Mosaic Inc.
| Mosaic | |
| Industry | Solar Energy |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | 426 17th St., Suite 600 Oakland, California, 94612 U.S. |
Key people | Daniel Rosen — President Billy Parish — CEO Olaf Janke — CFO Bruce Ledesma — COO Tony Bako — CTO |
| Website | joinmosaic.com |
Mosaic, headquartered in Oakland, California, is the nation's leading marketplace lender in the residential solar power industry. Mosaic utilizes technology, data, and design to efficiently and responsibly lend people money to go solar. To do this, Mosaic provides the solar industry with finance products, which qualified residential solar installers access via an online platform. Through this model, the company aims to democratize the social and environmental benefits of clean energy. Mosaic's mission is to empower millions of people to prosper from clean energy and enable 100% clean energy for all. Their vision aims to drive a global movement to build a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable economy. Mosaic is a certified benefit corporation.[1]
Initially starting as a platform for crowdfunding in 2010, Mosaic enabled crowdfunding of loans for solar development projects. For that reason, GigaOM referred to the company as "the Kickstarter for Solar".[2]
Mosaic has been named a top-ten most innovative energy company by Fast Company in 2013 and 2014 and has received two Department of Energy SunShot grants, the Sierra Club’s Trailblazer Award and Verizon Wireless’ Powerful Answers Award.
Early projects
In initial tests, Mosaic has facilitated about $1.1 million in private investments from 400 people to finance 12 rooftop solar plants in California, New Jersey and Arizona.[3]
In Spring 2012, Mosaic financed five solar power plants through their zero-interest investment model. 400 people invested over $350,000 in these projects which created 73 kW of solar energy for local community organizations—saving the organizations more than $600,000 on their utility bills while producing over 2,700 job hours for local workers.[4]
In September 2012, Mosaic financed its first solar power plant that also offered a return on investment for investors. 51 people raised over $40,000 to finance this 47 kW project for the Youth Employment Partnership in Oakland, California. With a 6.38% annual return over a 5 year loan period, a $200 investment would yield $272 by the end of the 5 years.[5]
Public launch
On January 7, 2013, Mosaic launched an online platform to let individuals invest as little as US$25 in specific solar projects while earning a 4.5% annual return on their money.[6] Mosaic provided capital to developers at a 5.5% interest rate, took a 1% fee, and investors could expect a full return of their investment in nine years.[3] Mosaic sold out its first public projects in less than 24 hours, with over 400 investors putting in $300,000+ and an average investment of $700.[7]
On April 8, 2013, Mosaic announced that it had received approval to sell $100 million worth of solar investments to the California public. As part of the announcement, Mosaic released another project on the Ronald McDonald House in San Diego.[8]
On March 6, 2014, Mosaic announced that it would begin offering crowdfunded loans to homeowners who would like to install solar.[9]
Funding
Mosaic raised $3.4 million in Series A funding in 2012 to grow their solar investment marketplace.[10] Mosaic was awarded an additional $2 million grant from the US Department of Energy as part of the SunShot Initiative.[11]
See also
- American Solar Energy Society
- List of photovoltaics companies
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Renewable energy in the United States
- Solar Energy Industries Association
- Venture capital
- CORENA
References
- ^ "B Impact Report". B Corporation.
- ^ Katie Fehrenbacher (May 4, 2012). "The Kickstarter for solar could make you money starting this Summer". GigaOM.
- ^ a b Herndon, Andrew (January 7, 2013). "Solar Mosaic's Crowdfunding Beats Treasuries With 4.5% Return". Bloomberg.
- ^ "Solar Crowdfunding Website Raises $2.5 Million". Sustainable Business. June 1, 2012.
- ^ Makower, Joel (December 10, 2012). "How Mosaic brings cleantech investing to the masses". GreenBiz.
- ^ Woody, Todd (2013-01-07). "Startup Launches Online Platform To Let Individuals Invest In Solar Projects". Forbes.
- ^ Lisa Hymas (January 8, 2013). "Solar crowdfunding project Mosaic sells out in under 24 hours". Grist.
- ^ Anthony Ha (April 8, 2013). "Mosaic Prepares To Launch Another $100M Of Projects On Its Solar Crowdfunding Platform". TechCrunch.
- ^ David Baker (March 6, 2014). "Mosaic crowdsources solar installation for homeowners". SF Chronicle.
- ^ "Solar Mosaic Brings Series A to $3.4M for Crowdfunding Solar Energy". Dow Jones & Company. October 2, 2012.
- ^ Colleen Taylor (June 13, 2012). "Solar Mosaic Gets $2 Million DOE Grant To Build Out Crowdfunding Site For Solar Projects". TechCrunch.