Sungevity and U.S. Bank Create $24 Million Fund for Ten-Year Solar Lease

OAKLAND, Calif., March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sungevity, the leading online residential solar provider, announced today a new partnership with U.S. Bancorp to finance solar systems for Californian homes. U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is the parent of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100325/AQ76572)

"We're excited to partner with Sungevity on their solar lease program," said Darren Van't Hof, Vice President of Renewable Energy Investments for U.S. Bank. "We like the residential solar space and are convinced its growth will outpace commercial solar development in the coming years."

Together the two companies have created a new tax equity fund to finance solar leases for Sungevity's future customers. Sungevity has become a leader in the solar industry because of its ability to offer easy and affordable residential solutions with its unique online design and sales process.

"Sungevity has always put its customers first, and we are thrilled to be able to offer the best solar lease on the market with the first ever 10-year term using this fund while maintaining a service unparalleled by our competitors," said Danny Kennedy, President and co-founder of Sungevity. "Having a great partner like U.S. Bank that believes in the power of solar helps ensure that more home owners than ever can reap the savings coming from solar power in their own homes."

Sungevity started providing solar leases this month and has already sold one-quarter of a megawatt under the offer. Leveraging the easy online "iQuote" process, which enables Sungevity to use satellite images and aerial photography to assess customers' roofs remotely and accurately determine the homes' solar potential, the company has been able to furnish thousands of customers with a firm proposal to use solar power with no capital cost. Demand has been huge with over 1000 iQuotes requested through www.sungevity.com in the last week alone.

The offer gives most customers savings from the start of their Sungevity Solar Lease. The graphic compares a typical customer's monthly electric bill over a ten year period – savings from the solar lease starts immediately and increases significantly over time.

"This is the killer app for driving the mass adoption of solar," said Kennedy. "We've made it more than affordable to access electricity free from the sun, and we've made it easy by selling it over the internet."

"The Sungevity Solar Lease is a game changer: In one day this month we sold more solar power than our previous biggest month – people are voting with their mouses to get a lower electricity bill and do something for the planet."

About Sungevity: Sungevity is a solar sales company, with a mission to take solar to the mainstream market. Our company has a strong team that brings together successful start-up experience, environmental leadership and solar industry knowledge. Sungevity has designed and launched a unique online sales process to make it easy and affordable for homeowners to go solar.

About U.S. Bank: U.S. Bank is the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates over 3,000 banking offices and over 5,000 ATMs, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bank on the web at www.usbank.com.

SOURCE Sungevity