Business Week
PG&E Corp. said Wednesday it will provide $60 million in financing to fund the installation of solar power systems by SolarCity Corp., in exchange for the related lease revenues from SolarCity customers.
PG&E’s Pacific Venture Capital LLC unit will collect the revenues, and will also receive the benefits of federal investment tax credits and local rebates for the solar energy projects.
The investment, funded by PG&E shareholders, will allow SolarCity to install more than 1,000 solar power systems for U.S. homeowners and businesses using the company’s financing options, which allow customers to adopt solar power with no upfront investment and to save money on energy costs from day one.
“This investment represents an opportunity to broaden access to renewable energy … (and) enables us to take an initial step toward gaining valuable experience with a technology and a marketplace that may become increasingly important in the future,” said Rand Rosenberg, PG&E senior vice president of corporate strategy and development.
The solar energy projects funded by this agreement are expected to be installed in 2010, mostly in California and with some in Arizona and Colorado.
