that may be beyond our control, such as market conditions or government incentive programs. Our competitors may have greater financial resources, a more effective or established localized business presence or a greater willingness or ability to operate with little or no operating margins for sustained periods of time. Any increase in competition during such bidding processes or reduction in its competitive capabilities could have a significant adverse impact on its market share and on the margins it generates from its solar parks.

Further, large, utility-scale solar parks must be interconnected to the power grid in order to deliver electricity, which requires us, through its local partnerships, to find suitable sites with capacity on the power grid available. Our competitors may impede its development efforts by acquiring control of all or a portion of a PV site it seeks to develop. Even when we have identified a desirable site for a solar park, its ability to obtain site control with respect to the site is subject to its ability to finance the transaction and growing competition from other solar power producers that may have better access to local government support, financing or other resources. If we are unable to find or obtain site control for suitable PV sites on commercially acceptable terms, its ability to develop new solar parks on a timely basis or at all might be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on certain key personnel and loss of these key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our success depends to a significant degree on the services rendered by our key employees. Due to the level of technical expertise necessary to support its business strategy, our success will depend upon our ability to attract and retain highly skilled and seasoned professionals in the solar industry for which competition is intense. In particular, we are heavily dependent on the continued services of Mr. Vincent Browne, our Chief Executive Officer. The loss of any key employee, including executive officers or members of senior management teams, and the failure to attract, train and retain highly skilled personnel with sufficient experience in the industry to replace them, could harm our prospects, business, financial condition, and the results of operations will be materially affected.

If sufficient demand for solar parks does not develop or takes longer to develop than anticipated, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

The PV market is at a relatively early stage of development in some of the markets that the Company may intend to enter. The PV industry continues to experience lower costs, improved efficiency and higher electricity output. However, trends in the PV industry are based only on limited data and may not be reliable. Many factors may affect the demand for solar parks including, among others, cost and availability of financing for solar parks, fluctuations in economic and market conditions, competition from non-solar energy sources, environmental concerns, public perception and regulations and policies governing the electric power industry and the broader energy industry.

If market demand for solar parks fails to develop sufficiently, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

We are subject to risks associated with fluctuations in the prices of PV modules and balance-of-system components or in the costs of design, construction and labor.

We procure supplies for solar park construction, such as PV modules and balance-of-system components, from third-party suppliers. We typically enter into contracts with its suppliers and contractors on a project-by-project basis or a project portfolio basis. We generally do not maintain long-term contracts with its suppliers. Therefore, are exposed to fluctuations in prices for its PV modules and balance-of-system components. Increases in the prices of PV products or balance-of-system components or fluctuations in design, construction, labor and installation costs may increase the cost of procuring equipment and engaging contractors and hence materially and adversely affect its results of operations.

Refurbishment of renewable energy facilities involve significant risks that could result in unplanned power outages or reduced output.

Our facilities may require periodic upgrading and improvement. Any unexpected operational or mechanical failures, such as the failure of a single inverter, or other failures associated with breakdowns and forced outages generally, and any decreased operational or management performance, could reduce its facilities’ generating capacity below expected levels, reducing its revenues. Unanticipated capital expenditures associated with upgrading or repairing its facilities may also reduce our profitability.

We may also choose to refurbish or upgrade its facilities based on its assessment that such activity will provide adequate financial returns and key assumptions underpinning a decision to make such an investment may prove incorrect, including assumptions regarding construction costs, timing, available financing and future power prices. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Moreover, spare parts for solar facilities and key pieces of equipment may be hard to acquire or unavailable to us. Sources of some significant spare parts and other equipment are located outside of the jurisdictions in which it operates. Suppliers of some spare parts have filed, or may in the future file for, bankruptcy protection, potentially reducing the availability of parts that it requires to operate certain of its power generation facilities. Other suppliers may for other reasons cease to manufacture parts that it requires to operate certain of its power generation facilities. If we were to experience a shortage of or inability to acquire critical spare parts, it could incur significant delays in returning facilities to full operation, which could negatively impact its business financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our project operations may be adversely affected by weather and climate conditions, natural disasters and adverse work environments.

We may operate in areas that are under the threat of floods, earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, sandstorms, drought, or other inclement weather and climate conditions or natural disasters. If inclement weather or climatic conditions or natural disasters occur in areas where its solar parks and project teams are located, project development, connectivity to the power grid and the provision of O&M services may be adversely affected. In particular, materials may not be delivered as scheduled and labor may not be available. As some of its solar parks are located in the same region, such solar parks may be simultaneously affected by weather and climate conditions, natural disasters and adverse work environments.

Moreover, natural disasters which are beyond our control may adversely affect the economy, infrastructure and communities in the countries and regions where it conducts its business operations. Such conditions may have an adverse effect on its work performance, progress and efficiency or even result in personal injuries or fatalities.

Business interruptions, whether due to catastrophic disasters or other events, could adversely affect Alternus’ operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our operations and those of its contract manufacturers and outsourced service providers are vulnerable to interruption by fire, earthquake, hurricane, flood or other natural disaster, power loss, computer viruses, computer systems failure, telecommunications failure, quarantines, national catastrophe, terrorist activities, war and other events beyond its control. For instance, some of Alternus’ solar parks are located in Italy near medium risk areas regarding seismic activity and may be vulnerable to damage from earthquakes. If any disaster were to occur, our ability and the ability of its contract manufacturers and outsourced service providers to operate could be seriously impaired and it could experience material harm to its business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the coverage or limits of its business interruption insurance may not be sufficient to compensate for any losses or damages that may occur.

Any such terrorist acts, environmental repercussions or disruptions, natural disasters, theft incidents or other catastrophic events could result in a significant decrease in revenues or significant reconstruction, remediation or replacement costs, beyond what could be recovered through insurance policies, which could have a material adverse effect on its operating results and financial condition.

Global economic conditions and any related ongoing impact of supply chain constraints and the market of our product and service could adversely affect our results of operations.

Due to the specific nature of solar photovoltaic industry, we depend on a limited number of suppliers of solar panels, batteries, and other system components needed to expand, operate and function our solar parks, thus making us susceptible to quality issues, shortages, bottlenecks, and price changes. The uncertain condition of the global economy as well as the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including the retaliatory economic measures taken by United States, European, and others continue impacting businesses around the world, and has and may continue to impact several components producers and suppliers that form part of our supply chain; impacting products, materials, components, and parts required to operate our solar parks and expand our solar offering, both in the Europe, in the US and globally. In times of rapid industry growth or regulatory change such as current times, any further deterioration of the geopolitical, socio-economic conditions or financial uncertainty to provide our services could reduce customers’ confidence and affect negatively our sales and results of operations.

Although we have implemented policies and procedures to maintain compliance with applicable laws and regulations, these and other similar trade restrictions that may be imposed in the future could cause installation and capacity expansion delay, amidst restrictions on the global supply of polysilicon and solar products. This could result in near-term supply crunch in solar energy systems despite higher costs, as well as increased costs of polysilicon and the overall cost of solar energy systems, potentially translating into a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect our revenue, cost of sales and gross margins and could result in exchange losses.

Our business and operational activities are dispersed and subsidiaries within it trade in their functional currencies in the course of their business operations. Our investment holding companies transact in functional currencies of their subsidiaries. Our investment holding companies may have foreign financing and investing activities, which exposes us to foreign currency risk. Any increased costs or reduced revenue as a result of foreign exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect our profit margins.

Although we have access to a variety of financing solutions that are tailored to the geographic location of its projects and local regulations, we have not entered into any hedging transactions to reduce the foreign exchange rate fluctuation risks, but may do so in the future when it is deemed appropriate to do so in light of the significance of such risks. However, if we decide to hedge our foreign exchange exposure in the future, we cannot be assured that we will be able to reduce our foreign currency risk exposure in an effective manner, at reasonable costs, or at all.

If we fail to comply with financial and other covenants under debt arrangements, our financial condition, results of operations and business prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We have a number of covenants related to certain debt arrangements. These restrictions could affect our ability to operate our business and may limit the ability to react to market conditions or take advantage of potential business opportunities as they arise. For example, such restrictions could adversely affect our ability to finance our operations, make strategic acquisitions, investments or alliances, restructure our organization or finance our capital needs. Additionally, our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control. These include prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. Failure to comply with financial and other covenants may potentially result in increased financial costs, the requirement for additional security or cancellation of loans, which in turn may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Any default under debt arrangements could lead to an event of default and acceleration under other debt instruments that contain cross default or cross acceleration provisions, as applicable at any given time. If our creditors accelerate the payment of those amounts, investors cannot be assured that our assets would be sufficient to repay in full those amounts, to satisfy all other liabilities which would be due and payable and to ensure that net assets will be available to the shareholders. For example, our prior subsidiary, Solis Bond Company DAC, breached all three financial covenants under its bond terms. As such, Solis was unable to fully repay the Solis Bond by its maturity date (as extended), and Solis’ bondholders transferred ownership of Solis and all of its subsidiaries to the bondholders. This resulted in the majority of our operating assets and related revenues being eliminated and are no longer able to book the associated EBIDTA. This has had a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

In addition, we typically pledge our solar park assets or account or trade receivables to raise debt financing, and we are restricted from creating additional security over its assets. If we are in breach of one or more financial or other covenants or negative pledge clauses under any of our loan agreements and are not able to obtain waivers from the lenders or prepay such loan, repayment of the indebtedness under the relevant loan agreement may be accelerated, which may in turn require us to repay the entire principal amount including interest accrued, if any, of certain of its other existing indebtedness prior to their maturity under cross-default provisions of other loan agreements. If we lack sufficient financial resources to make required payments, the pledgees may auction or sell our assets or our interest in solar parks to enforce their rights under the pledge contracts and loan agreements. Any of those events could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and business prospects.

Our international operations require significant management resources and present legal, compliance and execution risks in multiple jurisdictions.

We have adopted a business model under which it maintains significant operations and facilities through its subsidiaries located in Europe while its corporate management team and directors are primarily based in Ireland and the U.S. The nature of our business may stretch its management resources thin as well as make it difficult for its’s corporate management to effectively monitor local execution teams. The nature of our operations and limited resources of its management may create risks and uncertainties when executing its strategy and conducting operations in multiple jurisdictions, which could adversely affect the costs and results of our operations.

The development and installation of solar energy systems is highly regulated; we may fail to comply with laws and regulations in the countries where it develops, constructs and operates solar power projects and the government approval process may change from time to time, which could severely disrupt our business operations.

The development and installation of solar energy systems is subject to oversight and regulation under local ordinances; building, zoning and fire codes; utility interconnection requirements for metering; and other rules and regulations. We attempt to keep apprised on these requirements on a national, state and local level and must design and install our solar energy systems to comply with varying standards. Certain jurisdictions may have ordinances that prevent or increase the cost of installation of our solar energy systems. New government regulations or utility policies pertaining to the installation of solar energy systems are unpredictable and might result in significant additional expenses or delays, which could cause a significant reduction in demand for solar energy systems.

We conduct our business in many countries and jurisdictions that are governed by different laws and regulations, including national and local regulations relating to building codes, taxes, safety, environmental protection, utility interconnection and metering and other matters. We have established subsidiaries in these countries and jurisdictions which were required to comply with various local laws and regulations. While we strive to work with our local counsel and other advisers to comply with the laws and regulations of each jurisdiction in which we have operations, there may be instances of non-compliance, which may result in fines, sanctions and other penalties against the non-complying subsidiaries and its directors and officers. For example, in 2020, the Company’s Romanian subsidiary, LJG Green Source Energy Beta S.r.l. had an ANRE investigation resulting from actions of the previous owner related to the breach of Article 5 of the EU Regulation No. 1227/2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency by engaging in market manipulation or attempted market manipulation on the wholesale energy markets following transactions concluded between January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. This investigation resulted in a penalty of RON 400,000 (approximately $80,000). We cannot make any assurances that other instances of non-compliance will not occur in the future which may materially and adversely affect its business, financial condition or results of operations.

In order to develop solar power projects, we must obtain a variety of approvals, permits and licenses from various authorities. The procedures for obtaining such approvals, permits and licenses vary from country to country, making it onerous and costly to track the requirements of individual localities and comply with the varying standards. Moreover, sovereign states retain the power to adjust their energy policies and alter approval procedures applicable to the Company. If the regulatory requirements become more stringent or the approval process becomes less efficient, the key steps in our business operations including project development, facility upgrading and product sales, could be severely disrupted or delayed. Failure to obtain the required approvals, permits or licenses or to comply with the conditions associated therewith could result in fines, sanctions, suspension, revocation or non-renewal of approvals, permits or licenses, or even criminal penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any new government regulations pertaining to the Company business or solar power projects may result in significant additional expenses. The Company cannot assure that it will be able to promptly and adequately respond to changes of laws and regulations in various jurisdictions, or that its employees and contractors will act in accordance with such laws. Failure to comply with laws and regulations where the Company develops, constructs and operates solar power projects may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Existing rules, regulations and policies pertaining to electricity pricing and technical interconnection of customer-owned electricity generation may not continue, and changes to these regulations and policies might deter the purchase and use of solar energy systems and negatively impact development of the solar energy industry.

The market for solar energy systems in the United States and Europe is heavily influenced by foreign, federal, state and local government regulations and policies concerning the electric utility industry, as well as policies adopted by electric utilities. These regulations and policies often relate to electricity pricing and technical interconnection of customer-owned electricity generation and there is no assurance that they will continue. For example, the vast majority of the United States has a regulatory policy known as net energy metering, or “net metering”, which allows our customers to interconnect their on-site solar energy systems to the utility grid and offset their utility electricity purchases by receiving a bill credit at the utility’s retail rate for energy generated by their solar energy system that is exported to the grid and not consumed on-site. The customer consequently pays for the net energy used or receives a credit at the retail rate if more electricity is produced than consumed. Net metering, in some states, is being replaced with lower credits for the excess electricity sent onto the grid from solar energy systems, and utilities are imposing minimum or fixed monthly charges on owners of solar energy systems. These regulations and policies have been modified in the past and may be modified in the future in ways that can restrict the interconnection of solar energy systems and deter purchases of solar energy systems by customers. Electricity generated by solar energy systems also competes most favorably in markets with tiered rate structures or peak hour pricing that increase the price of electricity when more is consumed. Modifications to these rate structures by utilities, such as reducing peak hour or tiered pricing or adopting flat rate pricing, could require the price of solar energy systems to be reduced in order to compete with the price of utility generated electricity.

Risk related to legal rights to real property in foreign countries.

Our energy facilities may be located on land which may be subject to government seizure or expropriation. For example, properties relating to the Company’s operations in Scornicesti, Romania, are subject to an ongoing expropriation procedure due to the construction of a new express motorway. The authorities have offered the Company cash as compensation. The process commenced in Q1 2022, and we still have not received any compensation to date. In this case, we believe that the offered compensation represents fair value. However, in general, similar proceedings may not represent fair compensation and could materially affect our other operations, in which case certain operations may have to cease without sufficient compensation being paid to us. Although this particular expropriation does not have a material adverse effect on our business, other types of seizure or expropriation could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate revenue.

In addition to the expropriation risk discussed above, the land on which the renewable energy facilities are situated is often subject to long-term easements and land leases. However, the ownership interests in the land subject to these easements and leases may also be subject to mortgages securing loans or other liens (such as tax liens) and other easement and lease rights of third parties (such as leases of oil or mineral rights) that were created prior to the land easements and leases. As a result, the facility’s rights under these easements or leases may be subject, and subordinate, to the rights of those third parties, or even to the relevant government. The Company performs title searches and obtains title insurance to protect itself against these risks. Such measures may, however, be inadequate to protect the Company against all risk of loss of the Company’s rights to use the land on which the renewable energy facilities are located, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, we are subject to the risk of potential disputes with property owners or third parties who otherwise have rights to or interests in the properties used for the our solar parks. Such disputes, whether resolved in our favor or not, may divert management’s attention, harm our reputation or otherwise disrupt its business. An adverse decision from a court or the absence of an agreement with such third parties may result in additional costs and delays in, or the permanent termination of, the construction and operating phases of any solar park so situated.

Enforcing a United States judgment against our executive officers and directors in Ireland may be difficult.

Many of our current officers and directors reside in Ireland. Service of process upon our directors and officers, many of whom reside outside the United States, may be difficult to obtain within the United States. Furthermore, because the majority of our assets and investments, and a number of our directors and officers are located outside of the United States, any judgment obtained in the United States against us or any of them may be difficult to collect within the United States and may not be enforced by an Irish court. It also may be difficult for you to effect service of process on these persons in the United States or to assert U.S. securities law claims in original actions instituted in Ireland. Irish courts may refuse to hear a claim based on an alleged violation of U.S. securities laws reasoning that Ireland is not the most appropriate forum in which to bring such a claim. In addition, even if an Irish court agrees to hear a claim, it may determine that Irish law and not U.S. law is applicable to the claim. If U.S. law is found to be applicable, the content of applicable U.S. law must be proven as a fact by expert witnesses, which can be a time consuming and costly process. Certain matters of procedure will also be governed by Irish law. There is little binding case law in Ireland that addresses the matters described above. As a result of the difficulty associated with enforcing a judgment against our executive officers and directors in Ireland, you may not be able to collect any damages awarded by either a U.S. or foreign court.

Subject to specified time limitations and legal procedures, under the rules of private international law currently prevailing in Ireland, Irish courts may enforce a U.S. judgment in a civil matter, including a judgment based upon the civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws, as well as a monetary or compensatory judgment in a non-civil matter, provided that the following key conditions are met:

The Company conducts its business operations globally and is subject to global and local risks related to economic, regulatory, tax, social and political uncertainties.

The Company conducts its business operations in many regions. The Company’s business is therefore subject to diverse and constantly changing economic, regulatory, tax, social, and political conditions. Changes in the legislative, political, governmental, and economic framework in the regions in which the Company carries on business could have a material impact on its business. In particular, changing laws and policies affecting trade, investment and changes in tax regulations could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s revenues, profitability, cash flows and financial condition. Any new government regulations pertaining to the Company’s business or solar parks may result in significant additional expenses. Moreover, as the Company enters new markets in different jurisdictions, it will face different regulatory regimes, business practices, governmental requirements and industry conditions. To the extent that the Company’s business operations are affected by unexpected and adverse economic, regulatory, social or political conditions in the jurisdictions in which the Company has operations, it may experience project disruptions, loss of assets and personnel, and other indirect losses that could adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. Geopolitical trends toward protectionism and nationalism and the dissolution or weakening of international trade pacts may increase the cost of, or otherwise interfere with, the Company’s conduct of business. Uncertainty about current and future economic and political conditions that affect the Company, its customers and partners make it difficult for the Company to forecast operating results and to make decisions about future investments.

The current invasion of Ukraine by Russia has escalated tensions among the U.S., the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) and Russia. The U.S. and other NATO member states, as well as non-member states, have announced new sanctions against Russia and certain Russian banks, enterprises and individuals. These and any future additional sanctions and any resulting conflict between Russia, the U.S. and NATO countries could have an adverse impact on our current operations.

Further, such invasion, ongoing military conflict, resulting sanctions and related countermeasures by NATO states, the U.S. and other countries are likely to lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions for equipment, which could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial performance.

Recent increases in inflation and in the United States and internationally could adversely affect our business.

Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere may be leading to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and may lead to other national, regional and international economic disruptions, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business and operations.

The solar energy industry is a new and evolving market, which may not grow to the size or at the rate we expect.

The solar energy industry is a new and rapidly growing market opportunity. We believe the solar energy industry will continue still take several years to fully develop and mature, but we cannot be certain that the market will grow to the size or at the rate that we expect. Any future growth of the solar energy market and the success of our solar service offerings depend on many factors beyond our control, including recognition and acceptance of the solar service market by consumers, the pricing of alternative sources of energy, a favorable regulatory environment, the continuation of expected tax benefits and other incentives, and our ability to provide our solar service offerings cost-effectively, and our business might be adversely affected should the markets for solar energy do not develop to the size or at the rate we expect.

Solar energy has yet to achieve broad market acceptance and depends in part on continued support in the form of rebates, tax credits, and other incentives from federal, state and local governments. If this support diminishes materially, our ability to attract customers for our products and services could be adversely affected. Declining macroeconomic conditions, including labor markets, could contribute to instability and uncertainty among customers and impact their financial ability, credit scores or interest in entering into long-term contracts, even if such contracts would generate immediate and long-term savings.

Market prices of retail electricity generated by utilities or other energy sources also could decline for a variety of reasons, as discussed further below. Any such declines in macroeconomic conditions, changes in retail prices of electricity or changes in customer preferences would adversely impact our business.

Declining costs related to raw materials, manufacturing and the sale and installation of our solar service offerings have been a key driver in the pricing of our solar service offerings and customer adoption of solar energy. The prices of solar modules and raw materials have declined, however the cost of solar modules and raw materials could increase in the future, and such products’ availability could decrease, due to a variety of factors, including restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, tariffs and trade barriers, export regulations, regulatory or contractual limitations, industry market requirements, and changes in technology and industry standards.

Other factors may also impact costs, such as our choice to make significant investments to drive growth in the future.

Our business prospects could be harmed if solar energy is not widely adopted or sufficient demand for solar energy systems does not develop or takes longer to develop than we anticipate.

The solar energy market is at a relatively early stage of development. The extent to which solar energy will be widely adopted and the extent to which demand for solar energy systems will increase are uncertain. If solar energy does not achieve widespread adoption or demand for solar energy systems fails to develop sufficiently, we might be unable to achieve our revenue and profit targets. Demand for solar energy systems in our targeted markets might not develop as we anticipate. Many factors may affect the demand for solar energy systems, including the following:

The modification, reduction, elimination, or expiration of government subsidies, economic incentives, tax incentives, renewable energy targets, and other support for on-grid solar electricity applications, or the impact of other public policies, such as tariffs or other trade remedies imposed on solar cells and modules or related raw materials or equipment, could negatively impact demand and/or price levels for our solar modules and limit our growth or lead to a reduction in our net sales or increase our costs, thereby adversely impacting our operating results.

Although we believe that solar energy will experience widespread adoption in those applications where it competes economically with traditional forms of energy without any incentive programs, in certain markets our net sales and profits remain subject to variability based on the availability and size of government subsidies and economic incentives. Federal, state, and local governmental bodies in many countries have provided subsidies in the form of feed-in-tariff structures, rebates, tax incentives, and other incentives to end users, distributors, system integrators, and manufacturers of PV solar products. Many of these incentive programs expire, phase down over time, require renewal by the applicable authority, or may be amended. To the extent government incentive programs are reduced earlier than previously expected, are changed retroactively, or are not renewed, such changes could negatively impact demand and/or price levels for our solar modules, lead to a reduction in our net sales, and adversely impact our operating results.

Current regulatory policies, or any future changes or threatened changes to such policies, including those changes as a result of the presidential administration and control of the U.S. Congress, may subject us to significant risks, including the following:

Application of trade laws may also adversely impact, either directly or indirectly, our operating results; for example, by impacting our customers’ project costs, profitability, and their demand for our modules; or by impacting our own costs or disrupting our manufacturing or supply chains, and consequently negatively impacting demand and/or price levels for our solar modules, reducing our net sales, or affecting potential profitability of fulfilling customer contracts.

The overall impact of trade laws on our business depends on multiple factors, including their duration, their scope and potential expansion thereof, enforcement, retaliatory measures by impacted exporting countries, inflationary effects and broader macroeconomic responses, changes to consumer purchasing behavior, and the effectiveness of our responses in managing these impacts. Recent developments include the following:

These examples show that established markets for PV solar development face uncertainties arising from policy, regulatory, and governmental actions. While the expected potential of the markets we are targeting is significant, policy promulgation and market development are especially vulnerable to governmental inertia, political instability, changing government policy and priorities, the imposition or lowering of trade remedies and other trade barriers, geopolitical risk, fossil fuel subsidization, potentially stringent localization requirements, and limited available infrastructure. Any negative impacts from changes in policy, regulatory and governmental actions could negatively affect our business, reduce our net sales, profitability and/or market share, and consequently adversely affect our results of operations, prospects, and financial condition.

Changes in the global trade environment, including the imposition of import tariffs, could adversely affect the amount or timing of our revenues, results of operations or cash flows.

Escalating trade tensions, particularly between the U.S. and China, have led to increased tariffs and trade restrictions, including tariffs applicable to certain materials and components for our products or for products used in solar energy projects more broadly, such as module supply and availability. The U.S. has recently imposed significant new tariffs on nearly all products and components imported into the U.S. and could propose additional tariffs or increases to those already in place. To the extent we continue to use overseas suppliers of steel and aluminum, these tariffs could result in interruptions in the supply chain and impact costs and our gross margins. In addition, the threat of potential tariffs can create uncertainty among our customers and slow down the rate of existing projects and projects in our orderbook.

More specifically, in March 2018, the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and extended these tariffs to cover imports of derivative steel and aluminum articles on February 2020 under the same legal authority. These tariffs were increased on February 10, 2025, pursuant to two executive orders from President Trump (the “February 2025 Executive Orders”), resulting in across-the-board 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports. Additionally, all previous alternative arrangements, such as complete exemptions, hard quotas, or tariff rate quotas, with trading partners on imports of steel and aluminum products, have been eliminated. The February 2025 Executive Orders also eliminated the system for exclusions, under which thousands of products were allowed to enter the U.S. free of these additional duties and create a process by which additional “derivative” products could be added to the scope of the tariffs by request of the domestic producer.

On February 1, 2025, President Trump issued executive orders directing the U.S. to impose new tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, to take effect on February 4, 2025. On February 3, 2025, President Trump announced his intention to pause these tariffs on Canada and Mexico for the next month. The tariffs impose an additional 25% ad valorem rate of duty on all imports from Canada and Mexico (other than imports of Canadian energy resources exports, which are subject to a 10% ad valorem rate of duty) and an additional 10% ad valorem rate of duty on all imports from China. On March 3, 2025, the announced 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican goods took effect and the tariff on Chinese goods was doubled to 20%. On March 12, 2025 tariffs on steel and aluminum increased from 25% to 50% on all steel and aluminum coming from Canada. On April 2, 2025, President Trump introduced tariffs on most countries of a baseline rate of 10%, and individualized rates on some countries of up to 50%. On April 9, 2025, President Trump increased tariffs for Chinese goods to 125% and subsequently to 145%, while the tariffs announced on April 2, 2025 for all other countries was reduced to a baseline rate of 10% for the next 90 days.

We are currently evaluating the potential impact of the imposition of the announced tariffs, and any additional or retaliatory tariffs, to our business and financial condition. While we do not believe that the tariffs announced by the U.S. in 2025 will have a material adverse effect upon our results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity, the actual impact of the new tariffs is subject to a number of factors including the effective date and duration of such tariffs, changes in the amount, scope and nature of the tariffs in the future, any countermeasures that the target countries may take and any mitigating actions that may become available.

More broadly, President Trump has directed the USDOC, USTR, and other agencies, to review and identify unfair trade practices by other countries and recommend appropriate actions, as well as recommend modifications of AD/CVD laws to further induce compliance by foreign respondents and governments involved in those proceedings. These directives have been issued under the America First Trade Policy and Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs memoranda, and the effects on the global trading system can be far-reaching.

In January 2018, the U.S. adopted a tariff on imported solar modules and cells pursuant to Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The tariff was initially set at 30%, with a gradual reduction over four years to 15%. While this tariff does not apply directly to the components we import, it may indirectly affect us by impacting the financial viability of solar energy projects, which could in turn reduce demand for our products. On February 4, 2022, former President Biden extended the safeguard tariff for an additional four years, starting at a rate of 14.75% and reducing that rate each year to 14% in 2026, and directed the U.S. Trade Representative to conclude agreements with Canada and Mexico on trade in solar products. On July 7, 2022, the U.S. and Canada entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding in which the U.S. agreed to suspend application of the safeguard tariff to Canadian crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells imported as of February 1, 2022. While this tariff does not apply directly to the components we import, it may indirectly affect us by impacting the financial viability of solar energy projects, which could in turn reduce demand for our products.

Furthermore, starting in July 2018, the U.S. adopted four lists of tariffs (Lists 1,2,3, and 4A) on $550 billion worth of Chinese imports, including, inverters and power optimizers. Products on Lists 1, 2, and 3 are subject to 25% tariffs, while products on List 4A are subject to 7.5% tariffs. On December 16, 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) announced that it would increase Section 301 tariffs on polysilicon and wafers to 50% in 2025. At the same time, the USTR implemented 14 tariff exclusions for listed solar cell and wafer manufacturing equipment. While these tariffs are not directly applicable to our products, they could impact the solar energy projects in which our products are used, which could lead to decreased demand for our products.

On August 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce (“USDOC”) issued final affirmative determinations of circumvention with respect to certain crystalline solar photovoltaic (“CSPV”) cells and modules produced in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam using parts and components from China. As a result, certain CSPV cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are now subject to antidumping and countervailing duty (“AD/CVD”) orders on CSPV cells and modules from China that have been in place since 2012. Subject to certain certification and utilization conditions, imports of CSPV cells and modules covered by the circumvention determinations that entered the U.S. during the two-year period prior to June 6, 2024 – which had been authorized by the former President Biden on June 2022 – were not subject to AD/CVD cash deposit or duty requirements. Imports of CSPV cells and modules from the four Southeast Asian countries covered by the circumvention determination that entered the U.S. on or after June 6, 2024 are subject to AD/CVD cash deposit requirements of the China AD/CVD orders and, possibly, final AD/CVD duty liability. Cash deposit rates for CSPV modules covered by the China AD/CVD orders vary significantly depending on the producer and exporter of the modules and may amount to over 250% of the entered value of the imported merchandise.

Additionally, in October 2023, a coalition of U.S. aluminum extruders and a labor union filed AD/CVD cases on aluminum extrusions from fifteen countries. The USDOC has initiated investigations based on the petitions. Certain components in our trackers, including certain clamps, U-joints, and bearing housings are made using extruded aluminum. In September 2024, the USDOC released its final determination from their investigations against aluminum extrusions from multiple countries. On October 30, 2024, the USITC voted to find no injury in its pending AD/CVD investigation, meaning that the USDOC’s AD/CVD orders will not go into effect. The coalition of petitioners may still appeal the USITC’s decision, and we will continue to monitor developments in the appeal process. If the USITC’s decision is overturned on appeal, the imposition of AD/CVD orders could negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

On April 24, 2024, the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee, an ad hoc coalition of domestic producers of CSPV cells and modules, filed a petition with the USDOC and the U.S. International Trade Commission (“USITC”) seeking the imposition of AD/CVD tariffs on imports of CSPV cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The USITC made a preliminary affirmative determination on June 7, 2024, and the USDOC made its preliminary affirmative determination on October 1, 2024. The preliminary tariff rates vary from below 1% to almost 300%, depending on the relevant company.

While we do not sell solar modules, the degree of our exposure is dependent on, among other things, the impact of the investigation on the projects that are also intended to use our products, with such impact being largely out of our control. We have seen a number of projects in our order book delayed as a result of the USDOC investigation. The repeal of the 24-month exemption, and any affirmative determinations made once the exemption expires in any event, would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Tariffs and the possibility of additional tariffs in the future like those described above have created uncertainty in the industry. If the price of solar systems in the U.S. increases, the use of solar systems could become less economically feasible and could reduce our gross margins or reduce the demand of solar systems manufactured and sold, which in turn may decrease demand for our products. Additionally, existing or future tariffs may negatively affect key customers, suppliers, and manufacturing partners. Such outcomes could adversely affect the amount or timing of our revenues, results of operations or cash flows, and continuing uncertainty could cause sales volatility, price fluctuations or supply shortages or cause our customers to advance or delay their purchase of our products. It is difficult to predict what further trade-related actions governments may take, which may include additional or increased tariffs and trade restrictions, and we may be unable to quickly and effectively react to such actions.

We are subject to various governmental export controls, trade and economic sanctions, and import laws and regulations that could impair our ability to compete in international markets and subject us to liability if we are not in full compliance with applicable laws.

Our products and technologies are subject to export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and our products, technologies, and activities are subject to trade and economic sanctions, including those administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, as well as regulations administered by the governments of the United Kingdom and authorities in the European Union, which we collectively refer to as trade controls. As such, licenses and notices may be required to import products, technologies, and services from or export or re-export products, technologies, and services to certain countries and end users and for certain end uses. For example, the U.S. government continues to add additional entities in China and elsewhere to restricted party lists impacting the ability of U.S. companies to provide products, technology, and services to, and in some cases receive products, technologies, and services from, these entities. These controls may impact our ability to import certain products, technology, or services from or export or re-export certain products, technology, or services to China and other destinations, and it is also possible that the Chinese government will retaliate in ways that could impact our business. The process for obtaining necessary licenses and making required notices may be time-consuming or unsuccessful, potentially causing delays in sales or losses of sales opportunities. Trade controls are complex and dynamic regimes and monitoring and ensuring compliance can be challenging. Any failure to comply with these regimes could subject us to both civil and criminal penalties, including substantial fines, possible incarceration of responsible individuals for willful violations, possible loss of our export or import privileges, and reputational harm. In addition, investigating or defending against any such allegations, actions, or investigations will likely result in a materially significant diversion of management’s attention and resources and significant defense costs and other professional fees.

Tariffs could also have a material impact on our product costs and decrease our ability to sell our products and services to existing or potential customers as well as harm our ability to compete internationally. Recent escalations in tariffs imposed by the United States on imports from its trading partners, retaliatory actions taken by affected countries, as well as uncertainties concerning further changes in tariff and non-tariff trade policies, particularly regarding those between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and the between the United States and China, have been significant. The U.S. government has implemented additional broad tariffs on the import of most items from virtually all U.S. trading partners and has imposed particularly significant tariffs on imports from China. China responded by imposing significant tariffs on a variety of items imported from the United States, implementing new export controls on certain commodities, and imposing trade restrictions targeting particular U.S. companies. These tariffs could materially and adversely affect our ability to compete internationally. The future of these tariffs, as well as the possibility for new tariffs, remains very uncertain. Other causes of uncertainty include the effects of new tariffs implemented by the United States on imports from Mexico and Canada that do not qualify for duty-free treatment under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The macroeconomic effect of any such tariffs on major trading partners, including China, Mexico, and Canada could be significant, and our business and financial results could be negatively affected as a result.”

Shortages in the supply of silicon could adversely affect the availability and cost of the solar photovoltaic modules used in our solar energy systems.

Shortages of silicon or supply chain issues could adversely affect the availability and cost of our solar energy systems. Manufacturers of photovoltaic modules depend upon the availability and pricing of silicon, one of the primary materials used in photovoltaic modules. The worldwide market for silicon from time to time experiences a shortage of supply, which can cause the prices for photovoltaic modules to increase and supplies of photovoltaic modules become difficult to obtain. While we have been able to obtain sufficient supplies of solar photovoltaic modules to satisfy our needs to date, this may not be the case in the future. Future increases in the price of silicon or other materials and components could result in an increase in costs to us, price increases to our customers or reduced margins. Other international trade conditions such as work slowdowns and labor strikes at port facilities or major weather events can also adversely impact the availability and price of solar photovoltaic modules.

A material reduction in the retail price of electricity charged by electric utilities or other retail electricity providers would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Decreases in the retail price of electricity from electric utilities or from other retail electric providers, including other renewable energy sources such as larger-scale solar energy systems, could make our offerings less economically attractive. The price of electricity from utilities could decrease as a result of:

A reduction in electric utilities’ rates or changes to peak hour pricing policies or rate design (such as the adoption of a fixed or flat rate) could also make our offerings less competitive with the price of electricity from the electrical grid. If the cost of energy available from electric utilities or other providers were to decrease relative to solar energy generated from residential systems or if similar events impacting the economics of our offerings were to occur, we might have difficulty attracting new customers or existing customers might default or seek to terminate, cancel or otherwise avoid the obligations under their solar service agreements.

Electric utility statutes and regulations and changes to such statutes or regulations might present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to the purchase and use of our solar service offerings that may significantly reduce demand for such offerings.

Federal, state and local government statutes and regulations concerning electricity heavily influence the market for our solar service offerings and are constantly evolving. These statutes, regulations, and administrative rulings relate to electricity pricing, net metering, consumer protection, incentives, taxation, competition with utilities, and the interconnection of homeowner-owned and third party-owned solar energy systems to the electrical grid. Governments, often acting through state utility or public service commissions, change and adopt different rates for residential customers on a regular basis and these changes can have a negative impact on our ability to deliver savings, or energy bill management, to customers. Many utilities, their trade associations, and fossil fuel interests, which have significantly greater economic, technical, operational, and political resources than the residential solar industry, are currently challenging solar-related policies to reduce the competitiveness of residential solar energy. Any adverse changes in solar-related policies could have a negative impact on our business and prospects.

Technological changes in the solar power industry could render our products uncompetitive or obsolete, which could reduce our market share and cause our revenue and net income to decline.

The solar power industry is characterized by evolving technologies and standards, which developments place increasing demands on the improvement of our products, such as solar cells with higher conversion efficiency and larger and thinner silicon wafers and solar cells. Other companies may develop production technologies that enable them to produce silicon wafers, solar cells and solar modules with higher conversion efficiencies at a lower cost than our products. Some of our competitors are developing alternative and competing solar technologies that might require significantly less silicon than crystalline silicon wafers and solar cells, or no silicon at all. Technologies developed or adopted by others may prove more advantageous than ours for commercialization of solar power products and may render our products obsolete. We might need to invest significant resources in research and development to maintain our market position, to keep pace with technological advances in the solar power industry, and effectively compete in the future. Our failure to further refine and enhance our products and processes or to keep pace with evolving technologies and industry standards could cause our products to become uncompetitive or obsolete, which could materially adversely reduce our market share and affect our results of operations.

Already covered supply and demand in the energy market is volatile, and such volatility could have an adverse impact on electricity prices and a material adverse effect on our assets, liabilities, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

A portion of our operating revenues are tied, either directly or indirectly, to the wholesale market price for electricity in the markets in which we operate. Wholesale market electricity prices are impacted by a number of factors including: the price of fuel (for example, natural gas) that is used to generate electricity; the management of generation and the amount of excess generating capacity relative to load in a particular market; the cost of controlling emissions of pollution, including the cost of emitting carbon dioxide; the structure of the electricity market; and weather conditions (such as extremely hot or cold weather) that impact electrical load. More generally, there is uncertainty surrounding the trend in electricity demand growth, which is influenced by: macroeconomic conditions; absolute and relative energy prices; and energy conservation and demand-side management. Correspondingly, from a supply perspective, there are uncertainties associated with the timing of generating plant retirements — in part driven by environmental regulations — and with the scale, pace and structure of replacement capacity, again reflecting a complex interaction of economic and political pressures and environmental preferences. This volatility and uncertainty in the power market generally, including the non-renewable power market, could have a material adverse effect on our assets, liabilities, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The ability to deliver electricity to our various counterparties requires the availability of and access to interconnection facilities and transmission systems.

Our ability to sell electricity is impacted by the availability of, and access to, the various transmission systems to deliver power to our contractual delivery point and the arrangements and facilities for interconnecting the generation projects to the transmission systems. The absence of this availability and access, our inability to obtain reasonable terms and conditions for interconnection and transmission agreements, the operational failure or decommissioning of existing interconnection facilities or transmission facilities, the lack of adequate capacity on such interconnection or transmission facilities, curtailment as a result of transmission facility downtime, or the failure of any relevant jurisdiction to expand transmission facilities, may have a material adverse effect on our ability to deliver electricity to its various counterparties or the requirement of counterparties to accept and pay for energy delivery, which could materially and adversely affect our assets, liabilities, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may pursue acquisitions that involve inherent risks related to potential internal control weaknesses and significant deficiencies which may be costly for us to remedy and could impact management assessment of internal control effectiveness.

Although our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to our internal control effectiveness while we are a smaller reporting company, management is still responsible for assessing internal control effectiveness at a consolidated level. If we acquire companies and integrate them into our business, the process of integrating our existing operations with entities that could potentially have material weaknesses and/or significant deficiencies may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and may require significant financial resources to remedy any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies that would otherwise be available for the ongoing development or expansion of our existing business. These potential material weaknesses and deficiencies may be costly for us to remedy and properly assess internal control effectiveness.

Uncertain global macro-economic and political conditions could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our results of operations are materially affected by economic and political conditions in the U.S. and internationally, including inflation, deflation, interest rates, availability of capital, energy and commodity prices, trade laws and the effects of governmental initiatives to manage economic conditions.

The current invasion of Ukraine by Russia has escalated tensions among the U.S., NATO and Russia. The U.S. and other NATO member states, as well as non-member states, have announced new sanctions against Russia and certain Russian banks, enterprises and individuals. These and any future additional sanctions and any resulting conflict between Russia, the U.S. and NATO countries could have an adverse impact on our current operations.

Further, such invasion, ongoing military conflict, resulting sanctions and related countermeasures by NATO states, the U.S. and other countries are likely to lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions for equipment, which could have an adverse impact on our operations and financial performance.

We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, it could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance to the performance of other public companies.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible for and intends to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies for as long as it continues to be an emerging growth company, including, but not limited to, (a) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (b) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and (c) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year in which the market value of shares of common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of March 30 of that fiscal year, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which it has total annual gross revenue of $1.235 billion or more during such fiscal year (as indexed for inflation), (iii) the date on which it has issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in the prior three-year period or (iv) December 31, 2026, which is the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of common stock in CLIN’s IPO. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because it will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of its reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

As an emerging growth company, we may also take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to obtain an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting from our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our shares of common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our shares of common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active market for our shares of common stock and our share price may be more volatile.

Additionally, we qualify as a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We expect that we will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of any fiscal year for so long as either (a) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates does not equal or exceed $250 million as of the end of that year’s second quarter, or (b) our annual revenues did not equal or exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates did not equal or exceed $700 million as of the end of that year’s second quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

Our stock price may be volatile and may decline regardless of our operating performance.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors and may continue to fluctuate for these and other reasons, many of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:

The stock market has recently experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. The market prices of securities of companies have experienced fluctuations that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to their operating results. In the past, stockholders have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against companies, and particularly against companies who have recently “gone public” through a DeSPAC transaction, following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities. Any similar litigation against us could result in substantial costs, divert management’s attention and resources and harm its business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our stock price is subject to volatility, which could have a material adverse impact on investors and employee retention.

The price of our stock has experienced substantial price volatility and may continue to do so in the future. From January 1, 2024 to June 6, 2025, our stock price fluctuated between a low of $0.02 per share and a high of $31.75 per share. Additionally, the energy and technology industries, and the stock market as a whole have, from time to time, experienced extreme stock price and volume fluctuations that have affected stock prices in ways that may have been unrelated to the performance of the companies in these sectors. We believe the price of our stock should reflect expectations of future growth and profitability. If we fail to meet expectations related to future growth, profitability, or other market expectations, the price of our stock may decline significantly, which could have a material adverse impact on investor confidence and employee retention.

An active trading market for our common stock may not be sustained.

Our common stock is listed on OTCQB under the symbol “ALCE” and trades on that market. We cannot assure you that an active trading market for its common stock will be sustained. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of the liquidity of any trading market, your ability to sell your shares of common stock when desired or the prices that you may obtain for your shares.

As a result of being listed on the OTC Market and no longer listed on a national exchange, we face significant material adverse consequences, including but not limited to:

We may issue additional shares of common stock or other equity securities without your approval, which would dilute your ownership interests and may depress the market price of our common stock.

We have warrants outstanding to purchase up to 37,000,149 shares of our common stock. We will also have the ability to initially issue up to 2,240,000 shares of our common stock under the 2023 Plan (as defined below).

We may issue additional shares of common stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future in connection with, among other things, future acquisitions or repayment of outstanding indebtedness, without stockholder approval, in a number of circumstances.

Our issuance of additional shares of common stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank could, without limitation, have the following effects:

We identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting which, if not remediated appropriately or timely, could result in the loss of investor confidence and adversely impact our business operations and our stock price.

We are required to establish and maintain appropriate internal controls over financial reporting. Failure to establish those controls, or any failure of those controls once established, could adversely impact our public disclosures regarding our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, management’s assessment of internal controls over financial reporting may identify weaknesses and conditions that need to be addressed in our internal controls over financial reporting or other matters that may raise concerns for investors. Any actual or perceived weaknesses and conditions that need to be addressed in our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure of management’s assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting or disclosure of our public accounting firm’s attestation to or report on management’s assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting may have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. In addition, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefit of controls must be relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no system of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our Company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Further, controls can be circumvented by individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more persons, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is also based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, a control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and may not be detected.

We identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that existed as of December 31, 2024 due to (i) lack of an effective control environment commensurate with its financial reporting requirements; (ii) lack of design and maintenance of effective controls for communicating and sharing information within the Company; (iii) lack of design and maintenance of effective controls for transactions between related parties and affiliates recorded between itself, the parent company and its subsidiaries; (iv) lack of effective controls to address the identification of and accounting for certain non-routine, unusual or complex transactions and (v) lack of design and maintenance of formal accounting policies, procedures and controls to achieve complete, accurate and timely financial accounting, reporting and disclosures. Management has taken initial steps to remedy these weaknesses by increasing the capacity of our qualified financial personnel; implementing a monthly review with the appropriate responsible parties to review and confirm that the accounting department has received the proper documentation for various transactions; starting the process of formalizing documentation related to intercompany due to/from within the new organization structure; having third party experts review non routine, unusual and complex transactions; and working with an external consultant to review and assess the Company’s current internal control structure.

While we believe these efforts will improve our internal controls and address the underlying causes of the material weaknesses, such material weaknesses will not be remediated until our remediation plan has been fully implemented and we have concluded that our controls are operating effectively for a sufficient period of time. We cannot be certain that the steps we are taking will be sufficient to remediate the control deficiencies that led to our material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting or prevent future material weaknesses or control deficiencies from occurring. While we are working to remediate the material weaknesses as timely and efficiently as possible, at this time we cannot provide an estimate of costs expected to be incurred in connection with the implementation of this remediation plan, nor can we provide an estimate of the time it will take to complete this remediation plan. Even if management does establish effective remedial measures, we cannot guarantee that those internal controls and disclosure controls that we put in place will prevent all possible errors, mistakes or all fraud.

If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be in violation of covenants contained in the agreements governing our debt. We could also be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our shares are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could result in a material adverse effect on our business. These outcomes could subject us to litigation, civil or criminal investigations or enforcement actions requiring the expenditure of financial resources and diversion of management time, could negatively affect investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial statements and could also adversely impact our stock price and our access to the capital markets. 

Our internal controls over financial reporting may not be effective and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to certify as to their effectiveness, which could have a significant and adverse effect on our business and reputation.

We are required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of controls over financial reporting. When we are no longer an emerging growth company, our independent registered public accounting firm may be required to audit the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 in future Form 10-K filings. Our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event that it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating. 

Further, we may need to undertake various actions, such as implementing additional internal controls and procedures and hiring additional accounting or internal audit staff. Testing and maintaining internal controls can divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to the operation of our business. If we identify material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting or are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 or assert that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common stock could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources. 

We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the Restatement of our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of and for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting in this Annual Report and our 2023 Annual Reports on Form 10-K. Subsequent to the filing of the original Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2024, we identified some misstatements, requiring the restatement of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2024, which was partially caused by the same material weakness in internal control over financial reporting. As a result of such material weaknesses, the Restatement and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes, which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the Restatement and the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Adverse publicity and potential concerns from our customers relating to or arising from the Restatement could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

We could continue to be the subject of negative publicity focusing on the restatement and adjustment of our financial statements, and we may be adversely impacted by negative reactions from our customers or others with whom we do business. Concerns include the perception of the effort required to address our accounting and control environment. Continued adverse publicity and potential concerns from our customers could harm our business and have an adverse effect on our financial condition.

Delaware law and provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest difficult, thereby depressing the trading price of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could depress the trading price of the common stock by acting to discourage, delay, or prevent a change of control of us or changes in our management that our stockholders may deem advantageous. These provisions include, without limitation, the following:

Any provision of our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our Certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty, any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. These choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees and may discourage these types of lawsuits. This provision would not apply to claims brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our certificate of incorporation provides further that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. However, Section 22 of the Securities Act provides that federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction over lawsuits brought under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. To the extent the exclusive forum provision restricts the courts in which claims arising under the Securities Act may be brought, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a provision. We note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Furthermore, the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable. While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. If a court were to find the exclusive-forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm its business.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity

Item 2. Properties.

Our principal executive offices are located at 17 State Street, Suite 4000, New York, NY 10004.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings, which arise, in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm the Company’s business. Other than the following matters, we are not aware of any such legal proceedings that will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition or operating results.

On October 15, 2024 Sunrise Development LLC (“Sunrise”) requested a hearing be scheduled in binding arbitration against the Company, two of its former indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, ALT US 03 and ALT US 04, and a related party, Alternus Energy Group PLC (“AEG”), to be conducted in Minneapolis, MN in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”), claiming that approximately $5 million is due and owed to Sunrise pursuant to a settlement agreement by and among the parties, plus costs, expenses, legal fees and interest. On or about February 6, 2025, the Company entered into a second set of settlement terms with Sunrise, pursuant to which the Company agreed to make certain monthly payments to Sunrise, related to amounts allegedly owed by one of the Company’s former subsidiaries pursuant to a share purchase agreement, and in exchange Sunrise dismissed its arbitration case against the Company. As of March 10, 2025, the Company breached its payment obligations under the settlement terms. As a result, upon breach in March 2025, Sunrise alleges that approximately $5.7 million is immediately due and payable by the Company to Sunrise. Sunrise has commenced proceedings to file a stipulation with the arbitrator, under which the arbitration award would be entered against the Company. The Company is defending itself in this matter, claiming that a portion of this amount has already been repaid. The Company has accrued a liability for this loss contingency in the amount of approximately $5 million, which represents the contractual amount allegedly owed. It is reasonably possible that the potential loss may exceed our accrued liability due to costs, expenses, legal fees, and interest that are also alleged by Sunrise as owed, but at the time of filing this report, we are unable to determine an estimate of that possible additional loss in excess of the amount accrued.

On March 11, 2025, the Company was served a complaint filed in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware by SPAC Sponsor Capital Access (“SCAF”) , claiming that approximately $1.5 million is due and owed to SCAF pursuant to a settlement agreement by and among the parties, plus costs, expenses, legal fees, interest and damages, if proven. The Company has accrued a liability for this loss contingency in the amount of approximately $1.5 million, which represents the contractual amount allegedly owed. It is reasonably possible that the potential loss may exceed our accrued liability due to costs, expenses, legal fees, interest and damages that are also alleged by SCAF as owed, but at the time of filing this report, we are unable to determine an estimate of that possible additional loss in excess of the amount accrued. The parties are currently in further settlement discussions.

On May 8, 2025, the Company, Alternus Energy Group PLC (AEG) and one of AEG’s subsidiaries, Alternus Energy Americas Inc. (AEA), was served a Demand for Arbitration through JAMS in Washington DC by Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP (“Orrick”), claiming that approximately $1 million is due and owed to Orrick pursuant to an engagement agreement entered into with AEA, plus interest. The Company intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter and has filed a motion to dismiss itself from the arbitration as the Company was not a party to this engagement agreement nor is AEA a subsidiary of the Company.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock is trading on the OTC Market under the symbol “ALCE.”

Holders

As of June 6, 2025, there were 73 stockholders of record of our common stock and 1 stockholder of record of our Series A Super Voting Preferred Stock. Because many of our shares of common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, this number is not representative of the total number of beneficial owners of our stock.

Dividends

The Company has not paid any cash dividends on shares of our common stock to date. The payment of cash dividends in the future will depend upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition. The payment of any cash dividends will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time.

Series A Super Voting Preferred Stock

On February 14, 2025, the board of directors (the “Board”) of the Company declared the formation of and approved the issuance of an aggregate of 1 share of Series A Super Voting Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Series A”). On February 18, 2025, the Company filed a certificate of designation (the “Certificate of Designation”) with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware therein establishing the Series A Super Voting Preferred Stock and describing the rights, obligations and privileges of the Series A Super Voting Preferred Stock. Concurrently, the Company issued the 1 share of Series A on the same date, in book-entry form. Each share of Series A has a par value of $0.0001 per share. The Series A is not convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or series of stock or other securities of the Company. The Series A has no stated maturity and is not subject to any sinking fund. The holders of Series A shall not be entitled to receive any distributions in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company.

On March 21, 2025 the Company filed an Amended and Restated Certificate of Designation of its Series A, such that 10,000 shares are designated as Series A and issued to Mr. Vincent Browne and each share of the Series A is entitled to have the right to vote in an amount equal to 10,000 votes per share, voting with the common stock on all matters as a single class.

On April 24, 2025 the Company issued an additional 50,000 shares of Series A to Mr. Browne.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

On October 9, 2022, our board of directors approved and on December 4, 2023 our stockholders approved the Alternus Clean Energy Inc. 2023 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2023 Plan”). The 2023 Plan provides for the grant of the following types of stock awards: (i) incentive stock options, (ii) stock appreciation rights, (iii) restricted stock awards, (iv) restricted stock unit awards and (v) performance awards. The 2023 Plan is intended to help the Company secure and retain the services of eligible award recipients, provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and any affiliate and provide a means by which the eligible recipients may benefit from increases in value of the common stock. The Board originally reserved 320,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the grant of awards. On November 15, 2024 the board of directors and our stockholders approved an increase to reserve 2,240,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the grant of awards.

On March 21, 2025, Vincent Browne, our CEO and majority voting shareholder, representing 91% of the shares entitled to vote, approved an amendment to the Company’s 2023 Equity Incentive Plan relating to an increase in the number of shares of Common Stock that shall be available for the grant of awards under the Plan from 2,240,000 shares of Common Stock, so that the maximum aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued under the Plan is increased each fiscal year (the “Adjustment Date”) by an amount equal to the lesser of (i) that number of shares equal to 15% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock on the applicable Adjustment Date, less (a) the number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued under the Plan prior to the Adjustment Date, and (b) the number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued under any other stock option plan of the Company in effect as of the Adjustment Date; or (ii) such lesser number of shares of Common Stock as may be determined by the Board.

Currently no awards have been granted under the 2023 Plan. 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities 

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, the Company made the following unregistered sales securities.

None of the foregoing transactions involved any underwriters, underwriting discounts or commissions, or any public offering. We believe each of these transactions was exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act (and Regulation D promulgated thereunder) as transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering or Rule 701 promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer under benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation as provided under Rule 701. The recipients of the securities in each of these transactions represented their intentions to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were placed on the share certificates issued in these transactions. All recipients had adequate access, through their relationships with us, to information about us. The sales of these securities were made without any general solicitation or advertising.

The Company had no sales of unregistered equity securities other than as described above during the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K that were not previously reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Transfer Agent

The transfer agent for our common stock and warrant agent is Equiniti Trust Company, LLC (formerly known as American Stock Transfer & Trust Company).

Item 6. [Reserved]

The Company is a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and is not required to provide the information required under this item.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

We are a renewable energy company committed to advancing sustainable solutions. With a focus on utility-scale projects, such as solar parks, and complementary technologies like microgrids and battery storage, we aim to deliver comprehensive, clean energy across Europe and America. Through strategic investments, we are building a portfolio poised to lead the transition to a sustainable energy future.

The Company was incorporated in Delaware on May 14, 2021, and was originally known as Clean Earth Acquisitions Corp. (“Clean Earth”).

On October 12, 2022, Clean Earth entered into a Business Combination Agreement, as amended by that certain First Amendment to the Business Combination Agreement, dated as of April 12, 2023 (the “First BCA Amendment”) (as amended by the First BCA Amendment, the “Initial Business Combination Agreement”), and as amended and restated by that certain Amended and Restated Business Combination Agreement, dated as of December 22, 2023 (the “A&R BCA”) (the Initial Business Combination Agreement, as amended and restated by the A&R BCA, the “Business Combination Agreement”), by and among Clean Earth, Alternus Energy Group Plc (“AEG”), and the Sponsor. Following the approval of the Initial Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby at the special meeting of the stockholders of Clean Earth held on December 4, 2023, the Company consummated the Business Combination on December 22, 2023. In accordance with the Business Combination Agreement, Clean Earth issued 2,300,000 shares of common stock of Clean Earth, par value $0.0001 per share, to AEG, and AEG transferred to Clean Earth, and Clean Earth received from AEG, all of the issued and outstanding equity interests in the Acquired Subsidiaries (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement) (the “Equity Exchange,” and together with the other transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, the “Business Combination”). In connection with the Closing, the Company changed its name from Clean Earth Acquisition Corp. to Alternus Clean Energy, Inc.

The Company uses annual recurring revenues as a key metric in its financial management information and believes this method better reflects the long-term stability of operations into the future. Annual recurring revenues are defined as the estimated future revenue generated by operating solar parks based on the remaining term by the price received per mega-watt hour (MWh) of energy produced multiplied by the estimated production from each solar park over a full year of operation. It should be noted that the actual revenues reported by the Company in a particular year may be lower than the annual recurring revenues because not all parks may be revenue generating for the full year in their first year of operation. The Company must also account for the timing of acquisitions that take place throughout the financial year.

Impacts of the Ukraine/Russia conflict

The geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe intensified on February 24, 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war between the two countries continues to evolve as military activity proceeds and additional sanctions are imposed. In addition to the human toll and impact of the events on entities that have operations in Russia, Ukraine, or neighboring countries (e.g., Belarus, Poland, Romania) or that conduct business with their counterparties, the war is increasingly affecting economic and global financial markets and exacerbating ongoing economic challenges, including issues such as rising inflation and global supply-chain disruption. These events have not impacted the physical operations of our facilities in Romania. However, the Company has seen fluctuations in energy rates due to inflation, increased interest rates, and other macro-economic factors.

Known trends or Uncertainties

The Company has a working capital deficiency and negative equity. Management has determined there is doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern if planned financing and/or equity raises do not complete. Refer to Footnote 2 of the accompanying financial statements.

The Company is currently working on several processes to address the going concern issue. We are working with multiple global banks and funds to secure the necessary corporate and project level financing to execute our transatlantic business plan.

Competitive Strengths

The Company believes the following competitive strengths have contributed and will continue to contribute to its success:

We operate as a comprehensive energy provider, managing the full renewable energy value chain across both utility scale and behind-the-meter microgrid markets. This “develop-to-own or sell” strategy enables the Company to capture greater margin and retain control from early-stage development through to long-term operations or strategic monetization, unlike peers focused solely on operational asset acquisitions.

The leadership team brings decades of collective experience in capital markets, energy infrastructure, project development, and public company governance. Recent partnerships also bolster technical and operational capabilities in areas such as microgrids, reinforcing the Company’s strategic direction.

Our approach emphasizes projects with minimal to no owner equity requirements, particularly in the U.S. where tax equity (ITC) and long-term debt can fund up to 100% of project costs. This model allows for rapid, capital-efficient scaling and high-return deployments, freeing up corporate equity for strategic growth.

With operations and revenue targets split between North America and Europe by 2029, Alternus is uniquely positioned to reduce geopolitical and regulatory concentration risk. The diversified presence enhances resilience and positions the Company to capture incentives from multiple clean energy policy regimes.

Through partnerships such as with Hover Energy, Alternus delivers differentiated microgrid solutions combining rooftop wind, solar, storage, and AI-based energy management systems. This provides a compelling and exclusive offering, particularly in the high-growth commercial and industrial market segments.

The Company’s ability to enter new geographies and establish strong local partnerships has enabled consistent expansion across Europe and North America. These local relationships and Alternus’ development track record provide a competitive edge in securing grid access, permits, and financing in highly competitive markets.

Alternus is not tied to specific technologies or suppliers, allowing it to source best-in-class components and services globally. This flexibility supports cost optimization and futureproofing as new solutions and innovations emerge in the renewable energy space.

Vision and Strategy:

We are expanding beyond our core utility solar operations by integrating microgrids and on-site generation systems that provide customers with energy resilience, grid independence, and long-term cost savings. These customer deployed systems enable faster revenue realization and lower capital intensity compared to utility scale projects.

To accelerate this transition, we are actively forming strategic partnerships and pursuing targeted ventures and acquisitions in high-growth areas such as battery storage and circular economy energy systems. These additions enhance our technical capabilities, diversify revenue streams, and strengthen our ability to meet the rising demand for consistent power driven by AI, data centers, and industrial onshoring.

This strategy builds on our foundation as an integrated independent power producer (IPP) with experience developing a portfolio of renewable energy assets across North America and Europe. By owning and operating long-term contracted energy projects, we generate stable, recurring income while unlocking lasting value for shareholders.

With strong regulatory tailwinds and rapidly growing global demand for sustainable and reliable energy, Alternus is well positioned to scale as a more comprehensive energy provider, broadening our market reach, enhancing financial performance, and advancing our mission to power a cleaner, more resilient energy future.

To achieve its goals, the Company intends to pursue the following strategies:

Given the long-term nature of our business, Alternus operates with a strategic focus on sustained value creation rather than short-term quarterly performance. Our approach prioritizes maximizing long-term shareholder returns by developing projects from the ground up and acquiring assets at various stages of maturity, whether in development, under construction, or already operational. In parallel, we are expanding into complementary market segments that enhance our operational capabilities and financial performance, strengthening the foundation for consistent, scalable growth.  

Key Factors that Significantly Affect Company Results of Operations and Business

The Company expects inflation and energy rate fluctuations will affect its results of operations.

Offtake Contracts

Company revenue is primarily a function of the volume of electricity generated and sold by its renewable energy facilities as well as, where applicable, the sale of green energy certificates and other environmental attributes related to energy generation. The Company’s current portfolio of renewable energy facilities is generally contracted under long-term FiT programs or PPAs with investment grade counterparties. Pricing of the electricity sold under these FiTs and PPAs is generally fixed for the duration of the contract, although some of its PPAs have price escalators based on an index (such as the consumer price index) or other rates specified in the applicable PPA.

Project Operations and Generation Availability

The Company revenue is a function of the volume of electricity generated and sold by Company renewable energy facilities. The volume of electricity generated and sold by the Company’s renewable energy facilities during a particular period is impacted by the number of facilities that have achieved commercial operations, as well as both scheduled and unexpected repair and maintenance required to keep its facilities operational.

The costs the Company incurs to operate, maintain, and manage renewable energy facilities also affect the results of operations. Equipment performance represents the primary factor affecting the Company’s operating results because equipment downtime impacts the volume of the electricity that the Company can generate from its renewable energy facilities. The volume of electricity generated and sold by the Company’s facilities will also be negatively impacted if any facilities experience higher than normal downtime because of equipment failures, electrical grid disruption or curtailment, weather disruptions, or other events beyond the Company’s control.

Seasonality and Resource Variability

The amount of electricity produced and revenues generated by the Company’s solar generation facilities is dependent in part on the amount of sunlight, or irradiation, where the assets are located. As shorter daylight hours in winter months result in less irradiation, the electricity generated by these facilities will vary depending on the season. Irradiation can also be variable at a particular location from period to period due to weather or other meteorological patterns, which can affect operating results. As most of the Company’s solar power plants are in the Northern Hemisphere, the Company expects its current solar portfolio’s power generation to be at its lowest during the first and fourth quarters of each year. Therefore, the Company expects first and fourth quarter solar revenue to be lower than in other quarters. As a result, on average, each solar park generates approximately 15% of its annual revenues in Q1 every year, 35% in each of Q2 and Q3, and the remaining 15% in Q4. The Company’s costs are relatively flat over the year, and so the Company will always report lower profits in Q1 and Q4 as compared to the middle of the year.

Interest Rates on Company Debt

Interest rates on the Company’s senior debt are mostly variable for the full term of the debt at interest rates ranging from 6% to 30%. The relative certainty of cash flows provides sufficient coverage ratios.

In addition to the project specific senior debt, the Company uses a small number of promissory notes to reduce, and in some cases eliminate, the requirement for the Company to provide equity in the acquisition of the projects. As of December 31, 2024, 62.2% of the Company’s total liabilities were project-related debt.

Cash Distribution Restrictions

In certain cases, the Company, through its subsidiaries, obtain project-level or other limited or non-recourse financing for Company renewable energy facilities which may limit these subsidiaries’ ability to distribute funds to the Company for corporate operational costs. These limitations typically require that the project-level cash is used to meet debt obligations and fund operating reserves of the operating subsidiary. These financing arrangements also generally limit the Company’s ability to distribute funds generated from the projects if defaults have occurred or would occur with the giving of notice or the lapse of time or both.

Renewable Energy Facility Acquisitions and Investments

The Company’s long-term growth strategy is dependent on its ability to acquire additional renewable power generation assets. This growth is expected to be comprised of additional acquisitions across the Company’s scope of operations both in its current focus countries and new countries. Our operating revenues are insufficient to fund our operations, and our assets already are pledged to secure our indebtedness to various third party secured creditors, respectively. The unavailability of additional financing could require us to delay, scale back, or terminate our acquisition efforts as well as our own business activities, which would have a material adverse effect on the Company and its viability and prospects.

Management believes renewable power has been one of the fastest growing sources of electricity generation globally over the past decade. The Company expects the renewable energy generation segment to continue to offer growth opportunities driven by:

Access to Capital Markets

The Company’s ability to acquire additional clean power generation assets and manage its other commitments will likely be dependent on its ability to raise or borrow additional funds and access debt and equity capital markets, including the equity capital markets, the corporate debt markets, and the project finance market for project-level debt. The Company accessed the capital markets several times in 2023 and 2024 in connection with long-term project debt, and corporate loans and equity. Limitations on the Company’s ability to access the corporate and project finance debt and equity capital markets in the future on terms that are accretive to its existing cash flows would be expected to negatively affect its results of operations, business, and future growth.

Foreign Exchange

The Company’s operating results are reported in United States dollars (USD). The Company’s current project revenue and expenses are generated in other currencies, including the Euro (EUR), the Polish Zloty (PLN), and the Romanian Lei (RON). This mix may continue to change in the future if the Company elects to alter the mix of its portfolio within its existing markets or elect to expand into new markets. In addition, the Company’s investments (including intercompany loans) in renewable energy facilities in foreign countries are exposed to foreign currency fluctuations. As a result, the Company expects revenues and expenses will be exposed to foreign exchange fluctuations in local currencies where the Company’s renewable energy facilities are located. To the extent the Company does not hedge these exposures, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates could negatively impact profitability and financial position.

Key Metrics

Operating Metrics

The Company regularly reviews several operating metrics to evaluate its performance, identify trends affecting its business, formulate financial projections, and make certain strategic decisions. The Company considers a solar park operating when it has achieved connection and begins selling electricity to the energy grid.

Operating Nameplate capacity

The Company measures the electricity-generating production capacity of its renewable energy facilities in nameplate capacity. The Company expresses nameplate capacity in direct current (DC), for all facilities. The size of the Company’s renewable energy facilities varies significantly among the assets comprising its portfolio.

The Company believes the combined nameplate capacity of its portfolio is indicative of its overall production capacity and period to period comparisons of its nameplate capacity are indicative of the growth rate of its business. The production capacity listed below for Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, and the United States reflect the actual production from those parks while they were owned by or operating under the Company for the year ended December 31, 2024. The parks were sold on January 19, 2024, February 21, 2024, October 3, 2024, and November 5, 2024, respectively. Refer to Footnotes 19 and 20 for additional information on the sale/disposal of the parks.

The table below outlines the Company’s operating renewable energy facilities as of December 31, 2024 and 2023:

Megawatt hours sold

Megawatt hours sold refers to the actual volume of electricity sold by the Company’s renewable energy facilities during a particular period. The Company tracks MWh sold as an indicator of its ability to realize cash flows from the generation of electricity at its renewable energy facilities. The megawatt hours listed below for Poland, the Netherlands, Romania, and the United States reflect the actual volume of electricity sold during the year ended December 31, 2024. The parks were sold on January 19, 2024, February 21, 2024, October 3, 2024, and November 5, 2024, respectively. Refer to Footnotes 19 and 20 for additional information on the sale/disposal of the parks.

The Company’s MWh sold for renewable energy facilities for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, were as follows:

Consolidated Results of Operations

The following table illustrates the consolidated results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):

Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024 compared to December 31, 2023.

The Company generates its revenue from the sale of electricity from its solar parks. The revenue is from FiT, PPA, REC, or in the day-ahead or spot market.

Revenue

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:

Revenue for continuing operations decreased by $3.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 as there was only one country producing revenue in 2024 (Lightwave parks) compared to the additional 11 Italian parks that were producing revenue in 2023. Furthermore, the total revenue for 2024 accounts for only 10 months as the Company deconsolidated Lightwave Renewables, LLC and sold 100% of its equity ownership to AEG (parent company) on November 5, 2024. Refer to Footnote 20 for additional deconsolidation information.

Revenue for discontinued operations decreased by $17.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. All operating parks in Poland and the Netherlands were sold on January 19, 2024 and February 21, 2024, respectively, resulting in a $10.3 million decrease in revenues. Romanian revenues decreased by $6.9 million due to a lower volume of Green Certificates being sold in 2024 and lower energy rates obtained for energy production in 2024. Furthermore, the total Romanian revenue for 2024 accounts for only nine months as the Company sold the Romanian operating parks on October 3, 2024. Refer to Footnote 19 for additional sale information.

Cost of Revenues

The Company capitalizes its equipment costs, development costs, engineering costs, and construction related costs that are deemed recoverable. The Company’s cost of revenues with regard to its solar parks is primarily a result of the asset management, operations, and maintenance, as well as tax, insurance, and lease expenses. Certain economic incentive programs, such as FiT regimes, generally include mechanisms that ratchet down incentives over time. As a result, the Company seeks to connect its solar parks to the local power grids and commence operations in a timely manner to benefit from more favorable existing incentives. Therefore, the Company generally seeks to make capital investments during times when incentives are most favorable.

Cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:

Cost of revenues for continuing operations decreased by $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 as there was only one country with operating parks in 2024 (Lightwave parks) compared to the additional 11 Italian parks in 2023. Furthermore, the total costs of revenue for 2024 accounts for only 10 months as the Company deconsolidated Lightwave Renewables, LLC and sold 100% of its equity ownership to AEG (parent company) on November 5, 2024. Refer to Footnote 20 for additional deconsolidation information.

Gross margins were 17% of sales for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to 63% for the same period in 2023, mainly due to the exclusion of Italian operating parks that were sold in December 2023.

Cost of revenues for discontinued operations decreased by $3.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. All operating parks in Poland and the Netherlands were sold on January 19, 2024 and February 21, 2024, respectively, resulting in a $4.0 million decrease in cost of revenues. Romanian parks had a $0.8 million increase in operational costs driven by higher costs of energy acquisition for contracted revenues in the period. Furthermore, the total Romanian costs of revenue for 2024 accounts for only nine months as the Company sold the Romanian operating parks on October 3, 2024. Refer to Footnote 19 for additional sale information.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general, and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows: