California Credit Union Makes $1 Billion Investment in Solar Power Partnership
Technology CU and SunPower ink deal that will fund tens of thousands of solar systems over the next four years.
The $3.1 billion Technology Credit Union in San Jose, Calif., said Tuesday it will invest $1 billion in financing for residential solar loans via a partnership with SunPower, a sustainable energy company that provides customers with solar solutions and services.
“We have enjoyed unprecedented success as one of the first lenders to partner with third-party finance providers in this space and are thrilled to add SunPower, a premium solar equipment manufacturer and solution provider, to our growing list of solar funding partners,” Tech CU President/CEO Todd Harris said.
At the end of last year, Tech CU reached a milestone of funding more than $1 billion in residential solar loans through its partnership with Sunlight Financial. That partnership, which began in 2016, has financed solar power systems for more than 35,000 homeowners across the nation.
What’s more, in 2017 the credit union began offering solar loans for commercial, nonprofit and government members, and in 2013, Tech CU partnered with Tesla to support electric auto financing.
In addition to providing solar loans to its members, the California credit union installed solar panels at its headquarters four years ago, reducing its non-renewable energy consumption by 40%.
“The combination of solar energy solutions coupled with finance solutions from providers like SunPower have made a huge difference in terms of making financing and acquiring solar loan systems easier and more mainstream,” Harris said. “As a leader in solar financing, we are committed to continuing our support to finance solution providers in the solar and green energy space, and we are working on additional projects that will help us expand our loan capacity even more in the future.”
Norm Taffe, EVP of North American for SunPower, said the Tech CU partnership will broaden its reach and streamline financing for its customers.
“This $1 billion commitment will also allow for tens of thousands of SunPower solar systems to be funded over the course of the next four years,” he said.
SunPower, which posted revenues of $1.8 billion at the end of last year, is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in San Jose.