solarcity

Calif. sun to power bank's electric-car charge spots

A bank chain in California will combine PV and EV--that is, an electric-vehicle charging station equipped with solar-photovoltaic panels.

Solar installer SolarCity and Rabobank on Tuesday unveiled the charge point at a bank branch in Santa Maria, Calif.

The bank, which plans to build a network of four charging stations from Los Angeles to San Francisco, is considering putting solar panels on the buildings, according to Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, which installs and provides financing for solar panels. The company owns the panels at the Santa Maria location and sells the electricity they generate to the bank.

Because charge … Read more

SolarCity expands solar panel leasing

SolarCity said it has the funds to further finance its solar-panel leasing offering.

The Foster City, Calif.-based company on Wednesday said it has secured tax equity funding through U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, the second fund created with the U.S. Bancorp division.

SolarCity is one of a handful of companies that offer financing options for homeowners and businesses to install solar electric panels.

Rather than pay the large upfront cost of solar, consumers pay a monthly fee and can anticipate lower monthly electricity bills. In some cases, the solar installer owns the panels and the consumer leases … Read more

First Solar buys into leasing firm SolarCity

SolarCity on Wednesday said that high-flier First Solar will invest $25 million in the company and supply it with panels over the next five years.

The supply arrangement will allow SolarCity to offer its solar panel leasing program in more states, in the U.S. East Coast, CEO Lyndon Rive said on Wednesday.

The start-up company is one of a handful of firms tackling the high up-front cost of purchasing solar electric panels by offering a financing option. Instead of paying $25,000 to $35,000 to buy panels, the homeowner or small business pays a monthly fee for 20 … Read more

SolarCity provides SF power below grid price

If you are a San Francisco resident considering solar panels, now is the time for action, says Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, a start-up that leases panels to homeowners.

Since the city solar-incentive program came into effect in July, it has become financially viable for even small energy consumers to install solar-power systems.

The San Francisco incentive covers between $3,000 to $6,000 for homeowners to install solar panels, as well as $10,000 for businesses and nonprofits, and $30,000 for nonprofit affordable housing. The program runs for a decade.

This initiative, together with a state rebate program … Read more

Green energy needs to be more than just clean

CORONADO, Calif.--Looming energy problems present noteworthy challenges for the world, but big thinkers in science, business, and technology know they have to compete with the status quo without a helping hand.

The Future in Review conference has always been about sketching a picture of the technology and business landscape five years into the future. But this year, attendees and presenters are focused on a more pressing issue: the need for alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels sooner, rather than later.

As such, the early talk at the Hotel Del Coronado is all about alternative energy, whether that's … Read more

Here come the solar tech financiers

Joseph Brakohiapa is thrilled to hear about how scientists are making solar cells more efficient at converting light to electricity. But he'd much rather be making a sale of solar panels.

Brakohiapa is the CEO of Clean Power Finance, one of a growing number of young companies that are spending their brain power on software and financing, rather than photovoltaics.

On Friday, his company announced a deal with German solar panel manufacturer Conergy, which will recommend Clean Power Finance's Web-based software tools and financing options to Conergy's network of distributors in the U.S.

Clean Power Finance … Read more

Cutting down solar costs with satellite imagery

Danny Kennedy may have come up with a way to make solar panels an impulse buy.

Sungevity, Kennedy's company, has come up with a Web-based system for evaluating the solar potential for a given home through satellite data. Customers log onto Sungevity's site and provide an address and some information about their monthly electrical bill.

Within 24 hours, the company sends customers a quote for installing a solar system, an estimate of how much the system will save them over 25 years, the prospective increase in the value of their home, and simulated imagery of what their home … Read more

To cut price, SolarCity leases solar panels

Solar installer SolarCity is doing, in a limited way, what many people contend is the key to wide-scale adoption of solar power: a leasing program.

The Foster City, Calif.-based start-up is offering customers in California, Arizona, and Oregon a financing option that allows them to get solar panels with a relatively small up-front down payment and monthly lease fee, SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive said on Monday.

Solar panels that generate electricity can cost between $20,000 and $35,000 before tax credits and other clean energy incentives. Those subsidies can bring the cost down significantly, depending on the state … Read more