SolarCity Teams Up With Best Buy to Sell Solar

Energy

Published: March 12, 2014 11:30 am

SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) and Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) have teamed up to help customers go solar. The aim for the solar panel installer is to get face time with shoppers to explain how much money they could save. And the retailer of everything from appliances to cell phone plans to video games gets a cut of the sales, though precise terms were not disclosed.

The companies announced Wednesday that representatives will be stationed in about 60 Best Buy stores in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon and New York. They can provide quick assessments for shoppers about their homes, and offer on-the-spot estimates of potential electricity savings if solar panels are installed.

SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive said in an interview:

People go to Best Buy to buy all sorts of devices and appliances, and almost everything you buy consumes a tremendous amount of electricity — your flat-screen TV, your dishwasher. Now we can sell a product that addresses those energy needs.

Rive also said SolarCity has found success in a similar partnership with big-box home improvement store operator Home Depot (NYSE: HD).

Shares of SolarCity were up 6.0% Wednesday morning, at $77.82 in a 52-week range of $16.18 to $88.35. Best Buy shares were down %1.7 to $25.53. The 52-week range is $20.30 to $44.66.

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