Solar Employee Purchase Programs: Will Corporate Customers Take It Home?

The U.S. residential solar market is poised for growth, but sales volume and operating efficiency will be keys to success. Solar employee purchase programs have been initiated by companies as diverse as SunPower, REC Solar, and SolarCity, representing a new and potentially important channel for increasing sales and improving sales efficiency. External drivers of these programs are corporate sustainability initiatives and growth in voluntary employee benefit offerings, especially green benefits. This report—the industry’s first to identify and analyze this emerging trend—provides an overview of and outlook for solar employee purchase programs, analysis of typical deal structures, a comparison of successful programs, and a framework for starting a program. We outline a step-by-step approach to market evaluation, operational capacity building, and new-markets business development.