????布魯斯?布勒琢磨著在自己位于美國(guó)加州鉆石吧的牧場(chǎng)房子的屋頂上安裝太陽(yáng)能面板，但其價(jià)格嚇了他一跳。 “我們想裝太陽(yáng)能面板好些年了，”布勒說(shuō)道。“但我們發(fā)現(xiàn)其費(fèi)用令人望而卻步，需要約35,000美元。”后來(lái)他找到了了SunRun，該公司應(yīng)用一種新型融資模式，使得人們能負(fù)擔(dān)得起住宅太陽(yáng)能面板的安裝費(fèi)用。除SunRun外，還有一些太陽(yáng)能面板安裝公司，包括SolarCity和Sungevity，也采用了這種模式。這些公司吸引了從谷歌（Google）到美國(guó)合眾銀行（U.S. Bancorp）的眾多投資者。其運(yùn)作方式如下：

????SunRun籌措項(xiàng)目資金去購(gòu)買(mǎi)、安裝和維護(hù)客戶(hù)的屋頂太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)。這家私營(yíng)企業(yè)已募集到總計(jì)7.5億美元資金，其中最大的投資者是美國(guó)合眾銀行（U.S. Bancorp）。以布勒為例，新的太陽(yáng)能面板（完全由SunRun付費(fèi)）能讓其每月的電費(fèi)從200美元直降到60美元，降低了70%。布勒每月能從節(jié)省的140美元中留下50美元，剩下的支付給SunRun，后者將用其補(bǔ)貼太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)購(gòu)置費(fèi)用和雇人安裝及維護(hù)系統(tǒng)的開(kāi)支。對(duì)布勒這樣的購(gòu)買(mǎi)者而言，吸引人的地方在于他們不必一開(kāi)始就支付35,000美元，也無(wú)需擔(dān)心后期的系統(tǒng)維護(hù)。（如果客戶(hù)愿意，SunRun也允許他們支付一定的初裝費(fèi)用或全資購(gòu)買(mǎi)全部設(shè)備，這樣，用戶(hù)以后每月償付的費(fèi)用也會(huì)相應(yīng)減少。）如果布勒搬家，SunRun的合同會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)移給下一個(gè)新戶(hù)主。SunRun首席執(zhí)行官愛(ài)德華?芬斯特稱(chēng)：“我們的做法證明，我們可以能提供人們用得起的太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)。”

????目前，這種太陽(yáng)能租賃模式在美國(guó)發(fā)展迅猛。SunRun認(rèn)為這種模式可以實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利。今年，SunRun將部署近10,000套太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)，超出2010年數(shù)量的一倍之多。位于加州圣馬特奧市的SolarCity 是SunRun的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，它在商業(yè)建筑和住宅領(lǐng)域都有涉足，目前已部署了17,000套太陽(yáng)能系統(tǒng)。與SunRun不同的是，SolarCity擁有自己的施工團(tuán)隊(duì)。SolarCity發(fā)展極為迅速，已從花旗銀行（Citibank）、谷歌等公司成功募集到14億美元資金，其中僅谷歌一家就投入了高達(dá)2.8億美元的資金。這些投資者的平均稅后收益率高達(dá)8%-10%。

????這種模式是不是就是資產(chǎn)證券化的最新形勢(shì)，即有按揭擔(dān)保的有價(jià)證券？有朝一日它會(huì)變成泡沫？也許會(huì)如此。不過(guò)SolarCity首席執(zhí)行官林登?萊福強(qiáng)調(diào)，項(xiàng)目是安全的，因?yàn)槊绹?guó)人通常不會(huì)拒絕支付水電賬單。萊福稱(chēng)：“我們太陽(yáng)能項(xiàng)目的違約率遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)低于1%。”

????盡管如此，其它阻礙卻依然存在。雖然太陽(yáng)能面板的價(jià)格在下跌，但相比于化石能源，前者的價(jià)格仍顯昂貴，除非有政府補(bǔ)助，否則難以產(chǎn)生經(jīng)濟(jì)效益。谷歌和美國(guó)合眾銀行之所以投身其中，是因?yàn)槊绹?guó)政府對(duì)太陽(yáng)能投資提供了30%的稅收抵免額。如果政府決意抽身而退，整個(gè)行業(yè)將難以為繼。現(xiàn)行的補(bǔ)貼方案將于2016年到期，鑒于美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)目前在綠色能源領(lǐng)域的態(tài)度，補(bǔ)貼方案的延續(xù)絕不是板上釘釘?shù)氖隆＃纯醋罱?yáng)能公司Solyndra破產(chǎn)一事就知道了。）如果目前處于歷史低點(diǎn)的利率開(kāi)始攀升，那么融資成本上漲將使得回報(bào)下降。

????不過(guò)現(xiàn)在，像布勒這樣的客戶(hù)無(wú)需支付預(yù)付款，即可享受清潔的太陽(yáng)能。

????譯者：項(xiàng)航

????When Bruce Buller looked into installing solar panels on the roof of his ranch house in Diamond Bar, Calif., he suffered severe sticker shock. "We had been thinking about solar for years," says Buller, "but we found the cost -- about $35,000 -- to be prohibitive." He then discovered SunRun, one of a number of solar installers, including SolarCity and Sungevity, that are applying a new financing model that makes residential solar affordable. They are attracting investors from U.S. Bancorp to Google. Here's how it works.

????SunRun raises project capital to buy, install, and maintain its customers' rooftop solar systems. The private company, whose biggest investor is U.S. Bancorp (USB), has attracted a total of $750 million. In Buller's case, his new solar panels (which SunRun paid for entirely) cut his $200-a-month electricity bill by $140, or 70%. Buller gets to keep $50 of the savings and pays the balance to SunRun, which uses it to cover the cost of buying the solar system and hiring a contractor to install and maintain it. The appeal to customers like Buller is that they don't need to spend $35,000 upfront or hassle with maintaining the system. (SunRun also lets customers put some money down or buy the whole system, if they choose, to lower their monthly solar payments.) If Buller moves, SunRun's contract can be transferred to a new homeowner. Says Edward Fenster, the CEO of SunRun: "We have proved we can make solar affordable."

????This solar-leasing model is taking off. SunRun, which says it is profitable, will fund close to 10,000 solar systems this year, double the number in 2010. One of its competitors, SolarCity of San Mateo, Calif., which does both commercial and residential buildings and, unlike SunRun, has its own installation teams, has built 17,000 home systems. The fast-growing company has raised $1.4 billion in project financing from, among others, Citibank (C) and Google (GOOG), which alone put in $280 million. Typically, these investors earn 8% to 10% after tax.

????Is this simply the latest flavor of securitization à la mortgage-backed securities, which one day could turn into a bubble? Perhaps, but SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive insists these projects are safe because Americans almost always pay their utility bills. "The default rate on our solar projects is way under 1%," he says.

????Other obstacles loom. The price of solar panels is dropping, but they are still more expensive than fossil fuels and don't make economic sense without federal subsidies. Investors like Google and U.S. Bancorp are attracted to these deals because they can take advantage of the 30% federal tax credit program for solar. Take that away, and the industry could suffer. The bill is slated to expire in 2016 and, given the current mood in Congress over green subsidies (think Solyndra), renewal is by no means assured. Also, if interest rates -- now at historic lows -- rise, the higher cost of capital would crimp returns.

????In the meantime, customers like Buller are enjoying clean solar power with no money down.