Powin Energy
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Powin Energy was a Portland, Oregon-based battery energy storage integrator founded in 2011. It engineered and installed utility-scale battery energy storage systems under Energy Supply Agreements and serviced them through long-term service agreements, operating in Vietnam, China, Canada, Australia and Spain. By 2023 it had more than 17 GWh of projects deployed or under construction, and had raised about $400 million.
02 / Powin Energy FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Powin filed for Chapter 11 citing severe liquidity constraints, an extreme overdependence on trade credit, mounting customer claims for liquidated damages over alleged performance delays, and damaged credibility with customers. Chinese manufacturers' competition, US tariff and regulatory pressure on Chinese battery supply chains, and capital-intensity across the storage sector squeezed its balance sheet even as demand for storage grew. A $200 million KKR-backed revolving credit facility secured in 2023 could not prevent the downturn.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Powin Energy founded in Portland, Oregon (record year 2011; some industry sources cite 2016).
- Scale and credit facility
Powin reported 17+ GWh of projects deployed or under construction and secured a $200 million revolving credit facility backed by KKR-managed insurance funds.
- Chapter 11 filing
On June 10, 2025 Powin filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey, citing liquidity constraints and trade-credit dependence; it warned of nearly 250 layoffs under the WARN Act. FlexGen bid to acquire its assets during proceedings.
- Liquidation plan
In October 2025 Powin filed a joint Chapter 11 liquidation plan after $54 million in asset sales, with an estimated $300 million in unsecured debt.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / AFTERMATH
Aftermath and lessons
Powin's collapse became part of a 2025 clean-energy liquidity crisis wave, alongside Sunnova's Chapter 11 filing and Northvolt's bankruptcy. Its assets were acquired by rival FlexGen. The case showed that even leading integrators with 17 GWh of pipeline could be undone by trade-credit dependence, project delays and geopolitical supply-chain pressure.