Dive Brief:

• SolarCity plans to offer a private placement of $54.4 million in debt, the first time the financing mechanism is being employed in the distributed photovoltaic power space, according to GTM Research's Shayle Kann. The debt would mature in December of 2026.
• The San Mateo, California-based pioneer of leasing solar panels to homeowners will next have to get the securities rated by the likes of Standard & Poor's, Moody's or Fitch. Then, one or more investment banks will try to sell institutional investors on the deal.    

Dive Insight: 

The securitization by solar companies could be "potentially a bigger deal than a solar [real estate investment trust] or [master limited partnership]," said GTM's Kann. He and others expect that if SolarCity is successful in its offering, others such as Sunrun, CleanPower Finance and OneRoof may follow.