Infrastructure

SolarCity Brings Solar Bonds Directly to the Public

SolarCity Corp. (NASDAQ: SCTY) recently issued its new financing plan to get more solar installations going in America. Now we have an even more unique offering from SolarCity: the nation’s first registered public offering of solar bonds. A series of SEC filings on Wednesday morning contained the details, but this certainly appears to be a one of a kind that might have only been possible under the umbrella of Elon Musk.

The company has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to issue up to $200 million in solar bonds. SolarCity even launched a new online investment site to make them available directly to consumers.

What investors have been unable to ignore is the notion that solar stocks have been bashed beyond normal energy weakness. For instance, SolarCity shares are now trading under $49, after hitting a high of $88.35 in the past year.

SolarCity said that it is currently providing more than one-third of all new solar power systems in the United States. The additional details of the bonds were as follows:

  • The earnings on its solar bonds are to be paid by income received from monthly solar payments made by thousands of homeowners, schools, businesses and government organizations.
  • Solar bonds offer consumers a new alternative to other savings and fixed income investment products, such as savings accounts, CDs, Treasury bonds and municipal bonds.

SolarCity further said that it has created funds to finance the installation of approximately $5 billion in renewable energy assets. The company’s new solar bond offering is effectively the first time that individual investors will be given access through a public solar bond offering. The solar bonds will be available online through SolarCity’s investment site to all U.S. investors who are at least 18 years old and meet SolarCity’s eligibility requirements, with no fees for purchase — for as low as $1,000. The maturities range from one to seven years and will earn interest rates of up to 4%.

SolarCity shares were down close to 2% at $48.68 after about 45 minutes of trading. Again, this stock has been cut nearly in half, but it is still expected to keep losing money from operations.

ALSO READ: Have Solar Stocks Sold Off Too Much?

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