Sun Contracting Group: Solar giant files for insolvency

A major player in the European solar market is insolvent: The Sun Contracting Group has filed for bankruptcy in Austria. This also affects German farmers.

One of Europe's best-known photovoltaic companies is insolvent: On Friday, October 31, 2025, Liechtenstein-based Sun Contracting AG filed for bankruptcy . Five subsidiaries in Austria also filed for insolvency proceedings at the Linz Regional Court. The total debts amount to approximately 47 million euros.

According to the Alpine Creditors' Association (AKV), the affected companies are heavily indebted and are not to be continued. The "Kleine Zeitung" also reports that no restructuring is planned – the companies are to be completely liquidated. This affects a group that had described itself as one of the largest providers of photovoltaic contracting in Europe.

In the so-called contracting model, solar power systems are installed on the roofs of companies, municipalities, or farms – usually without any investment from the owners themselves. The operating company – in this case, Sun Contracting – handles the planning, construction, maintenance, and financing, and earns money from the solar power generated.

Sun Contracting had been on the market for over ten years, according to company information, active in eight countries and particularly present in the agricultural sector. In Germany, for example, the group reportedly operates 34 plants, many of them on the roofs of barns or machine sheds.

The business model was financed through bonds and subordinated loans. However, rising construction costs, high inflation , expensive loans, and sharply falling electricity prices are said to have jeopardized the concept. Most recently, there were even negative electricity prices – periods when operators had to pay to feed electricity into the grid. This apparently led to the shutdown of PV systems, further complicating the economic viability of the operation.

According to the "Kleine Zeitung," the five affected subsidiaries in Austria have approximately €47 million in debt compared to assets of only about €16.6 million. The largest single company, Sun Contracting Projekt GmbH, is said to have liabilities exceeding €18 million.

According to the credit protection association KSV, a total of 127 creditors are affected – including apparently more than 1,000 small investors who provided crowdfunding capital via online platforms. However, there is bad news for them: since these are legally considered subordinated loans, they are not protected in the insolvency proceedings and will likely lose their investment.

Authorities had already taken action previously: As early as June 2024, the Hungarian financial supervisory authority MNB is said to have imposed a fine of around one million euros on the company – for the unauthorized distribution of bonds, reports fondsprofessionell.at, among others.