SolarCity to become one-stop shop for energy efficiency and solar services
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You’d think a company named SolarCity Corp. would focus its energies on the sun. Not so. The Foster City, Calif., firm is branching out into energy efficiency after acquiring Building Solutions, a Redwood City company that helps makes homes more green.
SolarCity, currently the largest provider of solar power systems in the country, will now be able to offer home energy audits, duct and building envelope sealing, appliance and lighting consultations and more.
“As of right now, there aren’t residential energy efficiency providers with any serious scale,” said Peter Rive, chief operating officer of SolarCity. “We’re going to be able to bring serious economies of scale. Being able to integrate the two will provide a better experience for the customer and lower our combined costs.”
When SolarCity finishes integrating Building Solutions, it expects to be able to complete hundreds of projects each month, becoming the largest provider of solar photovoltaics and energy-efficiency services in the country.
The program is available in Northern California and is expected to arrive in Southern California by the end of the year. The services will also be offered in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Texas.
Employees will be trained to recommend cost-saving energy suggestions to homeowners based on the architecture of their home, their electricity and gas use, ventilation set-up, appliances and heating and cooling equipment, for example.
Though the companies stayed mum on financial details of the deal, they said SolarCity was keeping every Building Solutions employee while retaining all current SolarCity positions.
James Quazi, Building Solutions’ co-founder and president, will stay on as SolarCity’s energy-efficiency operations director and lead building scientist.
-- Tiffany Hsu
