JinkoSolar sets new PACE for commercial-financing channel

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Commercial solar installers take heart – one panel manufacturer is trying to make your lives easier.

Chinese panel manufacturer JinkoSolar is diving into the Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) market, announcing yesterday that it was partnering with  CleanFund Commercial PACE Capital (CleanFund) to provide long-term project financing to U.S. commercial developers through CleanFund’s SolarPACE program.

Of the three primary solar-market segments – utility, commercial-and-industrial and residential – it’s the commercial segment that has struggled to find consistent financing options because of the complexity that often dogs projects. Between multi-tenant projects, questions about credit-worthiness and other hurdles not found in other segments, banks traditionally have been reluctant to put their full weight behind commercial projects.

PACE programs seek to eliminate that uncertainty by giving governments, where state law allows, to fund upfront costs associated with solar installations for commercial and residential properties, which the owners pay back over time through their property taxes.

SolarPACE maximizes cash flow for commercial-and-industrial (C&I) clients through funding provided by CleanFund. Once the system is installed, the end-users repay the loan over periods that can extend as long as 30 years. Developers who use JinkoSolar modules together with SolarPACE will be eligible for additional incentives that may lower project costs and consequently improve margins.

“SolarPACETM is an excellent fit for the C&I space because it uniquely maximizes cash flow for the end customer,” said Nigel Cockroft, general manager at JinkoSolar U.S. “We always seek to enhance our installers’ competitiveness, and this partnership with CleanFund will be key to that effort.”

“As a provider of long-term financing, we appreciate projects integrated with high quality materials from reliable suppliers,” said Brandon Deno, vice president of solar at CleanFund.  “JinkoSolar has a proven reputation as a dependable and world-class module manufacturer.”

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