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 NRG Home Solar on Tuesday will announce two new offices and plans
to add 100 employees in the Golden State. The company is already a
top competitor on the East Coast but has lagged rivals such as
SolarCity Corp and Vivint Solar Inc in California.
That is about to change, according to Kelcy Pegler, president of NRG
Home Solar.
"We are in this residential solar space to win, and this is evidence
of our commitment to become a big player in the state of
California," Pegler said in an interview.
NRG has quietly made inroads into the residential solar market over
the last several years. But the company is making a major push this
year after buying installer Roof Diagnostics Solar and online solar
sales company Pure Energies. Pegler came to NRG from Roof
Diagnostics.
 NRG Energy owns power plants throughout the United States, and its
rooftop solar foray is tiny in comparison to its primary power
generation business. But NRG Chief Executive David Crane has put a
large emphasis on renewable energy and distributed generation such
as rooftop solar.
Earlier this month, Crane told analysts that NRG will have 10,000
home solar installations at the end of this year, and between 35,000
and 40,000 by the end of 2015.
As of the second quarter, NRG Home Solar had 2.4 percent of the U.S.
installation market, behind rivals SolarCity, Vivint and Sungevity,
according to solar market research firm GTM Research.
"The company has set its sights pretty high, so I'd expect to see
this share grow pretty rapidly," GTM analyst Shayle Kann said of
NRG.
NRG Home Solar's new offices will be located in Merced and San
Diego, adding to offices in Emeryville and San Francisco. The
company has 1,000 employees and will be adding 100 more.
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NRG will also begin offering a loan to customers who want to own
their systems but cannot afford the $20,000 to $30,000 upfront cost.
The company would not disclose details of loan.
Solar leases, which allow homeowners to pay a monthly fee for their
panels while another company owns them, have underpinned the growth
of the U.S. solar market in recent years.
But loans have become increasingly popular because they allow
homeowners to take advantage of generous federal tax credits for
solar systems. SolarCity launched its first loan option earlier this
year, a product it expects will make up half its residential
business by the end of next year.
NRG's Pegler said he expects leases and power purchase agreements,
another no-money-down option, to be the most popular options for
customers over the next two years.
(Reporting By Nichola Groom; Editing by Ken Wills)
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