Dublin-based energy efficiency firm UrbanVolt has secured €30m in funding from the Solas Sustainable Energy Fund.
The funding facility will be made available to the company in two phases and will help fund its installation of lighting and solar panels across Ireland and the EU.
UrbanVolt offers to install solar panels on businesses' properties at no upfront cost and it then sells them discounted electricity in order to recoup its investment.
The company also installs energy efficient lighting in businesses, recouping the cost through the savings firms make.
The 'solar as a service' product launched last year, and UrbanVolt's co-founder and CEO Kevin Maughan said demand for it has so far been "through the roof".
"We're currently pricing up around 900 projects in the Irish market on predominantly industrial and commercial roofing," he said. "We've signed up about 100 clients so far, we've installed about 28 projects to date this year.
"So demand is definitely there from businesses," he stated.
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Skills shortages - particularly in engineering - have been cited as a potential bottleneck for the roll-out of energy efficiency projects like solar panelling, however Mr Maughan says the company's experience means they are better positioned to meet that demand.
"We have a lot of rich and deep contacts with electrical installers and electrical contractors," he said. "So we're not currently having a problem."
Mr Vaughan also said that, if demand continues to grow, there would be a significant employment opportunity - and a chance for Ireland to lead the charge on sustainability and show other countries how it can be done.
He said the new €30m investment would likely be put to use over the next 18 months, with roughly 200 projects installed in the process.
He estimated it would take the company around seven and a half years to recoup that investment, but it would have longer-term supply contracts with the companies it installs equipment for.
"So it's a reasonably fair return for us, and a fair return for the clients - because they'd have to spend the same to make the same investment," Mr Vaughan said.
He also welcomed proposals to remove much of the planning requirements around solar panel installations, as this would allow a quicker turnaround on its projects.
The funding from the Solas fund is on top of the €36m UrbanVolt secured last May.
This was made up of a €30m, asset-backed loan from Swedish fund PCP, and €6m from existing funders BVP and Beach Point Capital.
