FOSTER CITY, Calif., and MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 29, 2009—SolarCity® and U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC) today announced that they have doubled the size of their fund to finance solar projects. The fund, originally announced in June, will be expanded to finance $100 million in solar projects in 2009. The partnership backs SolarCity’s solar leases (SolarLease™) and power purchase agreements (PPA), financing options that can allow homeowners and businesses to put no money down on solar systems and save money from day one on electricity costs. SolarCity is a national leader in solar power system design, financing, installation, monitoring and related services, and USBCDC is a division of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), which is also the parent of U.S. Bank, the sixth largest commercial bank in America. SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive will discuss the expansion of the fund and the prospects for scaling the U.S. solar market as part of a panel presentation at the Renewable Energy Financing Forum (REFF) on Wednesday, Sept. 30th, at 9:15 a.m. at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

“Our SolarLease and PPA products save customers money from day one, with no upfront cost,” said Mr. Rive. “We’re expanding our partnership with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation to offer more homeowners and businesses zero-down financing to keep pace with the nation’s growing appetite for clean power.”

Founded in July 2006, SolarCity recently celebrated its third anniversary by passing the 4,000 customer mark, including more than 2,000 SolarLease customers since it introduced the leasing option in April 2008. SolarCity has hired 112 new workers in the past four months, and plans to add 50 more employees before the end of the year to continue to increase installation capacity.

SolarCity operates in California, Arizona and Oregon. Businesses and homeowners interested in SolarCity’s zero-down financing options can contact the company directly at 1-888-SOL-CITY (1-888-765-2489). Homeowners interested in SolarLease can estimate their solar lease payment and potential electricity savings by using SolarCity’s solar calculator, available online at www.solarcity.com.