Newly launched crowdfunding startup Mosaic raised over $300,000 in its first 24 hours to fully finance its first public investment projects.
The Oakland, California-based company’s objective is to promote clean energy investments in the same way Kickstarter funds new inventions and creative projects.
And earlier this month, Mosaic opened its new crowdfunding service to residents of California and New York, as well as accredited investors from across the country.
The service offers investors a 4.5 percent profit on rooftop PV power installations over nine years – that’s more than ten-year Treasury bonds that currently yield only 1.9 percent, although Mosaic charges investors an annual platform fee of one percent. “If we can get more people to invest in the clean energy economy, then we could have more people benefiting from this transition,” said Lisa Curtis, communications director of Mosaic.
29kW installation on the Asian Resource Center in Oakland, CA funded by Mosaic. Credit: Mosaic
“There are a lot of people who would like to see more clean energy powering our country but can’t go solar on their own home. Now they can invest directly in a solar project,” she added.
Mosaic works with a team of solar companies to identify suitable solar power projects, which are evaluated by attorneys and a financing committee before being added to the portfolio.
Up to now, Mosaic has already raised $1.1 million thanks to over 700 investors who put in an average of $700 each. This money has financed 12 rooftop solar installations in Arizona, California, New Jersey and the Navajo Nation.
The new projects were only available to investors for a limited time because of restrictions imposed on private investments by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Now, Mosaic is working on other avenues for crowdfunding clean energy while they wait for the full implementation of the JOBS Act, which would overturn the aforementioned restrictions.
