The safe harbor facility is expected to preserve 30 percent ITC value for projects placed in service from now through mid-2022
Image: SunPower partners with Hannon Armstrong.Photo: Courtesy of Valentin J.-W/Pixabay
SunPower announced today that it has entered into a joint venture with Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, to acquire and deploy 200 megawatts (MW) of safe harbored panels, preserving the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) 30 percent value for third-party owned commercial and residential systems and meeting safe harbor guidelines. The companies expect to increase the volume in later years.
The federal investment tax credit is slated to step down from 30 percent at the end of this year to 26 percent in 2020, 22 percent in 2021 and then level at 10 percent for commercial customers and zero for residential customers in 2022 and beyond.
The safe harbor facility is expected to preserve 30 percent ITC value for projects placed in service from now through mid-2022.
“SunPower customers have always benefitted from our leading, innovative solar solutions and services and now they will have additional certainty of savings through our safe harbor joint venture enabling them to take advantage of the ITC 30 percent value post the step down on January 1, 2020,” said Tom Werner, SunPower CEO and chairman of the board. “This flexible and highly capital efficient safe harbor facility provides us with a great opportunity to once again partner with Hannon Armstrong, who shares our clean energy future goals.”
“We are pleased to broaden our offering to enable SunPower to realize additional value and flexibility in the near-term pipeline,” said Jeffrey W. Eckel, Hannon Armstrong chairman and CEO. “As the market need evolves, this latest transaction expands our multi-year programmatic investments with SunPower, supporting our shared mission for a decarbonized future.”
Residential Solar Business
SunPower offers its lease program through its network of residential solar dealers across the U.S., new home builders where the company holds a market-leading position, and direct sales teams. Last year, SunPower’s U.S. residential business saw annual deployment growth of more than 15 percent bringing the total number of American homes with SunPower® solar to over 275,000.
The company recently announced two innovative residential solar products:
Design Studio, which allows homeowners to conveniently explore their home’s solar potential, delivering a custom design in 30 seconds, and
Equinox Storage, which gives homeowners freedom from utility outages, grid uncertainty and high peak period rates.
Commercial Solar Business
As the No. 1 commercial solar provider in America, SunPower continues to leverage its market-leading storage experience that enables businesses to maximize their solar investment. After more than one year on the market, interest in Helix Storage remains high with a pipeline exceeding 136 megawatts and attach rates of greater than 35 percent.
Source: Company Press Release