Peer-to-peer lending is changing the finance world. No longer do borrowers have to go through a bank to get a loan. Instead, they can be matched directly with investors and bypass the role that traditional banks have played as intermediaries. This makes financing projects much simpler, and solar projects have been a major benefactor of this. Companies such as Oakland-based Mosaic and New York-based Open Energy Group are providing businesses and governments interested in solar energy projects with the funds necessary to do so, without the high transaction costs that come with traditional loans. By using this peer-to-peer lending technology, installing solar is 10-20% cheaper. And not only is this attractive for borrowers, but it’s also appealing to investors looking for different ways to invest, especially at a time when the stock market has been sinking. Open Energy Group has said that the demand for loans is “rocketing” and, as we all know, the more solar projects being developed, the less we have to rely on fossil fuels for energy.
Peer-to-peer power: Finance tech comes to solar energy
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