Dive Brief:

SolarCity has closed $150 million of financing to fund the deployment of commercial solar and storage systems, Energy Storage News reports.

The credit facility is being provided by Credit Suisse and will be securitized against a portfolio of commercial installations and the associated contracts.

The solar+storage systems will be installed for businesses, schools and public sector organizations.

Dive Insight:

As states reform net metering policies and federal tax incentives decline in coming years, cheap capital and new securitization models are expected to be increasingly important to the widespread deployment of solar power.

"Access to the capital markets through security issuance can assist the solar market in achieving greater liquidity among investors and an advantageous cost of capital relative to traditional funding sources (namely debt, tax equity, and sponsor equity)," researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory wrote in issuing a solar securitization report in 2014.

SolarCity’s latest $150-million financing deal extends the company’s track record in securing securitization deals for its solar power roll-out.

A new study finds that SolarCity is responsible for almost all of solar securitization deals done so far this year, having sold $235 million in solar energy bonds so far in 2016.

In the latest deal, SolarCity has raised $150 million via Credit Suisse against revenues SolarCity will receive from the installation of solar panels for businesses, schools and public sector organizations under third-party agreements.

Aggregating revenue streams from like classes of customers provide a stable income stream against which financial institutions can offer bonds or other forms of securities and rates that would be cheaper than financing individual installations.

"Our asset portfolio enables us to continually bring in new capital from top tier institutional and corporate investors," Jeff Munson, director, structured finance, SolarCity, said in a statement.

Munson also says SolarCity’s proprietary technology provides a competitive advantage. Those systems include deployment of the company’s ZS Peak, East-West flat roof mounting structures made under the Zep Solar brand which was bought by SolarCity in 2013, along with the company's DemandLogic battery management platform, used by businesses to cut the demand charge portion of their electricity bills.

SolarCity also announced on April 7 that it has named former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff to the the position of chief policy officer.