Google and SolarCity seek to install solar panels across the US
A pledge of £300m from Google has been made to support the installation of solar panels across US homes
Google have committed to more than funding for Solar or wind farms, the company is seeking to support the installation of solar panels on homes across the US.
Leading US rooftop solar developer SolarCity announced yesterday it is cooperating with Google and their $300m pledge to create a $750m fund for investment in residential solar projects.
Following an earlier partnership between the two companies from 2011 that similarly funded the installation of residential rooftop solar arrays, SolarCity said Google’s $300m commitment has been the largest renewable energy investment to date.
Renewable Energy Principal at Google, Sidd Mundra said: "We're happy to support SolarCity's mission to help families reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs. It's good for the environment, good for families and also makes good business sense".
The fund is employed by financing the installation of solar arrays at no upfront cost for households in 14 US states and the District of Columbia.
The household then either pays a monthly charge to lease the panels or pays for the power that is generated.
In either scenario, homeowners receive predictable energy costs as well as benefiting from a significant amount of savings compared to the grid power they would otherwise be using.
The fund is the latest in a string of high profile clean energy investments from leading IT firms.
In recent months, Apple and Facebook have also announced their ambitious plans regarding new renewable energy and green data centre programmes.
