Agreement creates the largest residential solar fund to date San Francisco — Pacific Energy Capital II, LLC, a non-utility subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), and SunRun Inc., the nation’s leading provider of home solar financing, today announced a $100 million tax equity project financing agreement to fund SunRun’s installation of more than 3,500 new home solar installations across the nation. The investment, principally funded by PG&E Corporation shareholders through Pacific Energy Capital, creates the largest residential solar financing vehicle established to date. Under the agreement, Pacific Energy Capital will provide financing for the rooftop solar energy systems and both parties will receive payments from SunRun customers. SunRun will manage the projects.
SunRun offers home solar power without high upfront costs through power purchase agreements (PPAs) and solar leases. Through SunRun’s popular solar plans, homeowners pay as little as $0 upfront to get solar panels installed, followed by a low, monthly payment to have solar energy at home. SunRun provides complete solar maintenance, monitoring, repairs, insurance and money-back performance guarantee for all its customers, making it simple and affordable for homeowners to switch their home to clean solar energy.
“As a company in a region where distributed solar is becoming increasingly important, we are focused on continuing to take advantage of smart, strategic opportunities that enable us to acquire an in-depth understanding of this market and these technologies,” said Brian Steel, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy and Development at PG&E Corporation. “Our investment with SunRun reflects this ongoing effort. Additionally, it allows us to continue supporting the advance of solar energy, which is a priority for our company, utility customers and policymakers.”
The solar systems funded under the agreement are expected to be installed in 2010 and 2011 in at least five states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. SunRun currently serves more than 4,000 customers in these five states, and is growing 500% year-over-year. SunRun now partners with 15 leading solar integrators that are located across the country and that collectively employ more than 2,500 solar workers.
“PG&E Corporation is a proven leader developing and embracing solar energy” said Edward Fenster, SunRun’s CEO. “We are very excited to partner with PG&E Corporation on this agreement which will make solar affordable to more homeowners across the nation.”
This agreement follows the recent announcement that T.J. Glauthier, the former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy, joined SunRun as an Advisor in May. It also follows on the heels of the December 2009 announcement that SunRun had raised another project finance fund with U.S. Bancorp.
Source: pgecorp
