Internet search giant Google Inc. said on Tuesday that it is creating a 280-million-dollar fund to help finance rooftop installations, the largest green investment it has ever made.
The company said an agreement to this effect was reached with SolarCity, a solar panel installation company based in San Mateo, California.
This is the second major investment
Google has made in
solar energy. In April, Google invested 168 million dollars in a solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert.
"Google's leading the way and other companies could follow suit, " said Lyndon Rive, chief executive of SolarCity. "It's not just about a dramatic environmental impact, it's also a good return."
The move is expected to boost solar energy use in homes and promote renewable energy technologies.
Under the agreement, SolarCity will use the Google fund to pay for installation and maintenance costs, while customers will pay only for the electricity produced by the panels, usually in monthly installments, and Google will get a cut of those payments, according to The Los Angeles Times.
SolarCity is known for its lease programs and power purchase agreements, which allow customers to avoid the tens of thousands of dollars of upfront expenses.
The company says more than 80 percent of the 15,000 projects completed or underway nationwide involved some kind of financing instead of a full upfront payment.
The Solar
Energy Industries Association, a trade group, said residential installations nationwide have grown steadily and are expected to keep expanding this year.
By the end of 2010, home solar panels were capable of producing 74 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 74,000 average California homes, said the group. That was up 33 percent from the beginning of the year.
