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Santander Proves Greenest as No. 2 Bank of America Becomes Solar
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A $1 billion plan to put solar panels on 160,000 U.S. military-base homes was collapsing in September after a $344 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee fell through. Bank of America Corp. stepped up to finance the effort headed by SolarCity Corp. of San Mateo, California. Now, the SolarStrong project is en route to becoming the country’s largest residential solar-energy installation.
SolarStrong was Bank of America’s second big bet on sun power in 2011. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender in June provided a $1.4 billion loan to San Francisco’s Prologis Inc. for solar systems on warehouse roofs. The Energy Department guaranteed 80 percent of the loan.