Sunrun installs rooftop solar for residential customers and works to increase consumer access to distributed-generation solutions. The company has entered a multifaceted partnership with investor-owned utility National Grid to scale rooftop adoption. As part of the deal National Grid is making a $100 million direct investment to fund approximately 200 MW of residential projects. The program will initially target nearly 100,000 single-family homes in downstate New York and includes co-marketing to bolster National Grid’s clean-energy image. Sunrun and National Grid plan to explore bundling distributed-energy resources to create grid stability and more efficient operations. The partnership reflects Sunrun’s strategy of forming strategic and financial relationships to expand rooftop solar deployment and unlock value for customers. Sunrun provides solar electricity to homeowners primarily through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) model that lets customers pay for electricity without buying panels outright, reducing initial capital outlay. The company also offers a solar lease program and handles installation, maintenance, monitoring and repairs. Sunrun intends to use new financing to broaden its reach to consumers and further develop its tools. Founded in 2007 and based in San Francisco, the company focuses on lowering barriers to residential solar adoption. It has raised over $485 million to date. Sunrun invented solar power service in 2007 and sells rooftop solar as a service, owning and maintaining customers’ systems while families pay a low rate and fix electric costs for 20 years. The company says it has more than 20,000 customers in ten states and installs over $1.5 million in solar equipment every day. Sunrun partners with more than 25 local solar companies that together employ over 3,000 workers. Management plans to use the new funding to develop and scale the software and service capabilities needed to lower costs and simplify installation and service. Sunrun has attracted capital to support the purchase of $1 billion in solar systems and previously raised $145 million in venture capital from Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, Foundation Capital, and Madrone Capital Partners. The company emphasizes continuing innovation on installation processes, service, and cost reduction to make solar adoption possible for more American families. SunRun positions itself primarily as a finance company that makes residential solar accessible by offering either an upfront purchase (systems average around $25,000) or no‑money‑down monthly payments over the systems' decades‑long useful life. The company leverages federal tax credits and state/local incentives to deliver savings to customers, and most customers can sell excess electricity back to the grid, reducing the need for costly batteries. SunRun reports roughly 5,000 customers across California, Colorado, Arizona, Massachusetts and New Jersey and holds about a 17% share of the home solar market. CEO Edward Fenster says customers on average reduce their electricity costs by around two‑thirds after going solar. The company plans to expand into additional states as energy prices rise and incentives spread. Financially, SunRun has attracted significant capital to support growth and installations. SunRun markets residential rooftop solar through power purchase agreements: customers pay a roughly $1,000 installation fee while SunRun owns, monitors and maintains the panels and sells electricity at a fixed rate. The company partners with local solar installers who select and install systems for customers. SunRun is pursuing an aggressive web-based marketing strategy, including Facebook ads, and reports more than 150,000 unique monthly website visitors after Accel Partners advised on site growth. It serves about 1,000 customers today and says consumers see substantial bill reductions in high-rate regions like the Northeast. SunRun plans geographic expansion into 10–14 additional states beyond its current focus in California, Massachusetts and Arizona over the next two to three years. The company also has a $105 million contract with a US Bancorp affiliate to buy 2,000 residential solar installations.

Total raised

$383M

Funding rounds

5

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2017