On the bright side: the fast-growing residential solar market means more business for a finance company's N.C. office.

• Author: Mims, Bryan
• Position: NC TREND: Energy

Sunlight Financial is basking in its moment in the sun, thanks to a burst of funding and a brightening residential solar-energy market.

In November, Virginia-based Route 66 Ventures promised to lend as much as $130 million to Sunlight's customers. Sunlight has more than $500 million in capital for lending, allowing the Teaneck, N.J.-based company to meet residential demand that is growing by more than 20% a year, CEO Matt Potere says.

The company was founded in 2014 to provide loans to homeowners installing solar-energy systems. In August 2015, it hired Potere, a former Bank of America executive. After commuting from his home in North Carolina to New Jersey for a few months, he opened an office in Charlotte in December 2015 to tap into a labor market rife with financial expertise. He expects to have 60 people working at the Charlotte hub this year, three times the number on staff at the end of 2016.

The sunny outlook comes as some residential installers have foundered. Last May, New Jersey-based NRG, one of the nation's largest independent power providers, laid off 500 employees and has ditched the residential solar installment business. California-based Sungevity filed for bankruptcy in March after laying off workers. But Potere is unfazed by installer struggles.

"It's a relatively young industry," he says. "It's growing rapidly, and there has been some consolidation, and there have been some companies that started and are no longer in business. We've been fortunate in that we've chosen partners very intentionally where we have long-term relationships that help support their growth."

The residential solar market, he says, is pivoting away from lease deals and power-purchase agreements with installer companies. In these arrangements, residents...