A Closer Look At 'Google-Solar City 2.0'

In a blog post on Thursday, SolarCity Corp SCTY announced the creation of a new fund that will finance $750 million in solar projects, of which $300 million will be contributed by Google Inc. GOOG GOOGL According to the blog post, the new fund will make it possible for U.S. homeowners to install solar panels with no upfront cost. The fund covers the cost of installation while the homeowner pays SolarCity for the electricity the solar panel produces, or monthly rent for the panels. "In most cases it's very similar to the arrangement you have with your local utility, which finances the construction of a centralized power plant and delivery grid and then sells the power to you," SolarCity wrote in its blog. "Only the power that SolarCity provides is cleaner, and usually cheaper, too." The blog also noted that the company has a prior history with Google. In 2011, a similar partnership with Google allowed SolarCity to help homeowners start using solar power at home.