Start-up receives $1.25M to fund further development of Solar PV comparison shopping platform

CAMBRIDGE, MA – October 22, 2013

EnergySage, Inc. announced today that it received a $1.25 million award through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot Initiative (Incubator 8, Tier 2) in support of the SunShot Initiative established by the Obama administration. In 2012, the company received a $500,000 SunShot award (Incubator 6, Tier 1) for the development of its online solar PV comparison-shopping platform, the EnergySage Solar Marketplace, released in February 2013. The current SunShot award will fund the further development of its platform, establishing EnergySage as a comprehensive national consumer destination site for solar photovoltaics (PV).

Applying the best practices of web-based shopping, EnergySage has created the only online shopping platform for solar PV systems for homeowners, businesses and non-profits. Its unique, innovative and user-friendly comparison-shopping experience injects unprecedented levels of simplicity, choice and transparency into the buying process for solar. By creating an online marketplace, EnergySage removes significant market friction for consumers and providers alike. Its offering ties directly to the Energy Department’s 2020 goal to reduce installed prices by reducing the soft costs associated with selling solar panel systems.

Through automation, EnergySage is transforming an industry mired by costly manual processes into one that is highly efficient and scalable. As a result, the platform is helping to reduce prices and make solar PV systems more accessible to the mass-market. Simplified online shopping paired with increased market efficiency will drive exponential increases in market adoption of solar.

“Our focus continues to be on making shopping for solar as easy as shopping for any other home appliance,” states Vikram Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of EnergySage. “Since launching our Solar Marketplace, we’ve received tremendous validation from consumers and the industry. We are grateful for the continued support of the Department of Energy that this second award represents.”

Building on its innovative Solar Marketplace, informational content and community features, EnergySage will continue developing its platform as the go-to resource for solar PV across the U.S. The EnergySage Marketplace enables solar consumers to compare quotes from multiple pre-screened installers. The platform automatically performs the calculations needed to adjust for differences in the quotes received—different system sizes or different assumptions used to calculate cost and benefits—so that consumers can easily compare quotes in an apples-to-apples format across all financing options at no cost to them. Planned enhancements will allow consumers to evaluate the suitability, costs and benefits of solar panel systems at their own properties using real-time market data provided by the EnergySage platform prior to initiating the buying process.

In addition to facilitating the consumer purchase process, the EnergySage platform also provides significant benefits to suppliers including manufacturers, installers, and financiers. “This is how consumers are shopping for everything else and it’s how they want to shop for solar, too,” continues Aggarwal. “Online shopping will create a mass-market opportunity for solar. Providers are realizing this and value the benefits of receiving a large volume of educated, ready-to-buy leads through the EnergySage platform.” Since its launch, the EnergySage Solar Marketplace has demonstrated its success in closing sales at a much higher rate and shorter sales cycle time than the industry average.

EnergySage is also facilitating solar adoption through partnerships with organizations that are promoting solar and/or sustainability. Many corporations, municipalities, non-profits, utilities, and environmental organizations have embraced sustainability as part of their culture and are interested in expanding their sustainability efforts beyond their own operations. Leveraging the online EnergySage platform, these entities are offering their own turnkey solar programs as a no-cost / low cost way to encourage solar adoption among audiences that include members, customers, employees, citizens, and supporters. The EnergySage platform is extremely flexible and customizable; partner organizations can tailor the platform and program to suit their own specific needs, including co-branding or private labeling.

In total, the EnergySage platform is making solar increasingly attractive and accessible to a much broader audience of potential consumers. By slashing the time and effort normally required of both consumers and installers, the EnergySage Solar Marketplace significantly reduces customer acquisition costs, boosts consumer confidence, and accelerates the mass-market adoption of solar.

About the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort that aggressively drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources by the end of the decade. Through SunShot, DOE supports efforts by private companies, universities, and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour.

Learn more at http://www.energy.gov/sunshot

About EnergySage, Inc.

EnergySage provides the first comprehensive online marketplace for consumers and businesses interested in converting to solar energy. By enabling people to comparison shop for “apples-to-apples” competitive quotes from pre-screened installers and financiers, the EnergySage Marketplace typically delivers cost-savings of up to 20 percent when compared to going directly to installers. EnergySage also simplifies today’s complex solar industry by providing tools and unbiased information that enable people to fully understand their product and financing options as well as their return-on-investment scenarios. Many leading organizations have forged partnerships with EnergySage to promote the adoption of solar energy, including Connecticut Green Bank, Staples, Walgreens and the World Wildlife Fund. For more information, please visit: www.energysage.com.