On Wednesday, SolarCity added $158 million to the pool of funds that it uses to finance, design, develop and install commercial or residential solar power projects in the U.S. The latest fund came through a partnership with U.S. Bancorp (a subsidiary of U.S. Bank) and gives SolarCity more than $1 billion in financing capacity.
According to a SolarCity press statement, the San Mateo cleantech company now boasts: 14 solar project financing funds via six financial partners; 14,000 solar customers; and 24 centers of operation in 11 states and more than 1,000 employees.
In February, SolarCity acquired two solar installers with an established market on the East Coast — a division of groSolar and the solar division of Clean Currents — to expand its business well beyond the sun belt. The company plans to use its newly established fund to finance its SolarLease and power purchase agreement offerings.
SolarCity’s nearest competitor, SunRun, also offers financing help to prospective customers, enabled via partnerships with banks and energy companies. About a month ago, SunRun closed a $200 million fund for solar project financing via U.S. Bancorp. Overall, SunRun boasts $600 million in financing capacity, compared to SolarCity’s $1 billion.