Google Inc. and SunPower Corp. announced on Wednesday that they will be working together to invest $250 million in financing residential leases for solar energy.
Instead of having solar panels built on their rooftops, homeowners would pay for solar electricity, according to Forbes.
The companies said that Google is hoping to invest up to $100 million, while SunPower will contribute $150 million.
Google said that the goal of the investment is to make "it easier for thousands of households across the U.S. to go solar," The Los Angeles Times reported.
"Using the fund ... we buy the solar panel systems," the Internet search giant said. "Then we lease them to homeowners at a cost that's typically lower than their normal electricity bill."
The investment is taking place at a time when more homeowners are leasing solar panels from companies rather than immediately buying them.
SunPower's residential lease program, which was first launched in 2011, is expected to benefit from the deal, Forbes reported. The San Jose, Calif., company has almost 20,000 customers in the U.S. that have signed the company's leases. The leases run up to 20 years.
Google has shown its support for renewable energy through signing wind power projects in areas where its data centers operate and invest in domestic and global solar power projects. The company announced on Tuesday that it had signed a deal with MidAmerican Energy to buy 407 megawatts of wind energy in Iowa.
The growth of the residential solar market has attracted more conventional electric power companies, such as Edison International and NextEra, that use coal and natural gas to produce power. These companies are also buying solar companies to get into the business, Forbes reported.
Analysts said that funding for solar power projects can be difficult, since solar developers working with homeowners have trouble persuading traditional banks to fund projects that are not done on a large scale, The Los Angeles Times reported. A lot of investment firms do not know about the risks of solar energy and do not want to wait out the payout period, which can last for decades. These problems are making renewable energy companies come up with creative ways to finance their projects.
Google's additional investments include solar leasing programs through SolarCity and Clean Power Finance, as well as an $80 million deal for six utility-scale solar facilities in Arizona and California announced last November.
