SolarCity and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp. have doubled the size of their solar fund to $100 milllion, which will finance projects in California, Nevada, and Oregon in 2009. The partnership backs SolarCity’s SolarLease and power purchase agreements, financing options that permit homeowners and businesses to put no money down on solar systems.
“Our SolarLease and PPA products save customers money from day one, with no upfront cost,” said Lyndon Rive, company CEO. “We’re expanding our partnership with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp. to offer more homeowners and businesses zero-down financing to keep pace with the nation’s growing appetite for clean power.”
SolarCity, which was founded in July 2006, says it recently passed the 4000-customer mark, including more than 2000 SolarLease customers since it introduced the leasing option in April 2008. The solar systems integrator has hired 112 new workers in the past four months and says it plans to add 50 more employees before year’s end to continue to increase installation capacity.