Google Makes $300 Mln. Bet On Residential Solar

(RTTNews) - Google Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) has made a $300 million investment in a fund that will finance residential power projects.

SolarCity Corp. (SCTY) Thursday said it has created a fund expected to finance $750 million in residential solar projects with Google investing about $300 million.

The new fund will cover the upfront cost of solar panel installations for thousands of homeowners in 14 states, SolarCity said.

According to SolarCity, the fund is the largest ever created for residential solar power, and Google's stake being its biggest renewable energy investment to date.

"We're happy to support SolarCity's mission to help families reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs," said Sidd Mundra, Renewable Energy Principal at Google. "It's good for the environment, good for families and also makes good business sense."

Google's deal is a tax equity transaction, which will allow the search giant to claim federal tax credits worth 30 percent of a solar project's cost and reduce tax.

According to reports, Google has invested more than $1.5 billion in renewable energy projects.