OneRoof Energy Adds Solar

OneRoof Energy Adds Solar Feb. 22 -- OneRoof Energy, a closely held San Diego-based solar company, will spend much of the $50 million acquired in its first funding round to buy residential power systems for as many as 1,200 homes. OneRoof's solar panels can double as roofing tiles while generating electricity for your property. The company trains workers to install the systems and then leases them to homeowners at little to no upfront cost, Chief Executive Officer David Field said in a phone interview last week. Field is scheduled to appear with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders today to announce OneRoof's plans to add about 100 jobs this year. The company was supported in its first financing round by Black Coral Capital and other investors, Field said on Feb. 16. A second round is expected to close this year, he said. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004 called for the state to have solar panels put in place on a million roofs by 2017. To spur demand for solar power and other forms of clean power, the U.Treasury Department provides a 30 percent tax credit for construction projects using renewable energy. The subsidy is in place until 2016. "One of the issues in the industry is that there's a pretty high consumer-acquisition cost," Nikhil Garg, a vice president at Boston-based Black Coral Capital, said yesterday. "Talking directly to the developer of these communities, you can really drive down the cost of solar install." omebuilders want to work with OneRoof because clients don't have to pay upfront for the technology and "now they'll use that money for upgraded counter tops or for larger floor plans," Field said. The installations can cut monthly power bills 10 to 20 percent, Field said. OneRoof is starting work on a second round of funding and "expects to close that by the middle part of this year," Field said. Garg, who declined to disclose the size of Black Coral's initial investment, said "we're going to be actively looking at it." --Editors: Tina Davis, Charles Siler To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Doom in New York at jdoom1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor still liable for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net OneRoof Energy Adds Solar Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 24/02/2012