Real Goods stock falls in Wall Street debut

Real Goods Solar stock fell 12 percent Thursday in its debut on Wall Street after the Hopland company raised $55 million in its initial public offering.

Real Goods sold 5.5 million shares at $10 a share in a bid to expand sales and acquire competitors.

The stock opened at $9 a share Thursday and fell as low as $8.05 in mid-day trading. It closed at $8.80 on the Nasdaq market, where it is listed under the symbol “RSOL.”

Real Goods Solar was a subsidiary of Gaiam, a Broomfield, Colo., company that produces DVDs, CDs, books and catalogs on lifestyles and healthy living.

Founded in 1978 by John Schaeffer, Real Goods Solar designs, purchases and installs solar energy systems for homes and small businesses. Schaeffer, who remains chief executive officer, sold the company to Gaiam in 2000.

Real Goods Solar has installed more than 2,400 residential and small commercial solar energy systems and sold a variety of solar products to more than 30,000 customers. It employs 83 people.

The solar market has heated up in recent years, particularly in California where the state began offering $3 billion in subsidies last year to put solar electric systems on a million rooftops over the next decade.

Real Goods and other larger firms are expanding in the state by purchasing smaller companies or opening multiple offices.

A combination of rising energy demand and the prospect for higher electricity rates is leading a growing number of home and business owners to go solar.

Real Goods Solar plans to expand into new markets where competitors have little brand recognition and target other states with financial incentives for installing solar, according to the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company also could continue acquiring competing businesses, according to its filings.

Potential hurdles to those plans include the high cost of installing solar energy systems, as well as rising prices for silicon due to a global shortage of the basic material for solar panels, according to the company’s filings.