Mosaic Inc.

Mosaic Inc.
Industry Solar Energy
Founded 2010
Headquarters 426 17th St., Suite 600 Oakland, California, 94612 U.S.
Key people
 Billy Parish — President
Daniel Rosen — CEO
Steve Richmond — CFO
Website joinmosaic.com

Mosaic is a solar project finance company based in Oakland, California. Founded in 2010, Mosaic enables crowdfunding of loans for solar development projects. For that reason, GigaOM referred to the company as "the Kickstarter for Solar".[1] Through this model, the company aims to democratize the social and environmental benefits of clean energy. Mosaic is a certified benefit corporation.[2]

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

References

  1. ↑ Katie Fehrenbacher (May 4, 2012). "The Kickstarter for solar could make you money starting this Summer". GigaOM.
  2. ↑ "B Impact Report". B Corporation.
  3. 1 2 Herndon, Andrew (January 7, 2013). "Solar Mosaic's Crowdfunding Beats Treasuries With 4.5% Return". Bloomberg.
  4. ↑ "Solar Crowdfunding Website Raises $2.5 Million". Sustainable Business. June 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ Makower, Joel (December 10, 2012). "How Mosaic brings cleantech investing to the masses". GreenBiz.
  6. ↑ Woody, Todd (2013-01-07). "Startup Launches Online Platform To Let Individuals Invest In Solar Projects". Forbes.
  7. ↑ Lisa Hymas (January 8, 2013). "Solar crowdfunding project Mosaic sells out in under 24 hours". Grist.
  8. ↑ Anthony Ha (April 8, 2013). "Mosaic Prepares To Launch Another $100M Of Projects On Its Solar Crowdfunding Platform". TechCrunch.
  9. ↑ David Baker (March 6, 2014). "Mosaic crowdsources solar installation for homeowners". SF Chronicle.
  10. ↑ "Solar Mosaic Brings Series A to $3.4M for Crowdfunding Solar Energy". Dow Jones & Company. October 2, 2012.
  11. ↑ Colleen Taylor (June 13, 2012). "Solar Mosaic Gets $2 Million DOE Grant To Build Out Crowdfunding Site For Solar Projects". TechCrunch.
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