Products and services (previous)




Solar leasingedit

In 2008, SolarCity entered the solar leasing market with a new solar lease option for homeowners: leasing rooftop solar to customers who would pay no upfront costs. In exchange, customers paid for 20 years for power generated by those panels. SolarCity's solar lease allowed some homeowners to pay less each month than they previously paid for electricity from the utility company.

The "no-money-down solar" business model became the most popular in the U.S. and increased installations, but it also added considerably to SolarCity's debt, accounting for about half of the company's over $3 billion debt in 2016. Beginning in 2017 (after Tesla acquired the company) its business model shifted to one where customers buy the solar systems with cash or via financing. Tesla, the parent company, decided to change from selling solar products door-to-door to only being sold in Tesla's stores and galleries, which Tesla believed would save on advertising. In June 2018, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would be pulling out of their solar sales partnership with Home Depot four months after national kickoff, initially aimed at growing sales of Tesla's solar and storage products. On February 28, 2019, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would close “many” of its stores around the world and sell online-only, removing the only retail outlet for solar sales, but later reversed his decision and kept most stores open.

Electric vehicle chargersedit

In 2009, SolarCity entered the electric car charging business by buying the SolSource Energy business of Clean Fuel Connections, Inc. In 2011, SolarCity announced a partnership with Rabobank to make electric car charging available for free to owners of Tesla Roadster cars traveling on U.S. Route 101 in California between San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 2012, Tesla independently started deploying their Supercharger stations in the United States, and as of March 2020update, Tesla operates 16,103 Superchargers in 1,826 stations worldwide.

Energy efficiency evaluations and retrofitsedit

In 2010, SolarCity acquired Building Solutions, a home energy audit firm, and began to offer energy efficiency evaluations and upgrades. SolarCity worked with Admiral's Bank of Boston in March 2012 to make a new loan available to finance energy efficiency improvements and expanded its energy efficiency services to the East Coast.

SolarStrong projectedit

SolarStrong was SolarCity's 5-year plan to build more than $1 billion in solar photovoltaic projects for privatized military housing communities across the United States. It was announced in late 2011.

SolarStrong is being carried out by SolarCity in cooperation with Lend Lease Group involving 124 military bases in 33 states. The financing is agreed with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, USRG Renewable Finance, and U.S. Bancorp. It had a partial $344 million federal loan guarantee through the United States Department of Energy Financial Institution Partnership Program; however, the guarantee was withdrawn after the project implementation started.

The project started in 2011 with development of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam in Hawaii, followed by Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. In 2012, the project continued with the Los Angeles Air Force Base in California, and Peterson Air Force Base and Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.

Energy storageedit

In 2016, SolarCity ran pilot project to test a grid backup resource by installing GridLogic software and 10-kilowatt-hour Tesla Powerwall battery packs in 500 California homes. This concept was also tested in Vermont.

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History

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SolarCity was founded in 2006 by brothers Peter and Lyndon Rive, based on a suggestion for a solar company concept by their cousin, Elon Musk, who was the chairman and helped start the company. By 2009, solar panels it had installed were capable of generating 440 megawatts (MW) of power. In 2011, the company launched their expansion to the East Coast with the acquisition of the solar division of Clean Currents and groSolar. Following the acquisitions, SolarCity expanded operations on the East Coast and opened in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In 2013, SolarCity was the leading residential solar installer in the U.S. and Solar Power World magazine listed it as the number two overall solar installation company in the U.S. In 2013, SolarCity purchased Paramount Solar from Paramount Equity for $120 million. By 2015, its installed panels were capable of generating 870 MW of solar power and accounted for approximately 28% of non-utility solar ...
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Trade organization and collaboration

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