A project to install approximately 300 megawatts of solar production capacity on military housing is moving forward without government assistance. SolarStrong, the five-year, $1 billion initiative to build out solar technologies at U.S. military housing communities, was proposed earlier this year by SolarCity with backing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The original proposal included loan guarantees from the Department of Energy. In September, the project saw its potential funding from the Department of Energy called into question after the Solyndra debacle and true to form for federal backing of renewable energy projects this fall, the loan guarantee failed to close – fairly standard story so far.

The rest of the story, however, is not so consistent with recent solar energy project history. SolarCity BoA Merrill Lynch announced this week that the project will proceed without federal loan guarantees. Yes, that’s a residential distributed generation project worth more than $1B proceeding without the promises of a government bailout – rooftop solar without a net.

In the words of SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive, “BofA Merrill never wavered when the loan guarantee wasn’t finalized, and worked with us to create a financing structure that works without it. SolarStrong makes affordable clean energy available on a much greater scale; this is uncharted territory for residential solar. The fact that SolarStrong can move forward without a federal loan guarantee is a clear indication that long-term incentives such as the investment tax credit are working.”

Moving forward with this project is also a clear indication that investment banks have confidence in solar energy projects and in the solar industry.

Jonathan Plowe, head of new energy and infrastructure at Bank of America, said that the deal shows growing trust among private investors in renewable energy projects, particularly in distributed solar generation, which in the past could get funded only if the government was willing to do so. Mr. Plowe added that this project demonstrates the long-term viability of large-scale, distributed solar generation, "We are excited to see the project through . . . and extend our expertise and financing capabilities to propel residential solar to the next level," he added.

Support for SolarStrong represents not only a milestone in the solar industry, it sends a message to the world. U.S. business is behind solar energy 100%. We’re going to build this industry in a truly sustainable way, not on the whims of fickle politicians, but on sound business principles. American solar energy takes another giant step forward.