$60 million solar alliance

Baltimore, Maryland-based

recently launched "SunE Solar Fund I", a $60 million fund to support the installation of up to 25 solar electric systems in the

. The systems will be supplied by

and will be installed at facilities owned or leased by national retailers and state entities.

According to Mary Shields, president of BP Solar North America, "Part of our strategy to bring solar into the mainstream is to work with the large commercial market. The SunE Solar Fund gets us in front of this market allowing us to provide a clean energy source that competes with traditional utility power."

The first three projects utilising the fund will be installed this summer on three Staples facilities in Rialto, and Ontario California and Englewood, New Jersey. At a total of 680 kilowatts, these three systems will collectively generate about enough electricity to power 135 homes per year.

The fund will pay for the upfront capital costs of installing and operating the solar systems for companies and municipalities that qualify for the fund. Such entities pay only a fixed, often below-market, rate for the electricity generated from the solar system for a 10 to 20 year term.

According to SunEdison founder Jigar Shah, "Our pioneering fund helps qualifying companies reap the benefits of solar electricity with no upfront cost and without affecting their balance sheet."