In February 2016, Goldman Sachs provided a $3 million credit facility to finance the installation and lease of solar energy systems for 488 single-family homes in Salt Lake City, the majority of which are leased to low- and moderate-income residents.
The loan was made through an innovative financing structure that installs solar energy systems on low- and moderate-income homes generating triple-bottom line impact by transitioning households to renewable energy usage and creating savings for low- and moderate-income households. The homes are owned by Restore Utah, a Goldman Sachs joint venture that was created to revitalize neighborhoods by acquiring and transforming vacant or neglected properties hard hit by the financial crisis into quality affordable rental homes for low-income families. Entering into an agreement with Restore Utah to lease the systems provided the project with a stabilized portfolio of homes which served to reduce costly customer acquisition expenses and demonstrate an effective model for future projects.
Installation of the panels will be done by Restore Solar, a borrower under Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, who will be hiring and training primarily low- and moderate-income individuals in the solar installation trades. The project is in line with Goldman Sachs’ Clean Energy Access Initiative, which seeks to deploy clean energy solutions in underserved markets.
