SolarWorld launches SolarWorld Financial Solutions, pioneering suite of no-money-down options for installers and their customers

Portfolio features options tailored to residential, commercial and nonprofit segments

CAMARILLO, Calif., Sept. 23, 2010 – SolarWorld Americas, the sales and marketing arm of the largest and most experienced U.S. solar electric panel manufacturer, today unveiled a pioneering suite of no-money-down financing options that the company’s authorized installers and their customers can seize to speed their solar projects over initial cost hurdles and onto economic and environmental savings.

The SolarWorld Financial Solutions program delivers financing options from outside financial-service partners to empower the company’s authorized installers to further differentiate their businesses and close more sales. With SolarWorld, customers of those installers now can tap not only high-performance crystalline silicon solar panels but also those financing solutions that work best for them in immediately capturing power from the sun without staking significant upfront system costs.

Initial offerings enable residential customers to lease Sunkits® solar systems or defer payment until state and federal incentives can be realized. Commercial customers and not-for-profit organizations can select among various leases or a power purchase agreement (PPA). Under a PPA, a third party finances a solar system for a property owner; in turn, the property owner pays the financier for the system’s power at a discounted rate. The residential lease is currently available only in select Western states. SolarWorld Financial Solutions will continue to explore new financing options into the future.

“This portfolio provides a broad range of options for a variety of customers to ease financial access to solar projects,” says Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas. “The advance in ready-made financing versatility leads American markets in addressing solar’s upfront costs – the only ones that matter in a technology requiring no fuel, moving parts, maintenance, emissions or labor to operate. The upsides to the pocketbook and planet alike begin accruing immediately.” 

“We’ve been a loyal partner of SolarWorld’s technology for years,” says Jose Luis Contreras, president and co-founder of Solar Energy Inc. of San Diego. “Its new financing portfolio, combined with leads we receive from the company’s aggressive marketing, will further the distance we can put between ourselves and competitors who sell solar products that come with little, if any, manufacturer support. Our customers will recognize the value proposition, and we are sure to land more sales.”

About SolarWorld (www.solarworld-usa.com)

SolarWorld (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline silicon solar-power technology. The company’s strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and panels all the way to turn-key solar systems of all sizes, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling high-quality panels into the installation and distribution trades and wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany, with sales sites in Singapore, South Africa, Spain, France as well as in the U.S. state of California. The group’s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports community aid projects using off-grid solar-power solutions in developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs about 3,300 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since 1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX and ÖkoDAX as well as in the sustainability index NAI.

Media Contact:

Devon Cichoski
Media relations manager
SolarWorld Americas
4650 Adohr Lane
Camarillo, CA 93012
Mobile: 805-377-2905
Office: 805-388-6388
devon.cichoski(at)solarworld-usa.com