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 years. SolarCity owns and maintains the panels.

SolarCity offers the program in states where a customer will pay less per month on electricity by leasing the panels, explained Rive. Because First Solar's panels, or modules, are the most cost-effective in the industry, SolarCity can expand to more places.

"Let's say that a customer pays $150 a month on electricity. In some cases, leasing would add $10 to their monthly spending," Rive said. "The difference this module will make is that it brings the cost down just so slightly to make it a positive cash flow to the customer."

By owning the panels themselves, solar installers and leasers like SolarCity can take advantage of the tax credits and other renewable energy incentives.

As part of the deal, First Solar will supply 100 megawatts worth of its panels to SolarCity over the next five years, starting in the first quarter of next year. A typical rooftop solar panel installation is between 2 and 5 kilowatts. SolarCity will continue to install panels from other manufacturers Kyocera, Evergreen Solar, and BP Solar.

For First Solar, the deal will allow entry into the residential market. The company, which manufacturers thin-film solar cells from cadmium telluride, has its panels installed at corporations or solar farms for utility-scale generation.

First Solar's $25 million investment is part of a $30 million series D round, which SolarCity closed on Monday. That financing included participation from previous investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Double Bottom Line Investors.

SolarCity currently offers its leasing program, which is chosen by 90 percent of new customers, in California, Oregon, and Arizona.

[Manhattan2]

This is the wrong way to go about capturing power from the sun.

[Joe Real]

This is a Fleecing of the American Government, for the sake of being green.

Cost of production of thin film is well below $1/watt. And the State rebate, for example in California, are $1.85/watt, depending where you are in California. Plus a 30% tax rebate from the Feds.

What is happening with the current scheme of SolarCity is that they are able to get the full rebates by pricing their system equal to the rebates. And if the cost of solar panel production and installation is about $1/watt, they already made a profit just from the installation alone. And not only that, they will get paid by the homeowner forever. It is truly a fantastic very profitable leaching of mankind. They fleece the federal government, and they get pensions from the homeowners forever.

If indeed as several earlier news articles from CNET are true about the cost of production of solar PV and their installation nearing sub $1/watt, then practically, with rebates, the solar PV should be literally free after rebates. So there is really no need to pay monthly to these companies.

I hope many of you realize this scenario. Build and sign-up as a company, be partners with the solar thin film companies out there, and get their solar panels at sub $1/watt. It doesn't take a rocket science to install solar panels. So it really doesn't take a lot of labor to install solar panels.

I have installed clay tiled roofs, and have assembled more complex projects than solar panels. Many of the solar panels by the way are near plug-n-play. A 4 kW system should not cost more than $750 in terms of labor! All you really needed are certifications for rebates, so sign-up with those free programs often offered by the utility companies. They have their own engineers to check your system if they qualify for rebates. You first begin by choosing the cheap panels from a company that are approved for rebates. Then sign up as reseller or installer for those thin film solar PV companies. A 4KW solar PV system should not cost more than $4,000, including the inverters. With installation, it should go to about $4,750 as your cost as an installer and reseller. Now if you price this system through a mysterious third broker company that does the billing at about $32,000, you'll get a federal rebate of about $9,600 plus at least $7,400 if you are in California. So that gives you a gross of about $17,000 fleeced from the government, and it costs you only $4,750 and additional cost with whatever commissions you arranged with a broker company. And your profit doesn't stop there, the poor resident who doesn't know the calculations behind all these, gets to pay you the electric bills per month, forever! And of course, to the residential person, it is a win-win because they are guaranteed a price, and you are guaranteed a pension.

So for all of those who are jobless, or want to make a killing, the thin film solar PV is really a gold mine right now. I hope many of you will proliferate to give a real competition, to bring the cost of solar PV installations really down, and not enjoyed by a few companies.


The rebates for such system is at least

[Randy1111111]

I am interested in a PV Solar system for my residence. I live in Pennsylvania