Billion-dollar project to install solar on 120,000 homes

While solar energy has the potential to help America meet its energy needs, the cost of the technology has generally been a roadblock, except for efforts that receive hefty government grants. Now a company that contracts with the U.S. military is planning what appears to be the largest single deployment of solar technology, and they’re going to do it without federal funding.

SolarCity recently announced that it will install solar systems on the rooftops of as many as 120,000 homes located on military bases, with much of the funding to come from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “It will be the largest residential deployment of solar in American history,” said SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive. It’s also the first such project that’s being pursued without the safety net of a government guarantee.

Under the plan, SolarCity will own the solar systems. They’ll sell the electricity that’s generated to the companies that manage housing on military bases, giving them a discount over local utility rates. Such large projects allow the company to take advantage of economies that it couldn’t obtain with house-by-house projects.

Besides the size of the project, what makes it noteworthy is the lack of federal money involved, although the companies will receive tax credits. As an official of the Solar Energy Industries Association recently noted, private-sector investments demonstrate investor confidence in the technology and the potential for financial returns.