Solar power investment in America continues to defy stock market trends, with US solar power company Sungevity announcing a funding deal with Citigroup Inc. to provide for $50 million in residential solar leases that will allow the company to expand into new territory on the East Coast.
Sungevity has experienced rapid growth since 2010, reporting $120 million in residential solar installations. The company offers a zero-dollars-up-front leasing arrangement to homeowners wishing to install rooftop solar power systems. Last month, Sungevity partnered with home US improvement giant Lowes to allow customers in-store access to Sungevity’s iQuote satellite imaging system that can provide customers with instant quotes without need for onsite assessments from technicians.
“Citi’s new tax equity fund will support our rapid growth and momentum, including our recent expansion to the East Coast and our significant partnership with Lowe’s,” said Mac Irvin, Chief Financial Officer of Sungevity. “Citi is a valuable addition to our sources of project finance as we look to provide more customers with our easy, affordable solar lease option and spur the mass adoption of solar.”
The company says that since the solar lease program was introduced in 2010 solar installations have grown ten-fold. This encouraged Sungevity’s launch of its “Rooftop Revolution” in July aimed at new markets in five Northeast states, including New York, Maryland and New Jersey.
According to a company release, “Sungevity is now in a hyper-growth phase and will hire approximately 200 new employees by the end of 2011, doubling its current headcount.”
The Citigroup funding deal could be seen as a signal that renewable energy is a safe bet for the USA in uncertain financial times, with private-sector cash buttressing against unpredictable federal schemes for solar energy projects.
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