SolarCity, the arms dealer of solar installation, raises $21M more

Updated

SolarCity, the company we’ve dubbed the “Swiss arms dealer” of the solar installation industry, said it has raised $21 million in a third round of funding.

SolarCity, based in Foster City, Calif., has grabbed attention with its aggressive offer to residents in certain regions to provide cheap solar installation if the residents agree to sign up by certain dates. By getting large numbers of customers, SolarCity can reduce costs through economies of scale. It controls installation, but solicits bids from vendors to supply the parts. It doesn’t care where it gets its panels, merely seeking to provide its customers the best deal (see example of its strategy here). We first covered the company here. It has now raised more than $31 million.

The company now employs 170 people, up from two people a yea ago, according to chief executive Lyndon Rive. The company is adding between six and ten people every month. It has installed more than two megawatts of residential solar power, for about 350 homes.

The funding is led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, JP Morgan and Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal.

This is one of the largest rounds for an investment in a residential solar installer company.

SolarCity says it is the largest installer of small (less than 50kW) residential solar systems in California, exceeding the number of installations by competitor Akeena, for example. It has focused mainly on Fresno, LA, Sacramento and the Bay Area, and sees the most growth coming in California’s central valley and LA.