Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business.
Overview
Sunrun’s (the “Company”) mission is to provide our customers with clean, affordable solar energy and storage, and a best-in-class customer experience. In 2007, we pioneered the residential solar service model, creating a low-cost solution for customers seeking to lower their energy bills. By removing the high initial cost and complexity of cash system sales that used to define the residential solar industry, we have fostered the industry’s rapid growth and exposed an enormous market opportunity. Our relentless drive to increase the accessibility of solar energy is fueled by our enduring vision: to create a planet run by the sun.
On October 8, 2020, we completed the acquisition of Vivint Solar, Inc. ("Vivint Solar") a leading full-service residential solar provider in the United States, at an estimated purchase price of $5.0 billion, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of July 6, 2020, by and among Sunrun, Vivint Solar and Viking Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”). Further information about the acquisition of Vivint Solar can be found in Note 3, Acquisitions to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We are engaged in the design, development, installation, sale, ownership and maintenance of residential solar energy systems (“Projects”) in the United States. We provide clean, solar energy typically at savings compared to traditional utility energy. Our primary customers are residential homeowners. We also offer battery storage along with solar energy systems to our customers in select markets and sell our services to certain commercial developers through our multi-family and new homes offerings. After inventing the residential solar service model and recognizing its enormous market potential, we have built the infrastructure and capabilities necessary to rapidly acquire and serve customers in a low-cost and scalable manner. Today, our scalable operating platform provides us with a number of unique advantages. First, we are able to drive distribution by marketing our solar service offerings through multiple channels, including our diverse partner network and direct-to-consumer operations. This multi-channel model supports broad sales and installation capabilities, which together allow us to achieve capital-efficient growth. Second, we are able to provide differentiated solutions to our customers that, combined with a great customer experience, we believe will drive meaningful margin advantages for us over the long term as we strive to create the industry’s most valuable and satisfied customer base.
Our core solar service offerings are provided through our lease and power purchase agreements, which we refer to as our “Customer Agreements” and which provide customers with simple, predictable pricing for solar energy that is insulated from rising retail electricity prices. While customers have the option to purchase a solar energy system outright from us, most of our customers choose to buy solar as a service from us through our Customer Agreements without the significant upfront investment of purchasing a solar energy system. With our solar service offerings, we install solar energy systems on our customers’ homes and provide them the solar power produced by those systems for typically a 20- or 25-year initial term. In addition, we monitor, maintain and insure the system during the term of the contract. In exchange, we receive predictable cash flows from high credit quality customers and qualify for tax and other benefits. We finance portions of these tax benefits and cash flows through tax equity, non-recourse debt and project equity structures in order to fund our upfront costs, overhead and growth investments. We develop valuable customer relationships that can extend beyond this initial contract term and provide us an opportunity to offer additional services in the future, such as our home battery storage service. Since our founding, we have continued to invest in a platform of services and tools to enable large scale operations for us and our partner network, and these partners include solar integrators, sales partners, installation partners and other strategic partners. The platform includes processes and software, as well as fulfillment and acquisition of marketing leads. We believe our platform empowers new market entrants and smaller industry participants to profitably serve our large and underpenetrated market without making the significant investments in technology and infrastructure required to compete effectively against established industry players. Our platform provides the support for our multi-channel model, which drives broad customer reach and capital-efficient growth.
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Delivering a differentiated customer experience is core to our strategy. We emphasize a customized solution, including a design specific to each customer’s home and pricing configurations that typically drive both customer savings and value to us. We believe that our passion for engaging our customers, developing a trusted brand, and providing a customized solar service offering resonates with our customers who are accustomed to a traditional residential power market that is often overpriced and lacking in customer choice.
We have experienced substantial growth in our business and operations since our inception in 2007, as well as through our acquisition of Vivint Solar on October 8, 2020. As of December 31, 2020, we operated the largest fleet of residential solar energy systems in the United States. We have a Networked Solar Energy Capacity of 3,885 Megawatts as of December 31, 2020, which represents the aggregate megawatt production capacity of our solar energy systems that have been recognized as deployments, from the company’s inception through the measurement date. Our Gross Earning Assets as of December 31, 2020 were approximately $7.8 billion. Please see the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Key Operating Metrics” for more details on how we calculate Networked Solar Energy Capacity and Gross Earning Assets.
We also have a long track record of attracting low-cost capital from diverse sources, including tax equity and debt investors. Since inception we have raised tax equity investment funds to finance the installation of solar energy systems.
Our Multi-Channel Capabilities
Our unique, multi-channel capabilities offer consumers a compelling solar service through scalable, cost-effective and consumer-friendly channels. Customers can access our products through three channels: direct-to-consumer, solar partnerships and strategic partnerships.
Direct-to-Consumer
We sell solar service offerings and install solar energy systems for customers through our direct-to-consumer channel. These solar energy systems are offered to customers either under a Customer Agreement or for purchase. This channel consists of an online lead generation function, a telesales and field sales team, a direct-to-home sales force, a retail sales team and an industry-leading installation organization.
Solar Partnerships
We contract with diverse solar organizations that act as either exclusive or non-exclusive (depending on the terms of their contract with us) distributors of our solar service offerings and subcontractors for the installation of the related solar energy systems. Because of our commitment to these solar organizations and our vested interest in their success, we refer to them as our “solar partners,” although the actual legal relationship is that of an independent contractor. Our solar partners include:
• Solar integrators: trained and trusted partners who originate customers for our solar service offerings and procure and install the solar energy systems on our customers’ homes on our behalf as our subcontractors. Partnerships with solar integrators allow us to expand our brand, quickly enter new markets and drive capital-efficient growth. We compensate our solar integrators on a per solar energy system basis for generating Customer Agreements and the installation work they perform for us.
• Sales partners: sales and lead generation partners who provide us with high-quality leads and customers at competitive prices. We compensate our sales partners on a per customer basis for the sales and lead generation services they perform for us. All contracts are between the customer and us, based on a price set by us.
• Installation partners: trusted installation partners who procure and install a subset of our solar energy systems as our subcontractors and allow us to more efficiently deploy a mix of in-house and outsourced installation capabilities. We compensate our installation partners on a per solar energy system basis for the procurement of materials and installation work they perform for us. Installation partners are solely our subcontractors and do not enter into any agreements with our customers.
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Our ability to connect specialized sales and installation firms on a single platform, which we license to our solar partners at no cost, allows us to enjoy the benefits of vertical integration without the additional fixed cost structure. This creates margin opportunities, system efficiencies and benefits from network effects in matching these ecosystem participants.
Strategic Partnerships
Our strategic partnerships encompass relationships with new market entrants not previously engaged in solar, including consumer marketing, retail and specialized energy retail companies. Our strategic partners find the residential solar market attractive, but recognize that significant barriers to entry make partnerships the preferred method to reach solar customers. Through these strategic arrangements, we typically market our solar service offerings to the strategic partner’s customer base and install the solar energy systems directly or through one of our solar partners. We manage the customer experience and retain the value of the economic relationship through the term of the customer’s contract and potential renewal period. We have executed strategic partnerships in competitive processes that give us access to millions of potential customers. As our industry grows, we believe that our unique platform and deep partnership experience position us to be the partner of choice for new market entrants. We believe that these broad strategic relationships will help us drive down our customer acquisition costs and make solar accessible to even more customers.
The combination of direct-to-consumer, solar partnerships and strategic partnerships offers distinct advantages. The direct-to-consumer channel allows us to scale rapidly, drive incremental unit costs down over the long term, and refine operational processes to share with our partners. Our solar partnerships and strategic partnerships enable nimble market entry and exit, while allowing for capital efficient growth. Together, this multi-channel strategy supported by our open platform allows us to reach more customers with our leading solar service without compromising our ability to provide exceptional customer service.
Customer Agreements
Since we were founded in 2007, we have been providing solar energy to residential customers at prices typically below utility rates through a variety of offerings, most commonly through our leases and power purchase agreements which we refer to as our “Customer Agreements.” Under our Customer Agreements, customers have the right to use and consume all electricity produced by the solar energy system on a continuous basis. Most Customer Agreements, other than those billed based on generation, entitle the customer to a refund for underproduction below a guaranteed amount, which we refer to as our "performance guarantee." Either directly or through a solar partner, we construct a solar energy system on a customer’s home which generates electricity at set prices through Customer Agreements which typically have an initial term of 20 or 25 years. Rates for both forms of our Customer Agreements can be fixed for the duration of the contract or escalated at a pre-determined percentage annually. Upon installation, a system is interconnected to the local utility grid. The home’s energy usage is provided by the solar energy system with any additional energy needs provided by the local utility. Any excess solar energy, including amounts in excess of battery storage, that is not immediately used by our customers is exported to the utility grid using a bi-directional utility net meter, and the customer generally receives a credit for this excess power from their utility to offset future usage of utility-generated energy.
Although many of our customers choose to pay little-to-nothing upfront and instead receive a monthly bill, some customers choose to prepay an amount upfront, thereby reducing their monthly bill. The amount of an upfront payment is customized for each customer. Customers may also choose to fully prepay their 20- or 25-year contracts. The prepayment amount is based on the estimated amount of the solar energy system’s output over the typically 20- or 25-year term of the Customer Agreement. If the estimated production of the solar energy system is less than the actual production for a given year after the first full one to two years of the agreement, prepaid customers are refunded the difference at the end of each such year. If the solar energy system’s energy production is in excess of the estimate, we allow customers to keep the excess energy at no charge. After the initial term of the Customer Agreement, customers have the option to renew their contracts for the remaining life of the solar energy system, typically at a 10% discount to then-prevailing power prices, to purchase the system from us at its fair market value, or have us remove the system.
Regardless of the type of Customer Agreement our customers choose, we operate the system and agree to monitor and maintain it in good condition at no cost to the customer. We offer an industry-leading performance guarantee to ensure that our customers are receiving the energy they expect at the price they expect. Our customers also receive up to a ten-year warranty for roof penetrations.
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If a customer sells his or her home, the customer has the right to purchase the system or assign the Customer Agreement to the new homeowner, provided the new homeowner meets our credit requirements and agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions of the Customer Agreement. In connection with this service transfer, the customer may prepay all or a portion of the remaining payments due under the Customer Agreement to lower or eliminate the monthly rate to be paid by the new homeowner. If the customer fails to purchase the system or assign the Customer Agreement to a new homeowner, we may negotiate directly with the new homeowner to transfer the Customer Agreement (at times on modified terms) and/or look to the original customer to pay all remaining payments due. We have completed thousands of service transfers and, from inception through December 31, 2020, the aggregate expected net present value of the Customer Agreements once assigned represented approximately 100% of what it was prior to assignment.
Sales and Marketing
We sell our solar energy offerings through a scalable sales organization using both a direct-to-consumer approach across online, retail, mass media, digital media, canvassing, field marketing and referral channels as well as our diverse partner network. We sell to customers over the phone, online, in the field through canvassing and in-home sales and through our strategic retail sales partnerships. We also partner with sales-only organizations that focus on direct-to-consumer marketing and sales on our behalf, typically with a Sunrun-branded offering at point of sale, which further increases our brand and reach. We also generate sales volume through customer referrals. Customer referrals increase in relation to our penetration in a market and shortly after market entry become an increasingly effective way to market our solar energy systems. We believe that a customized, customer-focused selling process is important before, during and after the sale of our solar services to maximize our sales success and customer experience.
We train our sales team to customize their consultative presentation to the individual customer based on guidelines and principles outlined in our training materials. We are able to provide our sales team with real-time data and pricing tools through our proprietary technology which is designed to generate a tailored product offering with optimized pricing based on the actual characteristics of a customer's home, including roof characteristics and shading, as well as actual energy usage. This allows our sales team to differentially price homes in the same geographic region quickly and effectively.
Supply Chain
We purchase equipment, including solar panels, inverters and batteries from a limited number of manufacturers and suppliers. If we fail to maintain or expand our relationships with these suppliers and manufacturers, or if one or more that we rely upon to meet anticipated demand reduces or ceases production, it may be difficult to quickly identify and qualify alternatives on acceptable terms. In addition, equipment prices may increase in the coming years, or not decrease at the rates we historically have experienced, due to tariffs or other factors. As discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors---" We have historically benefited from declining costs in our industry, and our business and financial results may be harmed not only as a result of any increases in costs associated with our solar service offerings but also any failure of these costs to continue to decline as we currently expect. If we do not reduce our cost structure in the future, our ability to continue to be profitable may be impaired. ”--tariffs on both solar modules and inverters were imposed beginning in 2018. While these tariffs have not had a material negative impact on our business, we believe the tariffs were a contributing factor to smaller decreases to equipment costs than we would have otherwise experienced in 2020.
Competition
We believe that our primary competitors are the traditional utilities that supply electricity to our potential customers. We compete with these traditional utilities primarily based on price (cents per kilowatt hour), predictability of future prices (by providing pre-determined annual price escalations), the backup power capabilities of our BrightboxTM battery storage solution and the ease by which customers can switch to electricity generated by our solar energy systems.
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We also compete with companies that are not regulated like traditional utilities but that have access to the traditional utility electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure pursuant to state and local pro-competitive and consumer choice policies and with solar companies with business models that are similar to ours. Some customers might choose to subscribe to a community solar project or renewable subscriber program with these companies or their utilities, instead of installing a solar energy system on their home, which could affect our sales. Additionally, some utilities offer generation portfolios that are increasingly renewable in nature. We believe that we compete favorably with these companies based on our unique multi-channel approach and differentiated customer experience.
We also face competition from purely finance-driven organizations that acquire customers and then subcontract out the installation of solar energy systems, from installation businesses that seek financing from external parties, from large construction companies and utilities and from sophisticated electrical and roofing companies.
Intellectual Property
As of December 31, 2020, we had 42 issued patents and 16 filed patent applications in the United States and foreign jurisdictions relating to a variety of aspects of our solar solutions. Our issued U.S. patents will expire 20 years from their respective filing dates, with the earliest expiring in 2029. We intend to file additional patent applications as we continue to innovate through our research and development efforts.
Government Regulation
Although we are not regulated as a public utility in the United States under applicable national, state or other local regulatory regimes where we conduct business, we compete primarily with regulated utilities. As a result, we have developed and are committed to maintaining a policy team to focus on the key regulatory and legislative issues impacting the entire industry. We believe these efforts help us better navigate local markets through relationships with key stakeholders and facilitate a deep understanding of the national and regional policy environment.
To operate our systems, we obtain interconnection permission from the applicable local primary electric utility. Depending on the size of the solar energy system and local law requirements, interconnection permission is provided by the local utility directly to us and/or our customers. In almost all cases, interconnection permissions are issued on the basis of a standard process that has been pre-approved by the local public utility commission or other regulatory body with jurisdiction over net metering policies. As such, no additional regulatory approvals are required once interconnection permission is given.
Our operations are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local laws, including regulations governing the occupational health and safety of our employees and wage regulations. For example, we are subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, as amended (“OSHA”), the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”), and comparable state laws that protect and regulate employee health and safety. We endeavor to maintain compliance with applicable DOT, OSHA and other comparable government regulations. However, we have in the past experienced workplace accidents and received citations from regulators resulting in fines, as discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors --" Compliance with occupational safety and health requirements and best practices can be costly, and noncompliance with such requirements may result in potentially significant penalties, operational delays and adverse publicity. ” These incidents have not had a material impact on our business or our relations with our employees .
Government Incentives
Federal, state and local government bodies provide incentives to owners, distributors, system integrators and manufacturers of solar energy systems to promote solar energy in the form of rebates, tax credits, payments for renewable energy credits associated with renewable energy generation and exclusion of solar energy systems from property tax assessments. These incentives enable us to lower the price we charge customers for energy from, and to lease, our solar energy systems, helping to catalyze customer acceptance of solar energy as an alternative to utility-provided power. In addition, for some investors, the acceleration of depreciation creates a valuable tax benefit that reduces the overall cost of the solar energy system and increases the return on investment.
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The federal government currently offers an investment tax credit (“Commercial ITC”) under Section 48(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for the installation of certain solar power facilities owned for business purposes. If construction on the facility began before January 1, 2020, the amount of the Commercial ITC available is 30%, if construction began during 2020, 2021, or 2022 the amount of the Commercial ITC available is 26%, and if construction begins during 2023 the amount of the Commercial ITC available is 22%. The Commercial ITC steps down to 10% if construction of the facility begins after December 31, 2023 or if the facility is not placed in service before January 1, 2026. The depreciable basis of a solar facility is also reduced by 50% of the amount of any Commercial ITC claimed. The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) provided taxpayers guidance in Notice 2018-59 for determining when construction has begun on a solar facility. This guidance is relevant for any facilities which we seek to deploy in future years but take advantage of a higher tax credit rate available for an earlier year. For example, we have sought to avail ourselves of the methods set forth in the guidance to retain the 30% Commercial ITC that was available prior to January 1, 2020 by incurring certain costs and taking title to equipment in 2019 or early 2020 and/or by performing physical work on components that will be installed in solar facilities. From and after 2023, we may seek to avail ourselves of the 26% credit rate by using these methods to establish the beginning of construction in 2020, 2021, or 2022 and we may plan to similarly further utilize the program in future years if the Commercial ITC step down continues.
More than half of the states, and many local jurisdictions, have established property tax incentives for renewable energy systems that include exemptions, exclusions, abatements and credits. Many states also have adopted procurement requirements for renewable energy, and in 2018 the California Energy Commission and California Building Standards Commission approved a standard for newly constructed single-family and multifamily residences up to three stories tall to be solar-powered beginning in 2020. Approximately thirty states and the District of Columbia have adopted a renewable portfolio standard (and approximately eight other states have some voluntary goal) that requires regulated utilities to procure a specified percentage of total electricity delivered in the state from eligible renewable energy sources, such as solar energy systems, by a specified date. To prove compliance with such mandates, utilities must surrender solar renewable energy credits (“SRECs”) to the applicable authority. Solar energy system owners such as our investment funds often are able to sell SRECs to utilities directly or in SREC markets.
While there are numerous federal, state and local government incentives that benefit our business, some adverse interpretations or determinations of new and existing laws can have a negative impact on our business. For example, in the state of Texas, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas recently held that a personal property tax exemption on solar panels does not apply to solar panels that are leased (as opposed to owned), and counties in that district have subjected our leased solar panels to personal property taxes. That decision is currently being challenged; however, an adverse outcome will subject us to an increase in personal property taxes. If we pass this additional tax on to our customers in the form of higher prices, it could reduce or eliminate entirely any savings that these solar panels might otherwise provide to our customers in Texas.
Human Capital Management
We believe Sunrun’s employees are our core differentiators, embodying Sunrun values and a culture of conscious leadership, coming together to do their best work every day to enable our vision of a "planet run by the sun”.
At Sunrun, the foundation of all our talent programs and initiatives is fostering a culture of inclusive, connected and innovative teams. In 2020, we focused on building a shared identity and strengthening our culture of belonging, especially as we managed the integration of Vivint Solar and the challenges of COVID-19.
Conscious Leadership. To build a culture of inclusive leadership and develop our leaders, we recently launched a multi-phased conscious leadership training strategy. We are undertaking a process, beginning with a multi-month training, to build stronger leaders who are passionate about developing themselves and a strong culture of thoughtful leadership throughout the Company.
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Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging . We believe that having a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace better positions us to respond to the unique needs of our customers. We strengthened our efforts by hiring a new Head of Diversity, a new Head of Talent Management, and formed six Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that have grown to a membership of over 800 employees as of December 31, 2020. These ERGs promote connection and communication among our employees, assist in the development and facilitation of programming that supports personal and professional development while also supporting the company’s objectives. Annually, as part of our larger impact report on environment, sustainability and governance, we share details on our strategies, focus areas, outcomes achieved and workforce demographics.
Human Capital. As of December 31, 2020, we had approximately 8,500 full-time employees, inclusive of our active direct-to-home salesforce. Our front-line sales and installation teams are 86% of our total workforce. We also engage independent contractors and consultants. None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We have not experienced any work stoppages.
Supporting Our Employees through COVID-19 . In response to COVID-19, we have established remote working arrangements, including work-from-home for certain employees and provided safety policies and protocols for our employees working in the field. Our management team has also implemented processes that facilitate frequent virtual interaction between individual employees and employee groups. Our cross functional task-force continues to monitor and recommend steps to help employees and our customers safely interact.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 225 Bush Street, Suite 1400, San Francisco, California 94104, and our telephone number is (415) 580-6900. Our website address is www.sunrun.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and inclusions of our website address in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are inactive textual references only. We were formed in 2007 as a California limited liability company, and converted in 2008 into a Delaware corporation.
The Sunrun design logo, “Sunrun”, "Brightbox" and our other registered or common law trademarks, service marks or trade names appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of Sunrun Inc. Other trademarks and trade names referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners.
Available Information
We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information that we file with the SEC electronically. Copies of our reports on Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K, and amendments to those reports may also be obtained, free of charge, electronically on the investor relations page on our website located at investors.sunrun.com as soon as reasonably practical after we file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.
We also use the investor relations page on our website as a channel of distribution for important company information. Important information, including press releases, analyst presentations and financial information regarding us, as well as corporate governance information, is routinely posted and accessible on the investor relations page on our website. Information on or that can be accessed through our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the inclusion of our website address is an inactive textual reference only.
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