Greentech Lead America: Sunrun has secured financing to support the purchase and installation of more than $630 million in home solar projects across the United States.
The financing includes commitments from previous and new investors, including JPM Capital Corporation (a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co.).
“Commitments from established investors like J.P. Morgan highlight the strength of Sunrun’s business model and the excitement around residential solar,” said Sunrun co-founder and co-CEO Edward Fenster.
“We have maintained an uninterrupted source of project finance during this time of explosive growth and the expiration of the federal grant program,” Fenster said. “Our ability to attract project capital has enabled us to give more Americans access to affordable clean power.”
To eliminate the high upfront costs often associated with solar, Sunrun invented solar power service, also known as third-party-owned solar. Sunrun owns, insures, monitors and maintains solar panels on a homeowner’s roof. Families pay a low rate for clean energy and fix their electric costs for 20 years.
In addition, Sunrun has announced the expansion of its executive team with the appointment of Jason Cavaliere as vice president of Project Finance. Jason brings more than 18 years of experience in structured finance and has completed more than $7.5 billion in transactions, including $2.5 billion in renewable energy tax equity investments.
Cavaliere joined Sunrun from Citigroup, where he was instrumental in developing a new lease structure for the residential solar market. He has also held positions with Morgan Stanley and Andersen Consulting.
Sunrun is now installing more than $2 million in solar every day thanks to the growing demand for clean power. GTM Research recently stated that third-party-owned solar has eclipsed system ownership as the preferred option for going solar in some of the nation’s largest residential markets, reinforcing the exponential growth home solar experienced in 2012.
To date, Sunrun has attracted enough capital to support the purchase of more than $2 billion in home solar systems nationwide.