Transaction signals market confidence and is a
major milestone for Qcells' in-house residential solar financing
business
IRVINE,
Calif., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Qcells, a
pioneer in complete clean energy solutions and a leader in the U.S.
solar market, today announced EnFin by Qcells (EnFin), its
residential solar financing platform, completed its first
asset-backed securities (ABS) transaction totaling $252.86 million. The transaction comprises bonds
backed by thousands of consumer loans used to finance residential
solar installations. RBC Capital Markets acted as the sole
structuring advisor and bookrunner, and Santander served as
co-manager in the transaction.
"This deal signals confidence in the Qcells brand within the
solar financing sector and in the broader capital markets," said
Alex Kaplan, EnFin's President and
CEO. "EnFin is the only financing platform in the market backed
by a major manufacturer, and we benefit from Qcells' trusted
reputation for high-quality equipment and its significant
investment to build a sustainable solar supply chain in the U.S.
With our seamless point-of-sale technology, extensive installer
relationships and scalable services, EnFin is ready to support
homeowners across the country who want to go solar with reliable
and attainable financing."
In addition to the recent ABS transaction, EnFin has closed two
revolving warehouse transactions totaling $500 million of committed capacity. The first
warehouse was closed with RBC in April
2023 and the second with Santander in January 2024, each for $250 million.
EnFin, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qcells, began pilot lending
operations in the latter half of 2022 and officially launched in
January of 2023. Since launch, EnFin has accumulated approximately
18,000 consumer loan contracts with an aggregate principal balance
of more than $800 million. Loans
under the EnFin program are made through a partnership with Hatch
Bank, whose national lending charter has enabled EnFin to be active
in 46 states and the District of
Columbia.
The platform offers a number of unique value propositions to its
customers that leverage its connection with Qcells. For instance,
qualified homeowners can benefit from a 30-year performance
warranty option on select Qcells modules when financed with
EnFin. Additionally, EnFin enables residential customers to
create further value from their solar and battery storage
installations by connecting them with other Qcells incentive
programs through which they can participate in grid services
offerings and monetize solar renewable energy credits (SRECs)
produced by their systems.
Providing competitive financing for solar and battery storage
systems is part of Qcells' long-term strategy to become a one-stop
shop and offer a full suite of clean energy solutions to the
market. In pursuit of this goal, in January
2024 EnFin launched a third-party-ownership (TPO) financing
offering which provides power purchase agreement (PPA) and lease
options to homeowners who want to use solar energy without
purchasing a solar or solar + battery storage system.
With the announcement of this transaction, EnFin is proving the
sustainability of its business model through its diversified
sources of financing and stable, high-quality loan
originations.
"It's exciting to see Qcells grow in the residential solar
financing space," said Justin
Lee, CEO of Qcells. "This first ABS transaction truly
reflects investor confidence and showcases EnFin as a unique value
proposition. Ultimately, our success in this area will help to
accelerate the clean energy transition by making rooftop solar and
battery systems more accessible."
About Qcells
Qcells is one of the world's leading clean energy companies,
recognized for its established reputation as a manufacturer of
high-performance, high-quality solar cells and modules, portfolio
of intelligent storage systems, and growing international pipeline
of large-scale renewable energy projects. Qcells also provides
renewable electricity retail services and packages to end customers
across the world. The company is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea (Global Executive HQ) with
its diverse international manufacturing facilities in the U.S.,
Malaysia, and South Korea. Qcells offers Completely Clean
Energy through the full spectrum of photovoltaic products, storage
solutions, renewable electricity contracting and large-scale solar
power plants. Through its growing global business network spanning
North America, Europe, Asia,
South America, Africa and the Middle East, Qcells provides excellent
services and long-term partnerships to its customers in the
utility, commercial, governmental and residential markets. For more
information, visit: https://qcells.com/us/.
Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as
"will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things,
the quotations from management in this press release
and Qcells' operations and business outlook, contain
forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in or suggested by the
forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Qcells does
not undertake any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE Hanwha Q CELLS America Inc.