Sunrun increases rooftop solar credit facility to $245m

The U.S. residential solar company has secured an additional $40 million in working capital from investors to support the expansion of its rooftop solar projects, especially the New York market.

June 29, 2016 Ian Clover

Sunrun, which is the third-largest provider of residential solar leases and systems in the U.S., has expanded a revolving credit facility with lenders to enable the company to pursue further growth in the construction of rooftop PV projects across the country.

The solar firm, which went public last year, has secured $40 million in working capital from investors, expanding its credit facility from $205 million to $245 million. The NY Green Bank has supplied $25 million of that $40 million figure. Sunrun declined to identify the names of the other backers, but said in a statement that the funds will be used to cover the costs of installation and purchase of materials.

According to Bloomberg, the NY Green Bank is confident that its investment will help to deliver solar rooftop systems to more than 5,000 homes in New York State.

“We’re helping to grow the market,” said NY Green Bank president Alfred Griffin. “They [Sunrun] are a proven developer. They have the need for the capital, they have the pipeline for the capital.” The bank is a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and has previously provided funds for Sunrun, supplying $25 million in May as part of a wider, five-year syndicated loan now worth $340 million.

Last week Sunrun was recognized as the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Sunshot Change Champion for reducing the time it takes would-be solar customers to have PV installed on their home. Singled out for praise was the firm’s BrightPath software platform, which was introduced to expedite the analysis and testing procedure for determining the right solar installation type for any rooftop.

Despite taking a hit in Q1 as a result of regressive changes to net metering in several states, including Nevada, Sunrun has begun 2016 strongly, achieving a doubling of revenues year-over-year in the first three months of the year of $99 million, with nominal contract payments hitting $2.6 billion.

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