US solar installer SolarCity will almost double its presence in California by opening 10 new operations centres in the state by the end of 2013. The company will seek to add 260 employees to the 2,100 it currently employs in the state.
SolarCity claims the creation of the new regional operations centres will benefit customers by reducing installation times and bring the company’s services, which include rooftop leasing programmes, to within 30 miles of 90% of California’s population. As well as reaching new locations, the company hopes to reduce its costs and environmental impact by reducing travelling times to installations and increasing installation efficiency.
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The new California centres will be located in Ventura/Camarillo, Chico, Livermore, Martinez, Morgan Hill, Murrieta, Petaluma, San Luis Obispo, Thousand Palms/Palm Springs and Victorville.
SolarCity’s third quarter 2013 financial results revealed a 151% increase on Q3 2012 figures, with 60MW installed during the period. According to the same document over a quarter of home installations in the US are by SolarCity. Last week the company completed its first funding round secured against distributed solar assets, raising US$54.4 million at an interest rate of 4.8%, which will be used to offer a new avenue for low cost financing into the solar sector. In October, SolarCity raised US$396.6 million for expansion through stock and convertible note offerings.
Referring to the scaling back of financial rebates from the California Solar Initiative, Tanguy Serra, SolarCity executive vice president of operations said: “The fact that this is happening as California’s largest state incentive program is winding down is a key indicator of how far solar power has come toward the mainstream.”
