(Bloomberg) — SolarCity Corp., the biggest U.S. solar
power supplier to homes, plans to use $1 billion in funding led
by Credit Suisse Group AG to strengthen its lead in commercial
rooftops.
The financing will help SolarCity build 300 megawatts of
solar rooftops and carports for businesses, government agencies
and schools over the next two years, the San Mateo, California-based company said Wednesday in an e-mailed statement. It has
installed 1,800 commercial solar systems to date for clients
including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Intel Corp.
SolarCity was the largest installer of solar rooftops for
both homes and businesses last year, beating rivals including
SunEdison Inc., SunPower Corp. and Vivint Solar Inc., according
to GTM Research.
Improvements to racking systems that snap together and
require fewer attachments to the roof have reduced the time it
takes to build some commercial rooftops to as few two days from
about two weeks.
The financing round with Credit Suisse was completed in
February. It was followed by a $300 million fund for residential
rooftops from Google Inc. last month.
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Will Wade, Robin Saponar