Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA) yesterday announced an agreement to the tune of AUD $124 million for funding the construction of SunPower commercial-scale solar systems.
Under the arrangement, SunPower will establish power purchase agreements with selected commercial customers and Wells Fargo will provide the financing for design, implementation, operation and maintenance of SunPower grid connected solar power systems.
In this increasingly common scenario, customers receive a solar power system at no cost, but buy the electricity generated from the system from the provider at prices around retail rates. This allows businesses and large organisations to lock in electricity charges while also playing a role in reducing their operational environmental footprint through greenhouse gas generation mitigation.
The first projects financed under the program include a 1.1-megawatt system for University of California and a 1-megawatt system for the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority.
SunPower has in excess of 500 large public and commercial solar power systems installed or under contract, representing more than 400 megawatts and the company was a pioneer in the use of solar power purchase agreements. Wells Fargo has provided more than USD $1.75 billion in financing for renewable energy projects since 2006.
In recent SunPower news for the home solar power market, the company recently unveiled its 300 watt solar panel. The SunPower 300 utilises 96 all back contact solar cells and offers a total panel conversion efficiency of 18.4%. The module delivers up to 50% more power per unit area than conventional solar panels and 100% more than thin film solar panels, making it ideal for rooftops with limited space.
