The popularity of solar leases has inspired the launch of financing innovation in another clean technology sector. Lunera, a Silicon Valley startup that provides next-generation LED lighting, is believed to be the first in the commercial lighting sector to announce a lease-to-purchase program. This program allows commercial building owners to upgrade their lighting systems with ultra energy efficient LED lighting for no money down.

The market for LED lighting is strong, especially along the East and West coasts where electricity rates are high. LEDs do not contain mercury, can be used with a dimmer, last much longer than standard bulbs, have potential for enhanced visibility and can secure attractive operating cost reductions for companies and municipalities. For example, streetlight fixtures upgraded with LED technology have a lifespan of over 15 years compared to the 7 years of standard high-pressure sodium lamps and have the potential to achieve 50% in energy savings. The initial costs of LED lighting systems, however, can be a deterrent. To address this barrier, Lunera has developed a five-year lease-to-purchase agreement with fixed monthly payments, which will “remove the first cost of investing in LED lighting, enabling facility owners and tenants to pursue their growth objective of upgrading to LED lighting and lowering operating expenses,” explains Karen Owyeung, CEO of Lunera Lighting.

Lunera’s announcement comes at a time when the popularity of solar leasing options has soared. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

47 percent of residential solar installations in California are owned by a third party, not the homeowner, according to state data crunched by SunRun. The company arrived at that figure by examining the records of the California Solar Initiative, which provides rebates for solar installation.

Solar leasing was thrust further into the spotlight following recent announcements of major companies collaborating with solar vendors to make leasing options more accessible. In June, Google and SolarCity, a San Mateo-based solar power company, announced a $280 million investment deal that will allow the company to extend solar lease and power purchase agreement options. More recently, Citigroup and San Jose-based SunPower announced a new $105 million fund for residential solar leasing projects, which will permit SunPower to expand its 20-year lease program to several other states. Citigroup has also partnered with Sungevity, an Oakland-based startup, to create a tax-equity fund that will finance the leasing of $50 million worth of residential solar systems and advance Sungevity’s expansion to the East Coast.

“Leasing gets [people] over the hump [of upfront costs] and it's familiar: Anyone who has a monthly mortgage gets the idea that you are paying over time,” says Nancy Pfund, a managing partner at DBL Investors. “We need to fix the economics of renewable energy if we are going to grow the market. A lease like this is another tool in the tool kit.”

It remains to be seen whether Lunera’s announcement will drive a trend in LED lighting leases, but if the popularity of solar leases and the burgeoning market for LED lighting systems are any indication, Lunera might have turned on the switch for another successful clean technology sector.

Sunshares and Solar@WorkSolar Group-Buy Models will Enable Discounted Solar Power for Bay Area Residential and Commercial Properties

SAN FRANCISCO, C.A., July 13, 2011 - The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) today announced it is collaborating with the City of San Francisco (the City) to accelerate the adoption solar technology in the Bay Area. The BACC and the City are combining their efforts to drive outreach, education and recruitment for both residential and commercial solar power systems through their SunShares and Solar@Work solar group-buy initiatives.

Developed by the City of San José as part of the Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities initiative and in partnership with the BACC, SunShares is a first-of-its-kind solar group-buy model that employers and communities can replicate with partner financial institutions, enabling employees to secure highly attractive terms to install solar power on their homes. Initially piloted by the City of San José, city employees obtained solar at over 40 percent off average market rates using the model. With support from SunShares outreach sponsors Technology Credit Union, SunPower Corp., SolarCity, KeyPoint Credit Union, and in partnership with NorCal Solar, the BACC is leading recruitment efforts to drive replication of the SunShares model and delivering education to support implementation, including the recent launch of a complementary set of resources available on the SunShares webpage at www.sunshares.org.

“In uniting the leadership of the City of San Francisco and the World Resources Institute with the complementary partnerships of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative and the City of San Jose, this collaboration will extend our combined reach and help bring to scale this important clean energy technology,” said Rafael Reyes, Executive Director of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative. “Our coordinated efforts on SunShares and Solar@Work will ensure that both residential and commercial demand for affordable solar and available financing is met.”

Solar@Work, launching officially at InterSolar today, is a commercial solar group-purchasing program developed by the San Francisco Department of the Environment in partnership with the World Resources Institute in  response to the two main impediments to going solar identified by San Francisco businesses – up-front cost and access to financing. The program is a solution for small- to mid-size commercial properties that are unable to achieve economies of scale from larger systems. Solar@Work aims to achieve cost reductions by leveraging group purchasing power, provide an affordable and streamlined financing option to decrease transaction costs and stimulate local economic development.

“The City set an aggressive goal to address the needs of our local and regional building owners who want to reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs with minimal up-front investments,” said Melanie Nutter, Director of the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of Environment. “This program represents a major evolution in the available options for these stakeholders and will result in a cleaner environment while creating more green jobs.”

For more information on SunShares, please visit www.sunshares.org.

For more information on Solar@Work, please contact www.wri.org/solar-at-work.

About the Bay Area Climate Collaborative

The Bay Area Climate Collaborative (BACC) is a public-private initiative accelerating the clean energy economy. Major partners include Bank of America, Pacific Gas & Electric, and local governments representing over 70 percent of the Bay Area population. The BACC is driving electric vehicle, energy efficiency and solar innovation. For more information on the BACC, please visit: www.baclimate.org.

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The private sector has been getting serious about solar investment. Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Prologis, and NRG just announced a partnership that aims to finance up to $2.6 billion of commercial and industrial rooftop solar arrays. Once finalized, the partnership will represent the largest distributed solar deal in history.

Through this distributed solar project, more than 10,000 full-year jobs will be generated across 28 states. After completion, these installations are estimated to supply about 733 MW of distributed solar energy, which would provide renewable energy to power roughly 100,000 homes.

Bank of America, a major partner of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative, will serve as the main financial backer of this project, supported by a US Department of Energy loan guarantee and $1.4 billion loan commitment. Prologis, an industrial real-estate owner, will serve as a developer and program sponsor by providing access to rooftops while making an equity investment in the project. NRG, one of the nation’s largest utility companies, is funding the first phase of the project as well as providing development resources. Together, they hope to produce large amounts of clean energy while generating thousands of jobs across the states.

This news follows closely on the heels of a similar announcement from Google, which is targeting residential solar. Further solidifying its emergence as a major, VC-level investor in clean power projects, Google has recently announced that it is creating a $280 million fund for rooftop solar panel projects to be installed by SolarCity, a sponsor of the Bay Area Climate Collaborative’s SunShares outreach program. Having previously invested in large-scale wind and solar thermal projects, this is Google’s first foray into residential and distributed solar.

SolarCity has raised at least a dozen funds similar to the Google one, but it usually raises these funds from banks like Citi and U.S. Bancorp (and has also worked with utility PG&E). Lyndon Rive, SolarCity CEO, said the biggest hurdle to getting its solar projects deployed is raising project financing.

According to the California solar Initiative (CSI), there are approximately 48,000 residential solar systems currently installed in the state. The Google SolarCity investment could have significant impacts on the number of installed residential solar in California and the nation.

Google’s $280 million fund could help deploy between 7,000 and 9,000 rooftop solar projects depending on the size of the systems, said Rive, in an interview this week. Because there are so few solar rooftop projects in the U.S. right now, the fund could theoretically help deploy one in 10 solar rooftop projects over the next two years, said Google Director of Green Business Operations Rick Needham.

Private sector investments of this kind can play a significant role in helping solar providers get projects deployed. Lyndon Rive, the CEO of SolarCity, says that “Google is setting an example that other leading American companies can follow.”

On Saturday, June 4, 2011, clean energy leader and Palo Alto resident Sven Thesen and family will open their new ultra energy-efficient home to the public and, through partnership with Plug In America, provide the opportunity to ride and drive the latest electric vehicles.

This 2,500 sq. ft. home, based on the European Passive House design, is projected to exceed LEED Platinum rating by at least 20% and use zero net energy. This will be among the first true "net-zero" homes in the state - aligning with the state's ambitious 2020 target.

California features the greatest number of zero-net energy (ZNE) buildings in the nation, and with the introduction of ambitious new ZNE goals - all new residential construction by 2020 and all new commercial construction by 2030 - ZNE has moved beyond bold concept to reality, just as "green building" did a few short years ago.

This FREE event will feature:

Join us for this unique opportunity to explore and learn about the benefits of ZNE building and to engage with public officials, business leaders, and members of the green building industry about the future of sustainable building practices in California.

Learn about innovations in:

For more information on the Thesen's home visit: www.projectgreenhome.org

Space is limited - register now!