A Foster City-based solar startup is making a local push and hiring Orange County workers.
SolarCity Corp. opened in Santa Ana last September with 10 employees and is looking to add about 35 more by the end of the year.
The company designs and installs solar panel systems for homes, businesses and government buildings.
The jobs mostly will be for installers.
“The plan is to ramp slowly up in the coming months,” said Jim Cahill, regional director for Southern California.
Recent funding from US Bancorp’s Community Development Corp. and investment fund Greystone Renewable Energy Ventures in New York has been a growth driver for SolarCity.
The financiers receive tax credits for funding solar projects.
SolarCity has received about $25 million in tax-equity funding for projects.
SolarCity had more than $30 million in 2008 revenue.
The company calls OC one of its fastest growing markets,it has a two-year backlog in local orders.
Business here primarily is residential, due to the county’s sunny climate and its newer homes, which can handle the weight and size of the panes, according to Cahill.
It recently finished work for Coast Com-munity College District’s headquarters in Costa Mesa, where, along with German engineer Siemens AG, it built a 10,000-square-foot solar panel structure over the school’s parking lot.
The Santa Ana office is the company’s second largest behind Culver City, where it plans to have 55 workers by the end of the year.
Source of Panels
The company buys solar panels from manufacturers such as Evergreen Solar Inc. in Massachusetts and First Solar Inc. in Arizona.
The 5 feet by 3 feet panels it installs cost about $800 to $1,000 and are said to generate about 200 watts of power.
Prices are cheaper than a couple of years ago, when strong demand for them drove them up to about $1,200 each.
Demand since has waned due to the recession.
Instead of buying the panels, customers typically lease them to avoid a hefty initial cost.
It would take customers about seven to 10 years to make the money back on energy savings if they bought the panels rather than leased them, he said.
Leases tend to run for 15 years. Savings on electric bills can vary, but the company says they can save customers 10% to 15%.
Solar City competes with San Jose-based SunPower Corp, which also manufactures
the panels, among other companies.
