Heliopower acquires ‘zero money down’ solar company Greenzu

US solar power installer Heliopower has purchased Greenzu, a San Francisco company providing small commercial businesses and non-profit organisations with solar power systems. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

Greenzu specialises in offering financing solutions to its customers including ‘zero money down’ deals where the company pays for the initial cost of installation with the building owner purchasing electricity from the company. Greenzu has also created standardised purchasing agreement contracts for its clients across various types of power plant installations, cutting costs and legal fees.

Heliopower offers integrated system solutions to its customers, installing residential and commercial systems. Heliopower claimed it is targeting increasing demand for finance for potential customers of mid-sized commercial installations. With this in mind, the acquisition of Greenzu is aimed at helping Heliopower customers to finance their PV systems.

Following the purchase, Greenzu chief executive officer and founder Brandon Conrad will become chief strategy officer for Heliopower. Greenzu co-founder Amanda Holland will lead Helio Micro-Utility, a divison of Heliopower concerned with solar finance solutions, which developed a fund with Citibank in 2008.

Ian Rogoff, chairman of Heliopower, praised Greenzu’s “widely respected skills in structured finance and rooftop project development”.