SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY) is a solar energy provider for both the residential, commercial and governmental sectors. The company, founded in 2006, designs, installs and manages solar energy systems to provide customers clean energy at a more affordable price than what is offered by their local grid-based energy providers.

A Unique System: SolarCity installs solar panel fueled energy systems free of charge to their clients. In exchange for the clean energy that the client receives, the client pays SolarCity at a rate that is guaranteed to be less expensive than their local energy providers who generate their electricity by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.

SolarCity makes it easy for customers to switch to cleaner energy. We take a comprehensive look at our customers’ energy usage and identify opportunities for improvements. We perform the entire process, from permitting through installation, and provide ongoing monitoring and repair services. We also guarantee the electricity production of our solar energy systems to our customers. We are the only company that offers integrated sales, financing, design, installation, monitoring and efficiency services without involving the services of multiple third-parties. Our project management and performance monitoring systems scale to support millions of users, and provide our customers a real-time view of their net energy consumption and carbon footprint.  – SolarCity

The Benefits: SolarCity offers a clean and renewable energy source with Solar Power for homeowners and businesses. They offer free solar panel installation, and guaranteed savings for the cost of energy every month. Solar Panels can also be purchased outright allowing the customer to have complete ownership of their collected solar energy.

Micro Grids: Solar power is an integral part of Micro-Grids and independent energy sourcing. Micro-Grids are small-scale electrical grids that are operated and maintained with computer software to create an independent “Smart-Grid” that can efficiently generate, distribute and regulate electric power independently or in collaboration with the existing electrical grid. To learn more about Micro-Grids and their role in the electricity management revolution, check out my article:  Micro-Grids & Reliable Energy. To learn more about Smart-Grids, read Arber Doci’s article: Smart-Grid

Financing: In order to fund this initiative, SolarCity has worked with many banks and investors to secure financing including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.  Most notably SolarCity received a substantial investment of $100 Million from Elon Musk, the company’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. Musk’s two cousins, Lyndon Rive, CEO and Peter Rive, COO are the founders of the company. SolarCity is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: SCTY) and is trading at $54+ per share which is up from $8 per share at their IPO in 2012 which raised about $92 Million.

A Growing Demand: The demand for solar power is growing every day. With the price for solar panels dropping to new lows, solar energy is now within the realm of possibilities for my energy conscious home owners and business owners. Currently, the SolarCity is the largest provider of solar energy in the United States. Some of their most notable customers include; Wal-Mart, Intel, EBay, the United States Armed Forces and the Department of Homeland Security.