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Risk factors

An investment in our Class A common stock offered by this prospectus involves a substantial risk of loss. You should carefully consider these risks factors, together with all the other information included in this prospectus, before you decide to purchase shares of our Class A common stock. We believe the risks and uncertainties described below are the most significant ones we face. The occurrence of any of the following factors could harm our business. In that case, the trading price of our Class A common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risk Factors Related to Our Business and Our Industry

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, and 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 may be unable to grow our business at the rate we desire. In addition, demand for solar energy systems in our targeted markets may not develop or may develop to a lesser extent or more slowly than we anticipate. Many factors may affect the demand for solar energy systems, including the following:

A drop in the retail price of conventional energy or non-solar renewable energy sources may negatively impact our business.

The demand for our solar energy systems depends in part on the price of conventional energy, which affects return on investment resulting from the purchase of solar energy systems. Fluctuations in economic and market conditions that impact the prices of conventional and non-solar renewable energy sources, such as decreases in the prices of oil and other fossil fuels, could cause the demand for solar energy systems to decline, which would have a negative impact on our business. Changes in utility electric rates could also have a negative effect on our business.

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The reduction, elimination or expiration of government subsidies and economic incentives for solar energy systems could reduce the demand for our products.

Government subsidies are an important factor in the economic determination to purchase a solar energy system. Certain states, including California and Colorado, localities and utilities offer incentives to offset a portion of the cost of qualified solar energy systems. These incentives can take many forms, including direct rebates, state tax credits, system performance payments and renewable energy credits, or RECs. The reduction or elimination of such incentives or delays or interruptions in the implementation of favorable federal or state laws could substantially increase the cost of our systems to our customers, resulting in a significant reduction in demand for our solar energy systems, which would negatively impact our business.

Existing regulations, and changes to such regulations, may present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to the installation of solar energy systems, which may significantly reduce demand for our solar energy systems.

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

Existing regulations and policies pertaining to electricity pricing and technical interconnection of customer-owned electricity generation and changes to these regulations and policies may deter the purchase and use of solar energy systems and negatively impact development of the solar energy industry.

The market for solar energy systems 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. For example, there currently exist metering caps in certain jurisdictions, which limit the aggregate amount of power that may be sold by solar power generators into the electric grid. These regulations and policies have been modified in the past and may be modified in the future in ways that could deter purchases of solar energy systems and investment in the research and development of solar energy technology. For example, without a mandated regulatory exception for solar energy systems, utility customers are often charged interconnection or standby fees for putting distributed power generation on the electric utility grid. Such fees could increase the cost to our customers of using solar energy systems and make them less desirable, thereby harming our business, operating results and financial condition. Changes in net metering policies could also deter the purchase and use of solar energy systems. In addition, electricity generated by solar energy systems competes primarily with expensive peak hour electricity rates rather than with the less expensive average price of electricity. Modifications to the peak hour pricing policies of utilities, such as to a flat rate, would require solar energy systems to achieve lower prices in order to compete with the price of electricity.

Our inability to respond to changing technologies and issues presented by new technologies could harm our business.

The solar energy industry is subject to technological change. If we rely on products and technologies that are not attractive to customers, or if we are unable to respond appropriately to changing technologies and changes in product function and quality, we may not be successful in capturing or retaining a significant market share. In addition, any new technologies utilized in our solar energy systems may not perform as expected or as desired, in which event our adoption of such products or technologies may harm our business.

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We derive all of the revenue from our solar energy integration services from sales in two states.

We currently derive all of the revenue from our solar energy integration services from projects in California and Colorado. This geographic concentration exposes us to growth rates, economic conditions, and other factors that may be specific to those states to which we would be less subject if we were more geographically diversified. The growth of our business will require us to expand our operations in California and Colorado and to commence operations in other states. Any geographic expansion efforts that we may make may not be successful, which would limit our growth opportunities.

Our success may depend in part on our ability to continue to make successful acquisitions.

As part of our business strategy, we plan to expand our operations through strategic acquisitions in our current markets and in new geographic markets. We acquired Marin Solar in November 2007 and Carlson Solar in January 2008. We cannot accurately predict the timing, size and success of our acquisition efforts. Our acquisition strategy involves significant risks, including the following:

These risks, as well as other circumstances that often accompany expansion through acquisitions, could inhibit our growth and negatively impact our operating results. In addition, the size, timing and success of any future acquisitions may cause substantial fluctuations in our operating results from quarter to quarter. Consequently, our operating results for any quarter may not be indicative of the results that may be achieved for any subsequent quarter or for a full fiscal year. These fluctuations could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Our failure to integrate the operations of acquired businesses successfully into our operations or to manage our anticipated growth effectively could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

In order to pursue a successful acquisition strategy, we must integrate the operations of acquired businesses into our operations, including centralizing certain functions to achieve cost savings and pursuing programs and processes that leverage our revenue and growth opportunities. The integration of the management, operations, and facilities of acquired businesses with our own could involve difficulties, which could adversely affect our growth rate and operating results. We may be unable to complete effectively the integration of the management, operations, facilities and accounting and information systems of acquired businesses with our own; to manage efficiently the combined operations of the acquired businesses with our operations; to achieve our operating, growth and performance goals for acquired businesses; to achieve additional

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revenue as a result of our expanded operations; or to achieve operating efficiencies or otherwise realize cost savings as a result of anticipated acquisition synergies. Our rate of growth and operating performance may suffer if we fail to manage acquired businesses profitably without substantial additional costs or operational problems or to implement effectively combined growth and operating strategies.

We may require significant additional funds, the amount of which will depend upon our working capital and general corporate needs and the size, timing and structure of future acquisitions.

Our operations may not generate sufficient cash to enable us to operate or expand our business. Any borrowings made to finance future acquisitions or for operations could make us more vulnerable to a downturn in our operating results, a downturn in economic conditions or increases in interest rates on future borrowings. If our cash flow from operations is insufficient to meet our debt service requirements, we could be required to sell additional equity securities, refinance our obligations or dispose of assets in order to meet our debt service requirements. Adequate financing may not be available if and when we need it or may not be available on terms acceptable to us. In addition, our operations may not generate sufficient cash for our acquisition plans. The extent to which we would be able or willing to use our equity to consummate future acquisitions will depend on the market price of our equity from time to time and the willingness of potential sellers to accept our equity as full or partial payment. Using our equity for this purpose also may result in significant dilution to our shareholders. To the extent that we are unable to use our equity to make future acquisitions, our ability to grow through acquisitions may be limited by the extent to which we are able to raise capital for this purpose through debt or equity financings. The failure to obtain sufficient financing on favorable terms and conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results and growth prospects.

The loss of or failure to hire additional personnel could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and our ability to expand.

The expansion of our business could place a significant strain on our managerial, financial and personnel resources, particularly given our current reliance on our Chairman, Jirka Rysavy, who also is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gaiam. To reach our goals, we must successfully recruit, train, motivate and retain additional employees, including management and technical personnel, integrate new employees into our overall operations and enhance our financial and accounting systems, controls and reporting systems. While we believe we have personnel sufficient for the current requirements of our business, expansion of our business could require us to employ additional personnel. The loss of personnel or our failure to hire additional personnel could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and our ability to expand.

Our success depends on the value of our Real Goods brand.

We depend on the name recognition of our Real Goods brand in our marketing efforts. Maintaining and building recognition of our brand are important to expanding our customer base. If the value of our brand were adversely affected, our ability to attract customers would be negatively impacted and our growth could be impaired.

We depend upon a limited number of suppliers for the components used in our solar energy systems.

We rely on third-party suppliers for components used in our solar energy systems. Sharp, SunPower and Kyocera Solar currently account for over 90% of our purchases of solar PV modules; and Xantrex, Fronius, PVPowered and SMA currently account for over 90% of our purchases of inverters. The failure of our suppliers to supply us with components in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms could result in lost orders, delay our project schedules and harm our operating results and business expansion efforts. Our orders with certain of our suppliers may represent a very small portion of their

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total business. As a result, these suppliers may not give priority to our business, leading to potential delays in or cancellation of our orders. If any of our suppliers were to fail to supply our needs on a timely basis or to cease providing us key components we use, we would be required to secure alternative sources of supply. We may have difficulty securing alternative sources of supply in a timely manner and on commercially reasonable terms. If this were to occur, our business would be harmed.

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

Shortages of silicon could adversely affect the availability and cost of the solar PV modules we use in our solar energy systems. Manufacturers of solar PV modules depend upon the availability and pricing of silicon, one of the primary materials used in the manufacture of solar PV modules. The worldwide market for silicon from time to time experiences a shortage of supply, primarily because of demand for silicon by the semiconductor industry. Shortages of silicon cause the prices for solar PV modules to increase and supplies to become difficult to obtain. While we have been able to obtain sufficient supplies of solar PV modules to satisfy our needs to date, this may not be the case in the future. Future increases in the price of silicon could result in an increase in costs to us, price increases to our customers or reduced margins.

Because the solar energy system installation market is highly competitive and has low barriers to entry, we may face the loss of market share or reduced margins.

The solar energy system installation market is highly competitive and fragmented with low barriers to entry. We currently compete with a large number of relatively small installers and integrators, some of which do not have extensive industry experience and may lack adequate systems and capital, but some of which benefit from operating efficiencies or from having lower overhead, which enables them to offer lower prices. As the solar energy industry expands and industry consolidation occurs, we are more likely to encounter competition from larger companies, some of which may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources and greater name recognition than we do.

We believe that our ability to compete depends in part on a number of factors outside of our control, including the following:

Competition in the solar energy system installation market may increase in the future as a result of low barriers to entry. Increased industry competition could result in reductions in price, margins, and market share and in greater competition for qualified personnel. Our business and operating results would be adversely affected if we are unable to compete effectively.

Our failure to meet customer expectations in the performance of our services, and the risks and liabilities associated with placing our employees and technicians in our customers’ homes and businesses could give rise to claims against us.

Our failure or inability to meet customer expectations in the performance of our services could damage our reputation or result in claims against us. In addition, we are subject to various risks and liabilities associated with our employees and technicians providing installation services in the homes and businesses of our customers, including possible claims of errors and omissions, harassment, theft of customer property, criminal activity and other claims.

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Product liability claims against us could result in adverse publicity and potentially significant monetary damages.

As a seller of consumer products, we face an inherent risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that our solar energy systems’ use results in injuries. Since solar energy systems are electricity producing devices, it is possible that our products could result in injury, whether by product malfunctions, defects, improper installation or other causes. If such injuries or claims of injuries were to occur, we could incur monetary damages and our business could be adversely affected by any resulting negative publicity. The successful assertion of product liability claims against us also could result in potentially significant monetary damages and, if our insurance protection is inadequate to cover these claims, could require us to make significant payments from our own resources.

We may be subject to unexpected warranty expenses or service claims that could reduce our profits.

As a result of the length of the warranty periods we provide, we bear the risk of warranty claims long after we have completed the installation of a solar energy system. Our current standard warranty for our installation services includes a 10-year warranty period for defects in material and workmanship in California and a five-year warranty period for defects in material and workmanship in Colorado. In addition, most manufacturers of solar PV modules offer a 25-year warranty period for declines in power performance. Although we maintain a warranty reserve for potential warranty or service claims and we have not had material warranty claims in the past, claims in excess of our reserve could adversely affect our operating results. Our failure to predict accurately future warranty claims could result in unexpected volatility in our financial condition.

We rely upon our catalog and Internet sales channels for potential customers, and interruptions or failures associated with these sales channels could adversely impact our overall business.

We rely upon our Real Goods catalog and Internet channels to increase the awareness of the Real Goods brand and generate potential solar energy system purchaser leads. We believe these cross-marketing channels provide us with an advantage over our competitors because customers that purchase products through these channels may become potential buyers of solar energy systems. As a result, interruptions or failures associated with these channels could have an adverse impact on our business that goes beyond their normal contribution to our revenue.

We rely on communications and shipping networks to deliver our products.

Given our emphasis on customer service, the efficient and uninterrupted operation of order-processing and fulfillment functions is critical to our catalog and Internet business. To maintain a high level of customer service, we rely on a number of third-party service providers, such as delivery companies, telecommunications companies and printers. Any interruption in services from our principal third-party service providers, including delays or disruptions resulting from labor disputes, power outages, human error, adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, could materially and adversely affect our business. In addition, products that we source overseas must be shipped to our distribution center by freight carriers, and a work stoppage or political unrest could adversely affect our ability to fulfill our customer orders.

An increase in interest rates could make it difficult for customers to finance the cost of solar energy systems and could reduce demand for our services and products.

Some of our prospective customers may depend on debt financing, such as home equity loans, to fund the initial capital expenditure required to purchase a solar energy system. Third-party financing sources specifically for solar energy systems are currently limited. Currently, approximately 40% of our customers rely on some form of third-party financing, including home equity loans, to purchase solar energy systems. The lack of financing sources or an increase in interest rates could make it difficult or more costly for our potential customers to secure the financing necessary to purchase a solar energy system on favorable terms, or at all, thus lowering demand for our services and products and negatively impacting our business.

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Risk Factors Related to our Relationship with Gaiam

Our historical financial information as a business conducted by Gaiam may not be representative of our results as an independent public company.

The historical financial information included in this prospectus does not necessarily reflect what our financial position, operating results or cash flows would have been had we been an independent entity during the historical periods presented. The historical costs and expenses reflected in our consolidated financial statements include amounts for certain corporate functions historically provided by Gaiam, including costs of fulfillment, systems, finance and other administrative services, and income taxes. These expense allocations were developed on the basis of what we and Gaiam considered to be reasonable prices for the utilization of services provided or the benefits received by us. The historical financial information in our audited and unaudited consolidated financial statements may not be indicative of what our results of operations, financial position, changes in equity and cash flows would have been had we been a separate stand-alone entity during the periods presented or will be in the future. We have not made adjustments to reflect many significant changes that will occur in our cost structure, funding and operations as a result of our separation from Gaiam, including changes in our employee base, changes in our tax structure, potential increased costs associated with reduced economies of scale and increased costs associated with being a publicly traded, stand-alone company, such as audit fees, directors and officers insurance costs and compliance costs, nor have we made offsetting adjustments to reflect the benefits of and income expected from this offering, as these factors are presently difficult to quantify.

Our ability to operate our business effectively may suffer if we or Gaiam terminate our intercorporate services agreement, or if we are unable to establish on a cost-effective basis our own administrative and other support functions in order to operate as a stand-alone company after the expiration or termination of our intercorporate services agreement with Gaiam.

As a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaiam, we have relied on administrative and other resources of Gaiam to operate our business. In connection with this offering, we will enter into an intercorporate services agreement to retain the ability for specified periods to use certain Gaiam resources. We may elect to continue this agreement for eighteen months following the completion of this offering and, provided we are not in material default under this agreement, Gaiam may not terminate this agreement during this time if it owns more than 20% of our outstanding common equity. Any decision by us to terminate this agreement would be approved by disinterested members of our management and board of directors under our procedures regarding related party transactions. After the expiration or termination of this agreement, we will need to create our own administrative and other support systems or contract with third parties to replace Gaiam’s services. In addition, we must also establish disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting as part of our becoming a separate public company. These services may not be provided at the same level as when we were a wholly owned subsidiary of Gaiam, and we may not be able to obtain the same benefits that we received prior to the separation. These services may not be sufficient to meet our needs, and after our agreement with Gaiam expires or is terminated, we may not be able to replace these services at all or obtain these services at prices and on terms as favorable as we currently have with Gaiam. Any failure or significant downtime in our own administrative systems or in Gaiam’s administrative systems during the transitional period could result in unexpected costs, impact our results or prevent us from paying our suppliers or employees and performing other administrative services on a timely basis.

The agreement we will enter into with Gaiam may be amended by the parties. While we are controlled by Gaiam, we may not have the leverage to negotiate amendments to this agreement if required on terms as favorable to us as those we would negotiate with an unaffiliated third party.

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Our inability to resolve any disputes that arise between us and Gaiam with respect to our past and ongoing relationships may result in a reduction of our revenue, and such disputes may also result in claims for indemnification.

Disputes may arise between Gaiam and us in a number of areas relating to our past and ongoing relationships, including the following:

We may not be able to resolve any potential conflicts, and even if we do, the resolution may be less favorable than if we were dealing with an unaffiliated party. In addition, we will have indemnification obligations under the tax, intercorporate services and registration rights agreements we will enter into with Gaiam, and disputes between us and Gaiam may result in claims for indemnification. However, we do not currently expect that these indemnification obligations will materially affect our potential liability compared to what it would be if we did not enter into these agreements with Gaiam.

Some of our directors and executive officers may have conflicts of interest because of their ownership of Gaiam common stock, options to acquire Gaiam common stock and positions with Gaiam.

Some of our directors and executive officers own Gaiam common stock and options to purchase Gaiam common stock. In addition, some of our directors are also directors of Gaiam. Ownership of Gaiam common stock and options to purchase Gaiam common stock by our directors and officers after this offering and the presence of directors of Gaiam on our board of directors could create, or appear to create, conflicts of interest with respect to matters involving both us and Gaiam. For example, corporate opportunities may arise that are applicable or complementary to both of our businesses and that each business would be free to pursue, such as the potential acquisition of a particular business or technology focused on environmental sustainability including renewable energy sources, energy efficiency or energy use reduction. However, Gaiam does not intend to acquire businesses that are focused on solar energy. We have not established at this time any procedural mechanisms to address actual or perceived conflicts of interest of these directors and officers and expect that our board of directors, in the exercise of its fiduciary duties, will determine how to address any actual or perceived conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis. If any corporate opportunity arises and if our directors and officers do not pursue it on our behalf, we may not become aware of, and may potentially lose, a significant business opportunity.

Risk Factors Related to this Offering

Gaiam controls us, and its interests may conflict with or differ from your interests as a shareholder.

Gaiam holds 100% of the currently outstanding shares of our common stock, consisting of 7,846,707 shares of our Class A common stock and 2,153,293 shares of our Class B common stock. The holders of our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock have substantially similar rights, preferences, and privileges except with respect to voting and conversion rights and other protective provisions as set forth in this prospectus. Each share of Class B common stock has ten votes per share, and each share of Class A common stock has one vote per share. Each share of Class B common stock is convertible

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at any time into one share of Class A common stock. In addition, if Gaiam transfers shares of our Class B common stock, it must elect whether or not to transfer the shares as Class B common stock or convert those shares into Class A common stock. The Class A common stock has no conversion rights. Immediately after completion of this offering, Gaiam will beneficially own approximately 66.7% of our outstanding shares of common stock, assuming Gaiam’s Class B common stock were converted into Class A common stock. In addition, immediately following this offering and assuming no conversion of any shares of Class B common stock that are currently outstanding, Gaiam will have approximately 85.5% of the total voting power of our common stock voting as a single class. Consequently, Gaiam will be able to exert substantial influence over our company and control matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election of directors, increasing our authorized capital stock, financing activities, a merger or sale of our assets and the number of shares available for issuance under our Incentive Plan. Our articles of incorporation provide that our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock, subject only to the approval of holders of our Class B common stock. As a result of Gaiam’s control, no change of control of our company can occur without Gaiam’s consent. Our Chairman, Jirka Rysavy, who is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gaiam, currently owns approximately 25% of the outstanding equity, and in excess of 50% of the voting power, of Gaiam.

Gaiam’s and Mr. Rysavy’s voting control may discourage transactions involving a change of control of our company, including transactions in which you as a holder of our Class A common stock might otherwise receive a premium for your shares over the then current market price. Gaiam is not prohibited from selling a controlling interest in our company to a third party and may do so without your approval and without providing for a purchase of your shares of Class A common stock. Accordingly, your shares of Class A common stock may be worth less than they would be if Gaiam did not maintain voting control over us.

Because there is no existing market for our Class A common stock, our initial public offering price may not be indicative of the market price of our Class A common stock after this offering, which may decrease significantly.

Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our Class A common stock, and an active trading market may not develop or be sustained after this offering. The initial public offering price for the Class A common stock will be determined by negotiations between us and the representatives of the underwriters and may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the open market following this offering. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our company will lead to the development of an active trading market on the Nasdaq Global Market or otherwise or how liquid that market might become. The lack of an active market may reduce the value of your shares and impair your ability to sell your shares at the time or price at which you wish to sell them. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling additional shares of our Class A common stock and may impair our ability to acquire or invest in other companies, products or technologies by using our Class A common stock as consideration.

The market price of our Class A common stock may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses for investors.

The market price of our Class A common stock is likely to be volatile and could fluctuate widely in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:

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In addition, the stock market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies and industries. These fluctuations may include a so-called “bubble market” in which investors temporarily raise the price of the stocks of companies in certain industries, such as the renewable energy industry, to unsustainable levels. These market fluctuations may significantly affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

If you purchase our Class A common stock in this offering, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution in the book value of your shares.

The initial public offering price of our Class A common stock is substantially higher than the net pro forma tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock. Investors purchasing Class A common stock in this offering will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the book value of our tangible assets after subtracting our liabilities. As a result, investors purchasing Class A common stock in this offering will incur immediate dilution of $8.37 per share, based on the initial public offering price of $11.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the offering range indicated on the cover of this prospectus. If the holders of outstanding options and warrants exercise those options and warrants, you will suffer further dilution.

Possible future sales of shares by Gaiam could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock, even if our business is doing well.

Immediately after completion of this offering, we will have outstanding 12,846,707 shares of Class A common stock and 2,153,293 shares of Class B common stock. Subject to the restrictions described under “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” and

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applicable law, Gaiam could sell any or all of the shares of common stock owned by it from time to time for any reason. Under a registration rights agreement between us and Gaiam, Gaiam has the right to require us to register the shares of Class A common stock it owns and the shares it may acquire upon conversion of its shares of Class B common stock to facilitate the possible sale of such shares. Although we cannot predict the effect, if any, that future sales of shares of Class A common stock by Gaiam would have on the market price prevailing from time to time, sales of substantial amounts of Class A common stock or the availability of such shares for sale could adversely affect prevailing market prices.

We do not expect to pay any cash dividends on our Class A common stock for the foreseeable future.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our Class A common stock for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, you may have to sell some or all of your Class A common stock in order to generate cash flow from your investment. You may not receive a gain on your investment when you sell our Class A common stock and may lose some or all of the amount of your investment. Any determination to pay dividends in the future on our Class A common stock will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial conditions, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law, capital requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant.

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

As a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, require us to adopt corporate governance practices applicable to public companies. We also expect to incur additional compliance costs as a result of our Class A common stock being included for quotation on the Nasdaq Global Market. We expect these new rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time consuming and costly. We will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. We also expect these new rules and regulations to make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain our desired coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.

Our compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and SEC rules concerning internal controls will be time consuming, difficult, and costly.

It will be time consuming, difficult and costly for us to develop and implement the additional internal controls, processes and reporting procedures required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We may need to hire additional financial reporting, internal controls, processes and reporting procedures personnel. If we are unable to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we may not be able to obtain the independent accountant certifications that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires publicly traded companies to obtain.

If we fail to comply in a timely manner with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding internal control over financial reporting, or if we identify or fail to remedy any material weaknesses in our internal controls, such failures could result in material misstatements in our financial statements, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, limit our ability to raise capital and have a negative effect on the trading price of our Class A common stock.

Under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and current SEC regulations, beginning with our annual report on Form 10-K for our fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, we will be required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting. We will soon begin the process of documenting and testing our internal control procedures in order to satisfy these requirements, which is likely to result in increased general and administrative expenses and may shift management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. While we expect to expend significant resources to complete this important project, we may not be able to achieve our objective on a timely basis.

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Information regarding forward-looking statements

Some of the statements under “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Business” and elsewhere in this prospectus may contain forward-looking statements that reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and financial performance. We generally identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative version of those words or other comparable words. Any forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based upon the historical performance of us and our subsidiaries and on our current plans, estimates and expectations. We caution you that no forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance, and you should not regard any forward-looking statement as a representation by us, the underwriters or any other person that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which reflect our view only as of the date of this prospectus. While we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this prospectus, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, financial results, financial condition, business prospects, growth strategy and liquidity, including the risks outlined in this prospectus. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this prospectus. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. We qualify all the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus by the foregoing cautionary statements.

The risk factors discussed in “Risk Factors” could also cause our results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. There may be other risks and uncertainties that we are unable to predict at this time or that we currently do not expect to have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Use of proceeds

We estimate that our net proceeds from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, will be approximately $49.1 million, or approximately $56.7 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option, based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $11.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the offering range indicated on the cover of this prospectus.

We will use approximately $19.8 million of the net proceeds to repay amounts owed to Gaiam for costs to acquire and expand our business. We have no formal written loan agreement with Gaiam regarding our intercompany payable, and it has no maturity date. Gaiam historically did not charge us interest on this intercompany payable. We expect to use approximately $2.1 million of the net proceeds to pay expenses related to this offering. While we do not currently have a specific plan for the use of the balance of the net proceeds, our principal reason for this offering is to provide adequate funds for our working capital needs and general corporate purposes, which may include future acquisitions of businesses. We currently have no agreements or commitments to complete any such transaction and are not involved in any negotiations to do so. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures will depend upon numerous factors, such as our ability to attract new solar energy customers, market acceptance of our product offerings, the cost of ongoing upgrades to our product offerings, our level of expenditures for sales and marketing, our level of investment in support systems and facilities, the availability of market expansion opportunities and other market conditions.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $11.00 per share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by $4.7 million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We do not expect that a change in the offering price would have a material effect on our uses of the proceeds from this offering, although it may impact the amount of time prior to which we will need to seek additional capital.

Pending any use of the net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in investment-grade, short-term interest-bearing securities.

Dividend policy

We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on our Class A common stock, and we do not anticipate doing so in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to operate our business and support our future growth strategies. Any future determination to pay dividends on our Class A common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law, capital requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant.

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