• SolarCity Can Now Finance $1 Billion In Solar Projects

    Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

    Lora Kolodny began reporting on business, technology and entertainment in 2002. She has worked as greentech writer and editor at TechCrunch, and as a staff reporter for Inc. magazine and The Hollywood Reporter. Her New York Times blog, “The Prize,” covered the winners, losers, innovation and deal-making of business competitions. → Learn More

    On Wednesday, SolarCity added $158 million to the pool of funds that it uses to finance, design, develop and install commercial or residential solar power projects in the U.S. The latest fund came through a partnership with U.S. Bancorp (a subsidiary of U.S. Bank) and gives SolarCity more than $1 billion in financing capacity.

    According to a SolarCity press statement, the San Mateo cleantech company now boasts: 14 solar project financing funds via six financial partners; 14,000 solar customers; and 24 centers of operation in 11 states and more than 1,000 employees.

    In February, SolarCity acquired two solar installers with an established market on the East Coast — a division of groSolar and the solar division of Clean Currents — to expand its business well beyond the sun belt. The company plans to use its newly established fund to finance its SolarLease and power purchase agreement offerings.

    SolarCity’s nearest competitor, SunRun, also offers financing help to prospective customers, enabled via partnerships with banks and energy companies. About a month ago, SunRun closed a $200 million fund for solar project financing via U.S. Bancorp. Overall, SunRun boasts $600 million in financing capacity, compared to SolarCity’s $1 billion.

    Company: SolarCity
    Website: solarcity.com
    Funding: $265M

    Founded in 2006, SolarCity is a full-service solar provider for homeowners, businesses and government organizations. It provides solar power system design, financing, installation, energy efficiency and monitoring services. SolarCity’s operations are in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington D.C. According to the company’s website, SolarCity’s founders believe that the environmental impact of energy production is one of the greatest challenges that our planet will face in the near future, and the...

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    Company: SunRun
    Website: sunrunhome.com
    Launch Date: 2007
    Funding: $335M

    Sunrun is the largest owner of residential solar in the nation. Sunrun makes affordable home solar a reality by providing a superior alternative to traditional utility electricity. With Sunrun, homeowners pay little or no cost to switch to home solar, and simply pay monthly for solar electricity, locking in low rates for 20 years. Sunrun takes on the responsibility of ownership, giving its customers total peace of mind. Sunrun has partnered with PG&E Corporation and...

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    Financial-organization: U.S. Bancorp
    Website: usbank.com

    U.S. Bancorp is a diversified financial services holding company, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States based on assets, with $283 billion in assets. U.S. Bank ranks as the sixth largest bank in the U.S. based on deposits, with $183B in deposits as of December 31, 2009. With 3,002 banking offices and 5,309 ATMs, U.S. Bank’s branch network serves 24 states. U.S. Bancorp offers regional...

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