SolarWorld Launches SolarWorld Financial Solutions
September 23, 2010
CAMARILLO, Calif., Sept. 23, 2010 – SolarWorld Americas, the sales and marketing arm of the largest and most experienced U.S. solar electric panel manufacturer, today unveiled a pioneering suite of no-money-down financing options that the company’s authorized installers and their customers can seize to speed their solar projects over initial cost hurdles and onto economic and environmental savings.
The SolarWorld Financial Solutions program delivers financing options from outside financial-service partners to empower the company’s authorized installers to further differentiate their businesses and close more sales. With SolarWorld, customers of those installers now can tap not only high-performance crystalline silicon solar panels but also those financing solutions that work best for them in immediately capturing power from the sun without staking significant upfront system costs.
Initial offerings enable residential customers to lease Sunkits® solar systems or defer payment until state and federal incentives can be realized. Commercial customers and not-for-profit organizations can select among various leases or a power purchase agreement (PPA). Under a PPA, a third party finances a solar system for a property owner; in turn, the property owner pays the financier for the system’s power at a discounted rate. The residential lease is currently available only in select Western states. SolarWorld Financial Solutions will continue to explore new financing options into the future.
“This portfolio provides a broad range of options for a variety of customers to ease financial access to solar projects,” says Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas. “The advance in ready-made financing versatility leads American markets in addressing solar’s upfront costs – the only ones that matter in a technology requiring no fuel, moving parts, maintenance, emissions or labor to operate. The upsides to the pocketbook and planet alike begin accruing immediately.”
“We’ve been a loyal partner of SolarWorld’s technology for years,” says Jose Luis Contreras, president and co-founder of Solar Energy Inc. of San Diego. “Its new financing portfolio, combined with leads we receive from the company’s aggressive marketing, will further the distance we can put between ourselves and competitors who sell solar products that come with little, if any, manufacturer support. Our customers will recognize the value proposition, and we are sure to land more sales.”
About SolarWorld AG
SolarWorld AG manufactures solar power systems and in doing so contributes to a cleaner energy supply worldwide. The company, located in Bonn, employs approximately 3,000 people and carries out production in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro, USA. From raw material silicon to the solar module, SolarWorld manages all stages of production ‒ including its own research and development. Through an international distribution network, SolarWorld supplies customers all over the world with solar modules and complete systems. The company maintains high social standards at all locations across the globe, and has committed itself to resource- and energy-efficient production. SolarWorld has been publically traded on the stock market since 1999 and is quoted in the technology index TecDax. SolarWorld achieved sales of about one billion Euros for the fiscal year 2011. More information at www.solarworld-usa.com.
Media Contact:
Devon Cichoski
Media relations manager
SolarWorld Americas
4650 Adohr Lane
Camarillo, CA 93012
Mobile: 805-377-2905
Office: 805-388-6388
devon.cichoski(at)solarworld-usa.com