Two US Solar Financing Startups Combine

Two solar financing startups backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - Kilowatt Financial and Clean Power Finance - said on Wednesday they will combine to create a larger company that will offer loans, leases and other products to help U.S. consumers go solar.

 

Terms of the deal, which will enable the companies to compete more effectively against larger rivals including SolarCity Corp and SunRun Inc, were not disclosed.

 

The combination of two prominent solar financing startups is significant for a market that is growing dramatically ahead of the expiration of a key federal tax credit for solar installations at the end of next year.

 

The two companies, whose new venture will be called Elevate Power, will have 50,000 existing customers and $1.6 billion in project and loan financing under management.

 

In addition to solar, Elevate will provide financing for projects that make homes more energy-efficient.

 

Kilowatt, a financier, and CPF, which has an online marketplace that connects solar installers to financing options, have worked together since 2012.

 

"We just looked at it and said we think at the end of the day we can make a nationwide company with great products that are faster and better by taking control of all the financing," Nat Kreamer, chief executive of Clean Power Finance, said in an interview.

 

Kreamer will serve as Elevate Power's CEO. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.