SolarCity announces financing rounds of $338m

US solar power provider SolarCity has announced two rounds of financing totalling $338 million.

On Wednesday, the company confirmed that it had closed a new $150 million financing round with Credit Suisse “to support the development of commercial solar energy systems—including battery storage systems—for businesses, schools, and government organisations across the US.”

And on Thursday the firm revealed that it had secured another round of financing for $188 million, the second within its renewable energy investment programme with Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The $188 million will cover the cost of solar equipment and installation which will enable thousands of consumers to have access to solar power without having to pay expensive up-front costs.

Jeff Munson, Director of Structured Finance at SolarCity said: “Our asset portfolio enables us to continually bring in new capital from top tier institutional and corporate investors… Additionally, our proprietary, in-house technology provides us competitive advantages that have led us to become one of the top commercial solar providers in the US.”

For Bank of America, the investment programme is part a 10-year, $125 billion environmental business initiative to develop low-carbon economic solutions through lending and investing capital for global clients.

SolarCity accounted for a third of all residential rooftop installations in the US throughout 2015 and announced a new $249 million solar project fund in February.