The Bloomberg New Energy Finance long-term forecast for the US photovoltaic market shows commercial deployment of PV systems continuing to increase faster than those in the residential market. Bloomberg predicts, however, a compounded annual growth rate for residential and commercial together to be about 22 percent through 2020.

Many may ask, “Where’s the investment going to come from?” It looks like third-party financing schemes and new players are taking over where banks, the federal government and the energy industry are scaling back. Low interest rates are inspiring corporations, pension funds and insurance companies to enter the market, and new investment vehicles that resemble real estate investment trusts along with other schemes are coming into vogue.

Solar power purchase agreements and a diverse range of third-party efforts continue putting solar on rooftops without building owners having to invest any money in the equipment. Indeed, these schemes could be the beginnings of a whole new power generation infrastructure with few moving parts. As these efforts begin to attract investment, the potential for compounding growth in the solar market increases significantly.

Whether you’re imagining, investing in, designing, engineering or constructing real estate and want to understand more about solar financing, check out Bloomberg’s latest white paper.