Two of today’s most hottest trends — crowd funding and clean energy — collided into a historic launch as Mosaic opened its solar investment doors to New York and California residents as well as accredited investors from around the country. Mosaic’s mission is one few could argue with: Create abundant clean energy for the people by the people. As of 12 p.m. EST on Monday, January 7, 2013, residents of New York and California have the option to take a piece of one of three solar projects for totaling $603,000 or as little as $25 ta month.
The three projects are all in affordable housing apartments for low-income residents in California (see image below) and offer a 4.5% annual return, net of servicing fees, with terms of approximately nine years. The process is simple, the project risks are outlined clearly, and the projected returns are competitive with the best investment products on the market.
To quote Billy Parish, founder and president of Mosaic: “Go out and make money, do good, invest in your community and (again) make money.”
Sounds good to me! As a firm believer in walking the walk I just made my first investment and tweeted:
To date, $1.1 million has been invested through Mosaic by more than 400 investors to finance 12 rooftop solar power plants in California, New Jersey, Arizona, and the Navajo Nation. Though the SEC has not yet adopted rules implementing the crowdfunding provisions of the JOBS Act, Mosaic is pursuing other avenues for crowdfunding clean energy ahead of the adoption of final rules. As President Obama said after signing the JOBS Act in April 2012, “For the first time, ordinary Americans will be able to go online and invest in entrepreneurs that they believe in.”