Mosaic Helps the Little Guys Invest Directly in Solar

Similar to Lending Club or Prosper, Mosaic is a site that helps people who have a little extra money to invest find a fairly reliable return by helping others out with loans.

But Mosaic is specifically focused on loans to solar developers, for projects needing smaller loans — say, $100,000, versus the $20 million or so that would catch a larger lender’s eye. And it divides those loans into chunks that its lenders commit individually.

So far, Mosaic has raised $1.2 million from more than 1,000 investors to fund 12 rooftop solar projects in California, Arizona and New Jersey.

The company is today posting a new batch of solar projects that promise estimated annual returns of 4.5 percent.

“The fastest way to transition to clean energy is to allow more people to participate,” said Mosaic co-founder and president Billy Parish, adding that Mosaic expects to have more easily available inventory in the future, and to expand into areas beyond solar.