Table of Contents
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
File No. 333-227014

PROSPECTUS    SUPPLEMENT
(To prospectus dated September 11, 2018)
8,000,000 Shares
Vivint Solar, Inc.
Common Stock

The selling stockholder named in this prospectus supplement is selling 8,000,000 shares of our common stock. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares to be offered by the selling stockholder.
Our shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “VSLR.” On November 29, 2018, the last sale price of the shares as reported on the New York Stock Exchange was $7.00 per share.
Investing in the common stock involves risks that are described in the “ Risk Factors ” section beginning on page S-6 of this prospectus supplement.

 
										
 	  		Per Share	 	    		Total	 	
Public offering price	  	$	5.5000	 	    	$	44,000,000	 		
Underwriting discount	  	$	0.3025	 	    	$	2,420,000	 		
Proceeds, before expenses, to the selling stockholder	  	$	5.1975	 	    	$	41,580,000	 		
The underwriters may also exercise their option to purchase up to an additional 1,200,000 shares of common stock from the selling stockholder, at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, for 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The shares will be ready for delivery on or about December 4, 2018.

Book-Running Managers
BofA Merrill Lynch

Barclays	 	Citigroup	 	Credit Suisse	

Deutsche Bank Securities	 	Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC	 	Morgan Stanley	

Co-Managers

Blackstone Capital Markets	 	Guggenheim Securities	 	JMP Securities	

KeyBanc Capital Markets	 	Oppenheimer & Co.	 	SunTrust Robinson Humphrey	

The date of this prospectus supplement is November 29, 2018.

Table of Contents
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prospectus Supplement

About This Prospectus Supplement	  	 	S-1	 	
Prospectus Supplement Summary	  	 	S-2	 	
The Offering	  	 	S-4	 	
Risk Factors	  	 	S-6	 	
Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements	  	 	S-40	 	
Use of Proceeds	  	 	S-42	 	
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders	  	 	S-43	 	
Selling Stockholder	  	 	S-47	 	
Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)	  	 	S-48	 	
Legal Matters	  	 	S-55	 	
Experts	  	 	S-55	 	
Where You Can Find Additional Information	  	 	S-55	 	
Information Incorporated by Reference	  	 	S-56	 	
		
Prospectus	  				
		
About This Prospectus	  	 	i	 	
Prospectus Summary	  	 	1	 	
Risk Factors	  	 	5	 	
Forward-Looking Statements	  	 	5	 	
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges	  	 	6	 	
Use of Proceeds	  	 	6	 	
Dividend Policy	  	 	6	 	
Description of Capital Stock	  	 	7	 	
Description of the Depositary Shares	  	 	15	 	
Description of the Debt Securities	  	 	18	 	
Description of the Warrants	  	 	30	 	
Description of the Subscription Rights	  	 	32	 	
Description of Units	  	 	33	 	
Plan of Distribution	  	 	35	 	
Legal Matters	  	 	39	 	
Experts	  	 	39	 	
Where You Can Find More Information	  	 	39	 	
Information Incorporated by Reference	  	 	40	 	
 
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 ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
This document is in two parts. The first part is the prospectus supplement, including the documents incorporated by reference, which describes the specific terms of this offering. The second part, the accompanying prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference, provides more general information. Generally, when we refer to this prospectus supplement, we are referring to both parts of this document combined. Before you invest, you should carefully read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, all information incorporated by reference herein and therein, as well as the additional information described under “Where You Can Find Additional Information” on page S-55 of this prospectus supplement. These documents contain information that you should consider when making your investment decision. This prospectus supplement may add, update or change information contained in the accompanying prospectus. To the extent that any statement that we make in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with statements made in the accompanying prospectus or any documents incorporated by reference therein, the statements made in this prospectus supplement will be deemed to modify or supersede those made in the accompanying prospectus and such documents incorporated by reference therein.
We, the selling stockholder and the underwriters have not authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different from that contained in this prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. We, the selling stockholder and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We, the selling stockholder and the underwriters are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. The distribution of this prospectus supplement and the offering of the common stock in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus supplement must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the common stock and the distribution of this prospectus supplement outside the United States. This prospectus supplement does not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities offered by this prospectus supplement by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offer or solicitation.
 
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 PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY
This summary highlights selected information that is presented in greater detail elsewhere, or incorporated by reference, in this prospectus supplement, and in the accompanying prospectus. It does not contain all of the information that may be important to you and your investment decision. Before investing in our securities, you should carefully read this entire prospectus supplement, and in the accompanying prospectus, including the matters set forth under the sections of this prospectus supplement captioned “Risk Factors,” the financial statements and related notes and other information that we incorporate by reference herein, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Vivint Solar,” “the company,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this prospectus supplement, and in the accompanying prospectus refer to Vivint Solar, Inc. and its subsidiaries. References to “Vivint” refer to Vivint Smart Home, Inc. (formerly APX Parent Holdco, Inc.) and its subsidiaries, including our sister company Vivint, Inc. Investment funds associated with or designated by The Blackstone Group L.P. that control 313 Acquisition LLC, our largest stockholder presently holding the majority of our common stock, are referred to herein as “Blackstone” or “our Sponsor.”
Vivint Solar
Overview
We offer distributed solar energy—electricity generated by a solar energy system installed at or near customers’ locations—to residential customers, primarily through a customer-focused and neighborhood-driven direct-to-home sales model. We believe we are disrupting the traditional electricity market by satisfying customers’ demand for increased energy independence and less expensive, more socially responsible electricity generation. As a result, we primarily compete with traditional utilities in the markets we serve, and our strategy is to price the energy we sell below prevailing retail electricity rates. The price our customers pay to buy energy from us varies depending on the state where the customer is located, the impact of the local traditional utility, customer price sensitivity, the availability of incentives and rebates, the need to offer a compelling financial benefit and the price other solar energy companies charge in the region. We also compete with distributed solar energy system providers for solar energy system sales on the basis of price, service and availability of financing options.
Our primary product offering includes the following:
 
 	•	 	Power Purchase Agreements . Under power purchase agreements, or PPAs, we charge customers a fee per kilowatt hour based on the amount of electricity the solar energy system actually provides, which is billed monthly. PPAs typically have a term of 20 years and are subject to an annual price escalator of 2.9%. Over the term of the PPA, we operate the system and agree to maintain it in good condition. Customers who buy energy from us under PPAs are covered by our workmanship warranty equal to the length of the term of these agreements.	
 
 	•	 	Legal-form Leases . Under legal-form leases, or Solar Leases, we charge customers a fixed monthly payment to lease the solar energy system, which is based on a calculation that accounts for expected solar energy generation. Solar Leases typically have a term of 20 years and are typically subject to an annual price escalator of 2.9%. We provide our Solar Lease customers a performance guarantee, under which we agree to refund certain payments to the customer if the solar energy system does not meet the guaranteed production level in the prior 12-month period. Over the term of the Solar Lease, we operate the system and agree to maintain it in good condition. Customers who buy energy from us under Solar Leases are covered by our workmanship warranty equal to the length of the term of these agreements.	

 
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 	•	 	Solar Energy System Sales . Under solar energy system sales, or System Sales, we offer our customers the option to purchase solar energy systems for cash or through third-party financing. The price for these contracts is determined as a function of the respective market rate and the size of the solar energy system to be installed. Customers can additionally contract with us for certain structural upgrades, smart home products, battery storage systems, electric vehicle charging station and other accessories based on the markets where they are located in connection with the installation of a solar energy system. We believe System Sales are advantageous to us as they provide immediate access to cash.	
Our 20-year customer contracts generate predictable, recurring cash flows and establish a long-term relationship with homeowners. As of September 30, 2018 the aggregate estimated nominal contracted payments remaining for our long-term customer contracts was approximately $3.4 billion, and there is the potential for additional payments if customers choose to renew their contracts at the end of the term. The ownership of the solar energy systems we install under long-term customer contracts allows us and the other fund investors to benefit from various local, state and federal incentives. We obtain financing based on cash flows from customers and these incentives. When customers decide to move or sell the home prior to the end of their contract term, the customer contracts allow our customers to transfer their obligations to the new home buyer. If the home buyer does not wish to assume the customer’s obligations, the contract allows us to require the customer to purchase the system. Our sources of financing are used to offset our direct installation costs and most, if not all, of our allocated overhead expenses. As of October 31, 2018, we had raised 25 investment funds to which investors such as banks and other large financial investors have committed to invest approximately $1.9 billion. The undrawn committed capital for these funds as of October 31, 2018 is approximately $252.7 million, which we estimate will fund approximately 134 megawatts of future deployments.
We have developed an integrated approach to providing residential distributed solar energy where we fully control the lifecycle of our customers’ experience including the initial professional consultation, design and engineering process, installation, and ongoing monitoring and service. We deploy our sales force on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, which allows us to cultivate a geographically concentrated customer base that reduces our costs and increases our operating efficiency. We couple this model with repeatable and scalable processes to establish warehouse facilities, assemble and train sales and installation teams and open new offices. We believe that our processes enable us to expand within existing markets and into new markets. As of September 30, 2018, we operated across 22 states. We also believe that our direct sales model and integrated approach represent a differentiated platform, unique in the industry, that maximizes sales effectiveness, delivering high levels of customer satisfaction and driving cost efficiency.
Of the 141.7 megawatts installed in the nine months ended September 30, 2018, approximately 85% were installed under PPAs and Solar Leases and 15% were installed under System Sales.
Corporate Information and History
We were incorporated in Delaware in 2011 when Vivint, Inc., a residential security solutions and home automation services provider, recognized an opportunity to replicate its strong and scalable direct-to-home selling model in the solar energy market. On November 16, 2012, investment funds affiliated with Blackstone and certain co-investors, through 313 Acquisition LLC, acquired 100% of the equity interests of Vivint Solar, Inc. (then known as V Solar Holdings, Inc.) and Vivint, Inc. Our principal executive office is located at 1800 West Ashton Blvd., Lehi, Utah 84043. Our telephone number is (877) 404-4129. Our website address is www.vivintsolar.com. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus supplement and you should not rely on any such information in making the decision whether to purchase our common stock.

 
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 THE OFFERING
 
Common stock offered by the selling stockholder in this offering	8,000,000 shares	
 
Option to purchase additional shares	1,200,000 shares	
 
Common stock to be outstanding after the offering	119,315,579 shares	
 
Use of proceeds	We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholder, including from any exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares.	
 
Risk factors	Investing in our common stock involves risks, including those described under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-5 of this prospectus supplement and on page 43 of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on November 6, 2018.	
 
Conflicts of interest	Affiliates of Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. control 313 Acquisition LLC, which owns in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock and, as the selling stockholder in this offering, will receive in excess of 5% of the net proceeds of this offering. Because Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. is an underwriter in this offering and its affiliates own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock and will receive more than 5% of the net proceeds of this offering, this offering will be conducted in accordance with Rule 5121 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5121, the appointment of a “qualified independent underwriter” is not required in connection with this offering as the members primarily responsible for managing the public offering do not have a conflict of interest, are not affiliates of any member that has a conflict of interest and meet the requirements of paragraph (f)(12)(E) of Rule 5121. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”	
 
New York Stock Exchange symbol	“VSLR”	
The number of shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after this offering is based on 119,315,579 shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2018 and excludes as of September 30, 2018:
 
 	•	 	3,791,594 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2014 Plan, as of September 30, 2018, at a weighted-average exercise price of $2.60 per share;	
 
 	•	 	6,652,813 shares of common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units under our 2014 Plan; and	
 
 	•	 	13,242,745 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2014 Plan as of September 30, 2018.	

 
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Except as otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus supplement assumes:
 
 	•	 	no exercise of outstanding options; and	
 
 	•	 	no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of common stock from the selling stockholder.	

 
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 RISK FACTORS
Investors should carefully consider the risks described below and in the filings incorporated by reference before deciding whether to invest in our securities. The risks described below and those described in the filings incorporated by reference are not the only ones we face. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements made throughout this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference as a result of different factors, including the risks we face described below and those described in the filings incorporated by reference.
Risks Related to Our Business
We need to enter into substantial additional financing arrangements to facilitate new customers’ access to our solar energy systems and provide working capital, and if financing is not available to us on acceptable terms when needed, our ability to continue to grow our business would be materially adversely impacted.
Our future success depends on our ability to raise capital from third-party investors and commercial sources, such as banks and other lenders, on competitive terms to help finance the deployment of our solar energy systems. We seek to minimize our cost of capital in order to maintain the price competitiveness of the electricity produced by, the lease payments for and the cost of our solar energy systems. We rely on investment funds in order to provide solar energy systems with little to no upfront costs to our customers under our PPAs and Solar Leases. We also rely on access to capital, including through indebtedness in the form of debt facilities and asset-backed securities, to cover the costs of our solar energy systems that are sold outright until the systems are paid for by our customers, whether by cash or through third-party financing arrangements. Certain of our financing arrangements are with fund investors who require particular tax and other benefits. The availability of this tax-advantaged financing depends upon many factors, including:
 
 	•	 	our ability to compete with other renewable energy companies for the limited number of potential investment fund investors, each of which has limited funds and limited appetite for the tax benefits associated with these financings;	
 
 	•	 	the state of financial and credit markets;	
 
 	•	 	changes in the legal or tax risks associated with these financings; and	
 
 	•	 	non-renewal of certain incentives or decreases in the associated benefits.	
Moreover, potential investors seeking such tax-advantaged financing must remain satisfied that the structures we offer qualify for the tax benefits associated with solar energy systems available to these investors, which depends both on the investors’ assessment of tax law and the absence of any unfavorable interpretations of that law. Changes in existing law and interpretations by the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, and the courts could reduce the willingness of fund investors to invest in funds associated with these solar energy system investments, or cause these investors to require a larger allocation of customer payments. We are not certain that this type of financing will continue to be available to us. If we are unable to establish new financing when needed, or upon desirable terms, to enable our customers’ access to our solar energy systems, we may be unable to finance installation of our customers’ systems, our cost of capital could increase or our liquidity could be constrained, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. As of October 31, 2018, we had raised 25 investment funds to which investors such as banks and other large financial investors have committed to invest approximately $1.9 billion. The undrawn committed capital for these funds as of October 31, 2018 is approximately $252.7 million, which we estimate will fund approximately 134 megawatts of future deployments.
 
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The contract terms in certain of our investment fund documents impose conditions on our ability to draw on financing commitments from the fund investors, including if an event occurs that could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the fund or on us. The terms and conditions of our investment funds can vary and may require us to alter our products, services or product mix. If we do not satisfy such conditions due to events related to our business or a specific investment fund or developments in our industry or otherwise, and as a result we are unable to draw on existing commitments, our inability to draw on such commitments could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and prospects. In addition to our inability to draw on the investors’ commitments, we have in the past incurred and may in the future incur financial penalties for non-performance, including delays in the installation process and interconnection to the power grid of solar energy systems and other factors. Based on the terms of the investment fund agreements, we will either reimburse a portion of the fund investor’s capital or pay the fund investor a non-performance fee. For example, during the year ended December 31, 2017, we paid contractually agreed upon capital distributions of $8.4 million to reimburse fund investors a portion of their capital contributions primarily due to a delay in solar energy systems being interconnected to the power grid and other factors.
To meet the capital needs of our growing business, we will need to obtain additional financing from new investors and financial institutions and investors and financial institutions who are current investors or with whom we currently have financing arrangements. If any of the investors or financial institutions that currently provide financing decide not to invest in us in the future due to general market conditions, concerns about our business or prospects or any other reason, or decide to invest at levels that are inadequate to support our anticipated needs or materially change the terms under which they are willing to provide future financing, we will need to identify new investors and financial institutions to provide financing and negotiate new financing terms. In addition, our ability to obtain additional financing through the asset-backed securities market or other secured debt markets is subject to our having sufficient assets eligible for securitization as well as our ability to obtain appropriate credit ratings. If we are unable to raise additional capital in a timely manner, our ability to meet our capital needs and fund future growth may be limited.
In the past, we have sometimes been unable to timely establish investment funds in accordance with our plans, due in part to the relatively limited number of investors attracted to such types of funds, competition for such capital and the complexity associated with negotiating the agreements with respect to such funds. Delays in raising financing could cause us to delay expanding in existing markets or entering into new markets and hiring additional personnel. Any future delays in capital raising could similarly cause us to delay deployment of a substantial number of solar energy systems for which we have signed PPAs or Solar Leases with customers. Our future ability to obtain additional financing depends on banks’ and other financing sources’ continued confidence in our business model and the renewable energy industry as a whole. It could also be impacted by the liquidity needs of such financing sources themselves. We face intense competition from a variety of other companies, technologies and financing structures for such limited investment capital. If we are unable to continue to offer a competitive investment profile, we may lose access to these funds or they may only be available to us on terms that are less favorable than those received by our competitors. For example, if we experience higher customer default rates than we currently experience in our existing investment funds, it could be more difficult or costly to attract future financing. In our experience, there are a relatively small number of investors that generate sufficient profits and possess the requisite financial sophistication to benefit from and have significant demand for the tax benefits that our investment funds provide. Historically, in the distributed solar energy industry, investors have typically been large financial institutions and a few large, profitable corporations. Our ability to raise investment funds is limited by the relatively small number of such investors. Any inability to secure financing could lead us to cancel planned installations, impair our ability to accept new customers or increase our borrowing costs, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
 
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A material reduction in the retail price of traditional utility-generated electricity or electricity from other sources or other reduction in the cost of such electricity would harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We believe that many of our customers’ interest in solar energy systems is driven by a desire to pay less for their energy costs. However, distributed residential solar energy has yet to achieve broad market adoption for a number of reasons including state regulatory hurdles, utility imposed interconnection issues for distributed electricity generation systems and unfavorable economics from the customer perspective.
A customer’s interest in a solar energy system may also be affected by the cost of electricity generated from other renewable energy sources. Decreases in the retail prices of electricity from the traditional utilities or from other renewable energy sources would harm our ability to offer competitive pricing and could harm our business. The cost of electricity from traditional utilities could decrease as a result of:
 
 	•	 	construction of new power generation plants, including plants utilizing natural gas, nuclear, coal, renewable energy or other generation technologies;	
 
 	•	 	the construction of additional electric transmission and distribution lines;	
 
 	•	 	relief of transmission constraints that enable local centers to generate energy less expensively;	
 
 	•	 	reductions in the price of natural gas or other fuel sources;	
 
 	•	 	utility rate adjustment and customer class cost reallocation;	
 
 	•	 	energy conservation technologies and public initiatives to reduce electricity consumption;	
 
 	•	 	widespread deployment of existing or development of new or lower-cost energy storage technologies that have the ability to reduce a customer’s average cost of electricity by shifting load to off-peak times;	
 
 	•	 	changes in regulations by federal or state regulatory bodies that lower the cost of generating and transmitting electricity or otherwise reduce regulatory compliance costs for traditional utilities, or otherwise disadvantage residential solar energy providers relative to traditional utilities; and	
 
 	•	 	development of new energy generation technologies that provide less expensive energy.	
A reduction in utility electricity costs would make PPAs or Solar Leases less economically attractive to customers on a monthly basis and would increase the time to break even for our System Sales customers. If the cost of energy available from traditional utilities were to decrease due to any of these reasons, or other reasons, we would be at a competitive disadvantage, we may be unable to attract new customers and our growth would be limited. In addition, from time to time we have increased our pricing in certain markets, which may negatively impact our competitiveness.
Electric utility industry policies and regulations may present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to the purchase and use of solar energy systems that may significantly reduce demand for electricity from our solar energy systems.
Federal, state and local government regulations and policies concerning the electric utility industry, utility rate structures, interconnection procedures, and internal policies of electric utilities, heavily influence the market for electricity generation products and services. These regulations and policies often relate to electricity pricing and the interconnection of distributed electricity generation systems to the power grid. Policies and regulations that promote renewable energy and customer-sited energy generation have been challenged by
 
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traditional utilities and questioned by those in government and others arguing for less governmental spending and involvement in the energy market. In addition, it is unclear what, if any, actions the current presidential administration in the United States, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may take regarding existing regulations and policies that affect the cost competitiveness of nuclear, coal and gas electric generation, and fossil fuel mining and exploration. Changes in such policies and regulations could increase the cost or decrease the benefits of solar energy systems, or reduce costs and other limitations on competing forms of generation, and adversely affect the attractiveness of our products and our results of operations, cost of capital and growth prospects.
In the United States, governments and the state public service commissions that determine utility rates continually modify these regulations and policies. These regulations and policies could result in a significant reduction in the potential demand for electricity from our solar energy systems and could deter customers from entering into contracts with us. In addition, in certain of our regions, electricity generated by solar energy systems competes most effectively with the most expensive retail rates for electricity from the power grid, rather than the less expensive average price of electricity. Modifications to the utilities’ peak hour pricing policies or rate design, such as movement to a flat rate, would make our current products less competitive with the price of electricity from the power grid. Other regulatory revisions that could impact the competitiveness of our product include moving from a retail rate to a time-of-use compensation mechanism, imposition of fixed demand or grid-service charges, or limitations on whether third-party owned systems are eligible for such programs. It is possible that changes such as these could have the effect of lowering the incentive for residential customers of investor-owned utilities to reduce their purchases of electricity from their utility by supplying more of their own electricity from solar, and thereby reducing demand for our product. A shift in the timing of peak rates for utility-generated electricity to a time of day when solar energy generation is less efficient or nonexistent could make our solar energy system offerings less competitive and reduce demand for our offerings. In addition, since we are required to obtain interconnection permission for each solar energy system from the local utility, changes in a local utility’s regulations, policies or interconnection processes have in the past delayed and in the future could delay or prevent the completion of our solar energy systems. This in turn has delayed and in the future could delay or prevent us from generating revenues from such solar energy systems or cause us to redeploy solar energy systems, adversely impacting our results of operations.
In addition, any changes to government or internal utility regulations and policies that favor electric utilities or alternative forms of energy over residential rooftop solar energy could reduce our competitiveness and cause a significant reduction in demand for our offerings or increase our costs or the prices we charge our customers. Certain jurisdictions have proposed allowing traditional utilities to assess various fees on customers purchasing energy from solar energy systems or have imposed or proposed new charges or rate structures that would disproportionately impact solar energy system customers who utilize net metering, either of which would increase the cost of energy to those customers and could reduce demand for our solar energy systems. For example, in California, investor owned utilities are allowed to impose a minimum $10 fixed charge on the monthly bill for residential customers that elect net metering and also impose new fees for interconnection and other non-bypassable charges. Such non-bypassable charges are being authorized by other public utilities commissions outside of California. Additionally, certain utilities in Arizona have approved increased rates and charges for net metering customers, and others have proposed doing away with the state’s renewable electricity standard carve-outs for distributed generation. These policy changes may negatively impact our customers and affect demand for our solar energy systems, and similar changes to net metering policies may occur in other states. It is also possible that these or other changes could be imposed on our current customers, as well as future customers. Due to the current and expected continued concentration of our solar energy systems in California, any such changes in this market would be particularly harmful to our reputation, customer relations, business, results of operations and future growth in these areas. We may be similarly adversely affected if our business becomes concentrated in other jurisdictions.
Finally, public service commissions may impose requirements on our business associated with our interactions with potential customers. In October 2017, the Public Service Commission of the State of New York
 
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entered an order requiring changes to certain of our business practices. Other public service commissions could follow New York’s lead and impose requirements associated with consumer protection that could affect how we do business and acquire customers.
Our business currently depends on the availability of rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives. The expiration, elimination or reduction of these rebates, credits or incentives or our ability to monetize them could adversely impact our business.
Federal, state and local government and regulatory bodies provide for tariff structures and incentives to various parties including owners, end users, distributors, system integrators and manufacturers of solar energy systems to promote solar energy in various forms, including rebates, tax credits and other financial incentives such as system performance payments, renewable energy credits associated with renewable energy generation, exclusion of solar energy systems from property tax assessments and net metering. We rely on these governmental and regulatory programs to finance solar energy system installations, which enables us to lower the price we charge customers for energy from, and to lease or purchase, our solar energy systems, helping to achieve customer acceptance of solar energy with those customers as an alternative to utility-provided power. However, these programs may expire on a particular date, end when the allocated funding or capacity allocations are exhausted or be reduced or terminated. These reductions or terminations often occur without warning. In addition, the financial value of certain incentives decreases over time. For example, the value of solar renewable energy certificates, or SRECs, in a market tends to decrease over time as the supply of SREC-producing solar energy systems installed in that market increases. If we overestimate the future value of these incentives, it could adversely impact our financial results.
Substantially all of our solar energy systems installed to date have been eligible for U.S. federal investment tax credits, or ITCs, as well as accelerated depreciation benefits. We have relied on, and will continue to rely on, financing structures that monetize a substantial portion of those benefits and provide financing for our solar energy systems. The federal government currently offers a 30% ITC under Section 48(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for the installation of certain solar power facilities; the 30% rate continues until December 31, 2019. By statute, the ITC is scheduled to decrease to 26% of the fair market value of a solar energy system for 2020, 22% for 2021 and 10% on January 1, 2022, and the amounts that fund investors are willing to invest could decrease or we may be required to provide a larger allocation of customer payments to the fund investors as a result of this scheduled decrease. To the extent we have a reduced ability to raise investment funds as a result of this reduction or an inability to continue to monetize such benefits in our financing arrangements, the rate of growth of installations of our residential solar energy systems and our ability to maintain such systems could be negatively impacted. In addition, future changes in existing law and interpretations by the IRS and the courts with respect to certain matters, including but not limited to, treatment of the ITC and our financing arrangements, the taxation of business entities and the deductibility of interest expense could affect the amount that fund investors are willing to invest, which could reduce our access to capital. The ITC has been a significant driver of the financing supporting the adoption of residential solar energy systems in the United States and its scheduled reduction beginning in 2020, unless modified by an intervening change in law, will significantly impact the attractiveness of solar energy to these investors and could potentially harm our business.
In addition, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, which was enacted in December 2017, contains several provisions that may significantly impact the attractiveness of tax benefits to our fund investors. The TCJA reduces the highest marginal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, which causes accelerated depreciation to have less value to investors and results in investors having less appetite for ITCs. In addition, the TCJA imposes a new “base erosion and anti-abuse tax”, or BEAT. The BEAT is a minimum tax applied to certain large taxpayers who make deductible payments that erode their U.S. tax base above a minimum threshold. If an investor is subject to BEAT, ITCs may be used to partially, but not fully offset the BEAT, resulting in a decrease of the value of the ITCs. Thus, investors will likely discount their investments to reflect the lower corporate tax rate as well as the BEAT and may be less likely to invest in solar overall, which could potentially harm our business.
 
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Applicable authorities may adjust or decrease incentives from time to time or include provisions for minimum domestic content requirements or other requirements to qualify for these incentives. An inability to finance solar energy systems through tax-advantaged structures, to realize or monetize depreciation benefits, to monetize or otherwise receive the benefit of rebates, tax credits, SRECs or other financial incentives, or to otherwise structure investment funds in ways that are both attractive to investors and allow us to provide desirable pricing to customers could adversely impact our results of operations and ability to compete in our industry by increasing our cost of capital, causing us to increase the prices of our energy and solar energy systems and reducing the size of our addressable market. In addition, this would adversely impact our ability to attract investment partners and to form new investment funds and our ability to offer attractive financing to prospective customers.
We rely on net metering and related policies to offer competitive pricing to our customers in all of our current markets, and changes to net metering policies may significantly reduce demand for electricity from our solar energy systems.
Our business benefits significantly from favorable net metering policies in states in which we operate. Net metering allows a homeowner to pay his or her local electric utility only for his or her power usage net of production from the solar energy system, transforming the conventional relationship between customers and traditional utilities. Homeowners receive credit for the energy that the solar installation generates in excess of that needed by the home to offset energy usage at times when the solar installation is not generating energy. In states that provide for net metering, the customer typically pays for the net energy used or receives a credit against future bills at the retail rate if more energy is produced by the solar installation than consumed. In some states and utility territories, customers are also reimbursed by the electric utility for net excess generation on a periodic basis.
In recent years, net metering programs have been subject to regulatory scrutiny and legislative proposals in some states, such as Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Texas and Utah. Utilities are proposing new and varied revisions to their net metering programs, with such proposals decided by the state public utilities commissions. These revisions include capping the numbers of customers that can elect net metering within a utility service territory, imposing new fixed charges for grid service or interconnection, and reducing the retail rate value of the net metered generation. In California, for example, customers within the service territory of San Diego Gas and Electric, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Southern California Edison Company, must take service on a new net metering successor tariff. For this new tariff, the California Public Utilities Commission largely uses the current net metering form with full retail compensation for exports but allows the utilities to impose reasonable interconnection fees and some additional charges on customers and will require such customers to take service on time-of-use rates. There are no caps under the new Net Energy Metering, or NEM, successor tariff. Further, municipal utilities are generally not subject to the same state laws and public commission oversight as compared to investor owned utilities and may make drastic and abrupt changes. As we continue to expand into areas with municipal utilities, we may be subject to greater risk of regulatory uncertainty.
If and when net metering caps in certain jurisdictions are reached while they are still in effect, the value of the credit that customers receive for net metering is significantly reduced, utility rate structures are altered, or fees are imposed on net metering customers, future customers may be unable to recognize the same level of cost savings associated with net metering that current customers enjoy. The absence of favorable net metering policies or of net metering entirely, or the imposition of new charges that only or disproportionately impact customers that use net metering would significantly limit customer demand for our solar energy systems and the electricity they generate, could negatively affect existing customers and lead to missed payments or defaults, and could adversely impact our business, results of operations and future growth.
 
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Our business has benefited from the declining cost of equipment, and our financial results may be harmed if the cost of equipment increases in the future.
During previous years, the declining cost of solar panels and the raw materials necessary to manufacture them has been a key driver in the price we charge for electricity and customer adoption of solar energy systems. Despite recent increases in solar panel prices due to the tariffs imposed in February 2018, industry experts indicate, and we have seen, that solar panel and raw material prices have generally declined. However, it is possible they will not decline at the same rate as they have over the past several years or that they may increase. In addition, while the solar panel market has recently seen an increase in supply, growth in the solar industry and the resulting increase in demand for solar panels and the raw materials necessary to manufacture them may put upward pressure on prices. These resulting prices could slow our growth and cause our financial results to suffer. In addition, in the past we have purchased a substantial majority of the solar panels used in our solar energy systems from manufacturers headquartered in China; however, most of the manufacturing now takes place in other Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Vietnam. Changes in governmental support or regulation in China or the other countries where these products are manufactured could affect our ability to purchase them on competitive terms, and access to specialized technologies could be restricted.
In addition, the U.S. government could impose additional tariffs on solar cells manufactured outside the United States or implement additional restraints on trade. These combined tariffs make such solar cells less competitively priced in the United States, and foreign manufacturers may choose to limit the amount of solar equipment they sell into the United States. If we are required to pay higher prices, accept less favorable terms or purchase solar panels or other system components from alternative, higher-priced sources, our financial results will be adversely affected. The U.S. government may also take broader actions to protect U.S. based manufacturers against imports of solar cells manufactured outside of the United States, such as in Southeast Asia, Japan, Germany and South Korea.
On January 22, 2018, the President of the United States announced the imposition of safeguard measures for a period of four years that include (1) a 30% tariff on imports of solar cells not partially or fully assembled into other products and (2) a 30% tariff on imported solar panels. These tariffs are additive to the anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed in 2014 and 2015. The tariff on imported solar panels will decline 5% each year in the second, third and fourth years. The safeguard measures went into effect on February 7, 2018 and apply to imports from all foreign countries, including Mexico and Canada, except certain developing countries that are members of the World Trade Organization.
On September 17, 2018, the President of the United States announced the imposition of tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. Inverters imported from China are listed as subject to the new duties. Tariffs of 10% on inverters went into effect on September 24, 2018 and the tariffs are currently scheduled to rise to 25% on January 1, 2019. Our various inverter suppliers are still determining how they will manage these tariffs. We are currently seeing various responses to the 10% tariff, ranging from no price increases to passing on the majority of the tariff to the purchaser. We are also seeing a disparity in supplier pricing in relation to the potential implementation of the 25% tariff on January 1, 2019. Additionally, it remains unclear whether the tariff applies to all components that accompany an inverter, or just the inverter itself.
The safeguard measures have increased and other potential tariffs could further increase our costs of solar panels and other system components, potentially causing a significant impact on our system costs, business and prospects. If we are required to pay higher prices, accept less favorable terms or purchase solar panels or other system components from alternative, higher-priced sources, or if supply is otherwise constrained, our costs would increase significantly, and it may be less economical for us to serve certain markets, which would adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects.
Lack of success in System Sales could negatively impact our operating results and cash flows.
System Sales allow us to expand our product offerings and to enter into additional markets, such as those that prohibit third-party ownership of distributed solar energy systems or that lack a favorable net metering
 
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policy. System Sales represented approximately 15% of total megawatts installed in the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Industry analysts have indicated that the number of customer-owned solar energy systems has increased significantly relative to third-party ownership in certain markets and that solar energy system sales are expected to account for a larger percentage of total residential solar installations in the future. Continued increases in the variety and availability of third-party loan financing products to consumers and outright solar energy system purchases could further facilitate this growth. If customer preferences or the residential solar energy market continue to shift toward solar energy system sales, and we are not successful in our efforts, we may lose market share, which could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results and growth prospects. To the extent we are unsuccessful in our efforts to sell solar energy systems, or to work with third parties to finance those systems for our customers, our operating cash flows would be negatively affected, and our business and growth prospects would be adversely affected.
Technical and regulatory limitations may significantly reduce our ability to sell electricity from our solar energy systems and retain employees in certain markets.
Technical and regulatory limits may curb our growth in certain key markets, which may also reduce our ability to retain employees in those markets. For example, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in promulgating the first form small generator interconnection procedures, recommended limiting customer-sited intermittent generation resources, such as our solar energy systems, to a certain percentage of peak load on a given electrical feeder circuit. Similar limits have been adopted by many states as a de facto standard and could constrain our ability to market to customers in certain geographic areas where the concentration of solar installations exceeds this limit. Furthermore, in certain areas, we benefit from policies that allow for expedited or simplified procedures related to connecting solar energy systems to the power grid. If such procedures are changed or cease to be available, our ability to sell the electricity generated by solar energy systems we install may be adversely impacted. As adoption of solar distributed generation rises along with the commercial operation of utility scale solar generation in key markets such as California, the amount of solar energy being fed into the power grid will surpass the amount planned for relative to the amount of aggregate demand. Some traditional utilities claim that in less than five years, solar generation resources may reach a level capable of producing an over-generation situation, which may require some solar generation resources to be curtailed to maintain operation of the power grid. While the prospect of such curtailment is somewhat speculative, particularly in the residential sector, the adverse effects of such curtailment without compensation could adversely impact our business, results of operations and future growth.
We have incurred operating losses before income taxes and may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability in the future.
We have incurred operating losses before income taxes since our inception. We incurred losses before income taxes of $113.1 million and $106.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. In 2017, we recorded a large one-time non-cash tax benefit related to the implementation of the TCJA, which was enacted on December 22, 2017. The impact of the TCJA may vary due to, among other things, changes in interpretations and assumptions we have made, legislative action or other guidance to address questions that arise because of the TCJA, and any changes in accounting standards for income taxes or related interpretations in response to the TCJA. We expect to continue to incur losses before income taxes from operations as we finance our operations, expand our installation, engineering, administrative, sales and marketing staffs, and implement internal systems and infrastructure to support financing the installation of new solar energy systems. Our ability to achieve profitability depends on a number of factors, including:
 
 	•	 	growing our customer base;	
 
 	•	 	finding investors willing to invest in our investment funds;	
 
 	•	 	maintaining and further lowering our cost of capital;	
 
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 	•	 	reducing the time between system installation and interconnection to the power grid, which allows us to begin generating revenue;	
 
 	•	 	reducing the cost of components for our solar energy systems;	
 
 	•	 	maximizing the benefits of rebates, tax credits, SRECs and other available incentives; and	
 
 	•	 	reducing our operating costs by optimizing our sales, design and installation processes and supply chain logistics.	
Even if we do achieve profitability, we may be unable to sustain or increase our profitability in the future.
The majority of our business is conducted using one channel, direct-selling.
Historically, our primary sales channel has been a direct sales model. We also sell to customers through our inside sales team but continue to find greatest success using our direct sales channel. In addition, we have entered into sales dealer agreements with Vivint and others. We may sell through additional distribution channels in the future. We compete against companies with experience selling solar energy systems to customers through a number of distribution channels, including homebuilders, home improvement stores, large construction, electrical and roofing companies, the internet and other third parties and companies that access customers through relationships with third parties in addition to other direct-selling companies. Our less diversified distribution channels may place us at a disadvantage with consumers who prefer to purchase products through these other distribution channels. If customers demonstrate a preference for other distribution channels, we may need to reduce our direct-selling efforts. We are also vulnerable to changes in laws related to direct sales and marketing that could impose additional limitations on unsolicited residential sales calls and may impose additional restrictions such as adjustments to our marketing materials and direct-selling processes, and new training for personnel. If additional laws affecting direct sales and marketing are passed in the markets in which we operate, it would take time to train our sales force to comply with such laws, and we may be exposed to fines or other penalties for violations of such laws. If we fail to compete effectively through our direct-selling efforts or are not successful in developing other sales channels, our financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects could be adversely affected.
We are highly dependent on our ability to attract, train and retain an effective sales force.
The success of our direct-selling channel efforts depends upon the recruitment, retention and motivation of a large number of sales personnel to compensate for a high turnover rate among sales personnel, which is a common characteristic of a direct-selling business. In order to grow our business, we need to recruit, train and retain sales personnel on a continuing basis. Sales personnel are attracted to direct-selling by competitive earnings opportunities, and direct-sellers typically compete for sales personnel by providing a more competitive earnings opportunity than that offered by the competition. We believe competitors devote substantial effort to determining the effectiveness of such incentives so that they can invest in incentives that are the most cost effective or produce the best return on investment. We have historically compensated our sales personnel on a commission basis, based on the size of the solar energy systems they sell, and recently have begun compensating based on system size, contract rate and the expected number of hours the rooftop will be exposed to full sunlight. Some sales personnel may prefer a compensation structure that also includes a salary and equity incentive component. There is significant competition for sales talent in our industry, and from time to time we may need to adjust our compensation model to include such components. These adjustments have caused our customer acquisition costs to increase and could otherwise adversely impact our operating results and financial performance.
 
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In addition to our sales compensation model, our ability to recruit, train and retain effective sales personnel could be harmed by additional factors, including:
 
 	•	 	any adverse publicity regarding us, our solar energy systems, our distribution channel or our industry;	
 
 	•	 	lack of interest in, or the technical failure of, our solar energy systems;	
 
 	•	 	lack of a compelling product or income opportunity that generates interest for potential new sales personnel, or perception that other product or income opportunities are more attractive;	
 
 	•	 	any negative public perception of our sales personnel and direct-selling businesses in general;	
 
 	•	 	any regulatory actions or charges against us or others in our industry;	
 
 	•	 	general economic and business conditions; and	
 
 	•	 	potential saturation or maturity levels in a given market which could negatively impact our ability to attract and retain sales personnel in such market.	
We are subject to significant competition for the recruitment of sales personnel from other direct-selling companies and from other companies that sell solar energy systems in particular. Regional and district managers of our sales personnel are instrumental in recruiting, retaining and motivating our sales personnel. When managers have elected to leave us and join other companies, the sales personnel they supervise have often left with them. We may experience increased attrition in our sales personnel in the future, which may impact our results of operations and growth. The impact of such attrition could be particularly acute in those jurisdictions, such as California, where contractual non-competition agreements for service providers are not enforceable or are subject to significant limitations.
It is therefore continually necessary to innovate and enhance our direct-selling and service model as well as to recruit and retain new sales personnel. If we are unable to do so, our business could be adversely affected.
We are not currently regulated as an electric utility under applicable law in the jurisdictions in which we operate (other than New York), but we may be subject to regulation as an electric utility in the future.
Except as described below with respect to New York, we are not regulated as a public utility in any of the markets in which we currently operate. As a result, we are not subject to the various federal, state and local standards, restrictions and regulatory requirements applicable to traditional utilities that operate transmission and distribution systems and that have an obligation to serve electric customers within a specified jurisdiction.
In October 2017, the Public Service Commission of the State of New York entered an order determining that residential rooftop solar energy providers are “electric corporations” (the term for electric utilities under New York state law) and requiring changes that will affect certain aspects of our business. The order, which is part of a broader proceeding before the Commission associated with regulating and overseeing distributed energy resource suppliers, is premised on the Commission’s determination that it has the jurisdiction to oversee our business, and businesses like ours, in the same way that it oversees public utilities. We have worked with the Solar Energy Industries Association, or SEIA, and others in the industry to petition the Commission for a rehearing on the order, specifically challenging its position that the statutes giving it the ability to regulate utilities also give it jurisdiction over us. Though New York’s Public Service Commission is, to our knowledge, the first state public commission to take the position that residential rooftop solar energy providers are subject to the same regulatory oversight as electric utilities, we understand from SEIA that other public service commissions are following what is happening in New York and may take similar action depending on the outcome. If we were subject to the jurisdiction of public service commissions in the same or a similar way as public utilities, those commissions could take action that could materially affect our business operations.
 
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Any additional federal, state, or local regulations that cause us to be treated as an electric utility, or to otherwise be subject to a similar regulatory regime of commission-approved operating tariffs, rate limitations, and related mandatory provisions, could place significant restrictions on our ability to operate our business and execute our business plan by prohibiting, restricting or otherwise regulating our sale of electricity. If we were subject to the same state or federal regulatory authorities as electric utilities in the United States or if new regulatory bodies were established to oversee our business in the United States, then our operating costs would materially increase.
Our business depends in part on the regulatory treatment of third-party owned solar energy systems.
Retail sales of electricity by non-utilities such as us face regulatory hurdles in some states and jurisdictions, including states and jurisdictions that we intend to enter, where the laws and regulatory policies have not historically embraced competition to the service provided by the incumbent, vertically integrated electric utility. Some of the principal challenges pertain to whether non-customer owned systems qualify for the same levels of rebates or other non-tax incentives available for customer-owned solar energy systems, whether third-party owned systems are eligible at all for these incentives and whether third-party owned systems are eligible for net metering and the associated significant cost savings. Furthermore, in some states and utility territories third parties are limited in the way that they may deliver solar to their customers. In jurisdictions such as Arizona, South Carolina, Utah and Los Angeles, California, laws have been interpreted to either prohibit the sale of electricity pursuant to our standard PPA or regulate entities making such sales, and in some cases, such laws have led residential solar energy system providers to use leases in lieu of PPAs. In other states, neither leases nor PPAs are permissible or commercially feasible. Changes in law and reductions in, eliminations of or additional application requirements for, these benefits could reduce demand for our systems, adversely impact our access to capital and could cause us to increase the price we charge our customers for energy.
If the IRS or the U.S. Treasury Department makes a determination that the fair market value of our solar energy systems is materially lower than what we have reported in our fund tax returns, we may have to pay significant amounts to our investment funds, our fund investors and/or the U.S. government. Such determinations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects.
We report in our fund tax returns that we and our fund investors claim the ITC based on the fair market value of our solar energy systems. Scrutiny by the IRS continues with respect to fair market value determinations industry-wide. The IRS is conducting an audit of one of our investment funds. We are not aware of any other audits or results of audits related to our appraisals or fair market value determinations of any of our investment funds. If as part of an examination the IRS were to review the fair market value that we used to establish our basis for claiming ITCs and determine that the ITCs previously claimed should be reduced, we would owe certain of our investment funds or our fund investors an amount equal to 30% of the investor’s share of the difference between the fair market value used to establish our basis for claiming ITCs and the adjusted fair market value determined by the IRS, plus any costs and expenses associated with a challenge to that fair market value, plus a gross up to pay for additional taxes. We could also be subject to tax liabilities, including interest and penalties, based on our share of claimed ITCs. To date, we have not been required to make such payments under any of our investment funds.
Rising interest rates could adversely impact our business.
Rising interest rates could have an adverse impact on our business by increasing our cost of capital. The majority of our cash flows to date have been from customer contracts that have been partially monetized under various investment fund structures. One of the components of this monetization is the present value of the payment streams from the customers who enter into these contracts. If the rate of return required by the fund investor rises as a result of a rise in interest rates, the present value of the customer payment stream and the total value that we are able to derive from monetizing the payment stream will each be reduced. Interest rates are at relatively low levels. It is likely that interest rates will continue to rise in the future, which would cause our costs of capital to increase.
 
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Our investment funds contain arrangements that provide for priority distributions to fund investors until they receive their targeted rates of return. In addition, under the terms of certain of our investment funds, we may be required to make payments to the fund investors if certain tax benefits that are allocated to such fund investors are not realized as expected. Our financial condition may be adversely impacted if a fund is required to make these priority distributions for a longer period than anticipated to achieve the fund investors’ targeted rates of return or if we are required to make any tax-related payments.
Our investment funds contain terms that contractually require the investment funds to make priority distributions to the fund investor, to the extent cash is available, until it achieves its targeted rate of return. The amounts of potential future distributions under these arrangements depends on the amounts and timing of receipt of cash flows into the investment fund, almost all of which is generated from customer payments related to solar energy systems that have been previously purchased (or leased, as applicable) by such fund. If such cash flows are lower than expected, the priority distributions to the investor may continue for longer than initially anticipated.
Additionally, certain of our investment funds require that, under certain circumstances, we forego distributions from the fund that we are otherwise contractually entitled to or make capital contributions to the fund that can be redirected to the fund investor such that it achieves the targeted return. These forgone distributions or capital contributions will generally occur if the fund investor has not achieved its targeted return prior to the target flip date of the investment fund. None of our investment funds have reached their target flip date at the current time and we anticipate that the first target flip date in which a fund investor is required to have achieved its targeted return is 2020.
Our fund investors also expect returns partially in the form of tax benefits and, to enable such returns, our investment funds contain terms that contractually require us to make payments to the funds that are then used to make payments to the fund investor in certain circumstances so that the fund investor receives value equivalent to the tax benefits it expected to receive when entering into the transaction. The amounts of potential tax payments under these arrangements depend on the tax benefits that accrue to such investors from the funds’ activities and, in some cases, may be impacted by changes in tax law.
Due to uncertainties associated with estimating the timing and amounts of these cash distributions and allocations of tax benefits to such investors, we cannot determine the potential maximum future impact on our cash flows or payments that we could have to make under these arrangements. We may agree to similar terms in the future if market conditions require it. Any significant payments that we may be required to make or distributions to us that are reduced or diverted as a result of these arrangements could adversely affect our financial condition.
We may incur substantially more debt or take other actions that could restrict our ability to pursue our business strategies.
As of September 30, 2018, we and our subsidiaries had outstanding $1.2 billion in principal amount of indebtedness, including through debt facilities and asset-backed securities issued by our subsidiaries. As of September 30, 2018, we had up to $463.3 million of unused borrowing capacity remaining. These debt facilities restrict our ability to dispose of assets, incur indebtedness, incur liens, pay dividends or make other distributions to holders of our capital stock, repurchase our capital stock, make specified investments or engage in transactions with our affiliates. In addition, we do not have full access to the cash and cash equivalents held in our investments funds until distributed per the terms of the arrangements. We and our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional debt in the future, and any debt instrument we enter into in the future may contain similar, or more onerous, restrictions. These restrictions could inhibit our ability to pursue our business strategies. Additionally, our ability to make scheduled payments depends on our operating performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors that may be beyond our control. Furthermore, if we default on one of our debt instruments, and such event of default is not cured or waived, the lenders could terminate
 
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commitments to lend and cause all amounts outstanding with respect to the debt to be due and payable immediately, which in turn could result in cross acceleration under other debt instruments. Our assets and cash flow may not be sufficient to fully repay borrowings under all of our outstanding debt instruments if some or all of these instruments are accelerated upon a default.
Furthermore, there is no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital through the asset-backed securities market or other secured or unsecured debt markets or enter into new debt instruments on acceptable terms. If we are unable to satisfy financial covenants and other terms under existing or new instruments or obtain waivers or forbearance from our lenders or if we are unable to obtain refinancing or new financings for our working capital, equipment and other needs on acceptable terms if and when needed, our business would be adversely affected.
Our business is concentrated in California, putting us at risk of region specific disruptions.
As of September 30, 2018, approximately 34% of our cumulative megawatts installed were located in California. In addition, we expect future growth to occur in California, which could further concentrate our customer base and operational infrastructure. Accordingly, our business and results of operations are particularly susceptible to adverse economic, regulatory, political, weather and other conditions in California and in other markets that may become similarly concentrated.
Residential solar energy is an evolving market, which makes it difficult to evaluate our prospects.
The residential solar energy industry is constantly evolving, which makes it difficult to evaluate our prospects. We cannot be certain if historical growth rates reflect future opportunities or whether growth anticipated by us or industry analysts will be realized. Any future growth of the residential solar energy market and the success of our solar energy systems depend on many factors beyond our control, including recognition and acceptance of the residential solar energy market by consumers, the pricing of alternative sources of energy, a favorable regulatory environment, the continuation of expected tax benefits and other incentives and our ability to provide our solar energy systems cost-effectively. If the markets for residential solar energy do not develop at the rate we expect, our business may be adversely affected.
Additionally, there is limited empirical evidence regarding the effect solar energy systems have on the resale value of customers’ houses. Due to the length of our customer contracts, the system deployed on a customer’s roof may be outdated prior to the expiration of the term of the customer contract reducing the likelihood of renewal of our contracts at the end of the 20-year term, and possibly increasing the occurrence of defaults. This could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. As a result, we may be unable to accurately forecast our future performance and to invest accordingly.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired, which could harm our operating results, our ability to operate our business and investors’ views of us.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires public companies to conduct an annual review and evaluation of their internal controls. Our failure to maintain the effectiveness of our internal controls in accordance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business. We could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could have an adverse effect on our stock price. In addition, if our efforts to comply with new or changed laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.
 
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We face competition from traditional regulated electric utilities, from less-regulated third party energy service providers, other solar companies and from new renewable energy companies.
The solar energy and renewable energy industries are both highly competitive and continually evolving as participants strive to distinguish themselves within their markets and compete with large traditional utilities. We believe that our primary competitors are the traditional utilities that supply electricity to our potential customers. Traditional utilities generally have substantially greater financial, technical, operational and other resources than we do. As a result, these competitors may be able to devote more resources to the research, development, promotion and sale of their products or respond more quickly to evolving industry standards and changes in market conditions than we can, including the ability to initiate proceedings before state public utility commissions to reduce the value of net metering. Traditional utilities could also offer other value-added products or services that could help them to compete with us even if the cost of electricity they offer is higher than ours. In addition, a majority of utilities’ sources of electricity is non-solar, which may allow utilities to sell electricity more cheaply than electricity generated by our solar energy systems.
We also compete with companies that are not regulated like traditional utilities but that have access to the traditional utility electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure pursuant to state and local pro-competitive and consumer choice policies. These energy service companies are able to offer customers electricity supply-only solutions that are competitive with our solar energy system options on both price and usage of renewable energy technology while avoiding the long-term agreements and physical installations that our current fund-financed business model requires. This may limit our ability to attract new customers, particularly those who wish to avoid long-term contracts or have an aesthetic or other objection to putting solar panels on their roofs.
Additionally, we compete with solar companies with business models that are similar to ours. Some of these competitors have a higher degree of brand name recognition, differing business and pricing strategies, and greater capital resources than we have, as well as extensive knowledge of our target markets. In addition, our System Sales face increasing competition from other national and local solar energy companies who sell solar energy systems and may offer a broader suite of companion products. We believe the solar industry is becoming increasingly commoditized, and if we are unable to offer differentiated products, establish or maintain a consumer brand that resonates with homeowners or compete with the pricing offered by our competitors, our sales and market share position may be adversely affected.
In addition, we compete with solar companies in the downstream value chain of solar energy. For example, we face competition from purely finance driven organizations that acquire customers and then subcontract out the installation of solar energy systems, from installation businesses that seek financing from external parties, from large construction companies and utilities, and increasingly from sophisticated electrical and roofing companies. Some of these competitors specialize in the residential solar energy market, and some may provide energy at lower costs than we do. Additionally, some of our competitors may offer their products through sales channels that they have more fully developed, such as retail sales. Further, some of our competitors are integrating vertically in order to ensure supply and to control costs. Many of our competitors also have significant brand name recognition and have extensive knowledge of our target markets. For us to remain competitive, we must distinguish ourselves from our competitors by offering an integrated approach that successfully competes with each level of products and services offered by our competitors at various points in the value chain. If our competitors develop an integrated approach similar to ours including sales, financing, engineering, manufacturing, installation, maintenance and monitoring services, this will reduce our marketplace differentiation.
We also compete with solar companies that offer community solar products and utility companies that provide renewable power purchase programs. Some customers might choose to subscribe to a community solar project or renewable subscriber programs instead of installing a solar energy system on their home, which could affect our sales. Additionally, some utility companies (and some utility-like entities, such as community choice
 
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aggregators in California) have generation portfolios that are increasingly renewable in nature. In California, for example, due to recent legislation utility companies and community choice aggregators in that state are required to have generation portfolios comprised of 60% renewable energy by 2030, and state regulators are planning for utility companies and community choice aggregators to sell 100% greenhouse gas free electricity to retail customers by 2045. As utility companies offer increasingly renewable portfolios to retail customers, those customers might be less inclined to install a solar energy system at their home, which could adversely affect our growth.
As the solar industry grows and evolves, we will also face new competitors who are not currently in the market. Our industry is characterized by low technological barriers to entry and well-capitalized companies could choose to enter the market and compete with us. Our failure to adapt to changing market conditions and to compete successfully with existing or new competitors will limit our growth and will have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.
Developments in alternative technologies or improvements in distributed solar energy generation may materially adversely affect demand for our offerings.
Significant developments in alternative technologies, such as advances in other forms of distributed solar power generation, storage solutions such as batteries, the widespread use or adoption of fuel cells for residential or commercial properties or improvements in other forms of centralized power production may materially and adversely affect our business and prospects in ways we do not currently anticipate. Any failure by us to adopt new or enhanced technologies or processes, or to react to changes in existing technologies, could materially delay deployment of our solar energy systems, which could result in product obsolescence, the loss of competitiveness of our systems, decreased revenue and a loss of market share to competitors.
A failure to hire and retain a sufficient number of employees in key functions would constrain our ability to timely complete our customers’ projects.
To support our business, we need to hire, train, deploy, manage and retain a substantial number of skilled installers and electricians in the markets where there is heightened or increasing demand for solar energy products. Competition for qualified personnel in our industry has increased substantially, and we expect it to continue to do so, particularly for skilled electricians and other personnel involved in the installation of solar energy systems. We also compete with the homebuilding and construction industries for skilled labor. As these industries seek to hire additional workers, our cost of labor may increase. Companies with whom we compete to hire installers may offer compensation or incentive plans that certain installers may view as more favorable. We periodically assess the compensation plans and policies for our service providers, including our installers and electricians, and, if deemed necessary, may decide to revise those plans and policies. Our installers and electricians may not react well to any such revisions, which in turn could adversely affect retention, motivation and productivity. Additionally, we continually monitor our workforce requirements in the markets in which we operate. Any workforce reductions in markets where sales volume does not support the number of installation and other personnel could in turn adversely affect retention, motivation and productivity. We may also subcontract certain aspects of the installation process to independent contractors. Training these independent contractors and monitoring them for compliance with our policies may require significant management oversight and may present additional risks and challenges compared to those related to managing our employees.
Furthermore, trained installers are typically able to more efficiently install solar energy systems. Shortages of skilled labor could significantly delay installations or otherwise increase our costs. While we do not currently have any unionized employees, we have expanded, and may continue to expand, into areas such as the Northeast, where labor unions are more prevalent. The unionization of our labor force could also increase our labor costs. In addition, a significant portion of our business has been concentrated in states such as California, where market conditions are particularly favorable to distributed solar energy generation. We have experienced and may in the future experience greater than expected turnover in our installers in those jurisdictions which would adversely impact the geographic mix of new solar energy system installations.
 
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Because we are a licensed electrical contractor in every jurisdiction in which we operate, we are required to employ licensed electricians. As we expand into new markets, we are required to hire and/or contract with seasoned licensed electricians in order for us to qualify for the requisite state and local licenses. Because of the high demand for these seasoned licensed electricians, these individuals currently or in the future may demand greater compensation. In addition, our inability to attract and retain these qualifying electricians may adversely impact our ability to continue operations in current markets or expand into new areas.
If we cannot meet our hiring, retention and efficiency goals, we may be unable to complete our customers’ projects on time, in an acceptable manner or at all. Any significant failures in this regard would materially impair our growth, reputation, business and financial results. If we are required to pay higher compensation than we anticipate, these greater expenses may also adversely impact our financial results and the growth of our business.
We act as the licensed general contractor for our customers and are subject to risks associated with construction, cost overruns, delays, regulatory compliance and other contingencies, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We are a licensed contractor in every market we service, and we are responsible for every customer installation. We are the general contractor, electrician, construction manager and installer for all our solar energy systems. We may be liable to customers for any damage we cause to their home, belongings or property during the installation of our systems, including any re-roofing services provided under our contracts. In addition, because the solar energy systems we deploy are high-voltage energy systems, we may incur liability for the failure to comply with electrical standards and manufacturer recommendations. Furthermore, prior to obtaining permission to operate our solar energy systems, the systems must pass various inspections. Any delay in passing, or inability to pass, such inspections, would adversely affect our results of operations. Because our profit on a particular installation is based in part on assumptions as to the cost of such project, damage for which we are liable, cost overruns, delays or other execution issues may cause us to not achieve our expected results or cover our costs for that project.
In addition, the installation of solar energy systems is subject to oversight and regulation in accordance with national, state and local laws and ordinances relating to building, fire and electrical codes, safety, environmental protection, utility interconnection and metering, and related matters. We also rely on certain of our employees to maintain professional licenses in many of the jurisdictions in which we operate, and our failure to employ properly licensed personnel could adversely affect our licensing status in those jurisdictions. It is difficult and costly to track the requirements of every authority having jurisdiction over our operations and our solar energy systems. Any new government regulations or utility policies pertaining to our systems, or changes to existing government regulations or utility policies pertaining to our systems, may result in significant additional expenses to us and our customers and, as a result, could cause a significant reduction in demand for our systems.
We depend on a limited number of suppliers of solar energy system components and technologies to adequately meet anticipated demand for our solar energy systems. Due to the limited number of suppliers in our industry, the acquisition of any of these suppliers by a competitor or any shortage, delay, price change, imposition of tariffs or duties or other limitation in our ability to obtain components or technologies we use could result in sales and installation delays, cancellations and loss of market share.
We purchase solar panels, inverters and other system components from a limited number of suppliers, making us susceptible to quality issues, shortages and price changes. If we fail to develop, maintain and expand our relationships with our suppliers, our ability to adequately meet anticipated demand for our solar energy systems may be adversely affected, or we may only be able to offer our systems at higher costs or after delays. If one or more of the suppliers that we rely upon to meet anticipated demand ceases or reduces production due to its financial condition, acquisition by a competitor or otherwise, is unable to increase production as industry demand increases or is otherwise unable to allocate sufficient production to us, it may be difficult to quickly identify
 
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alternative suppliers or to qualify alternative products on commercially reasonable terms, and our ability to satisfy this demand may be adversely affected. There are a limited number of suppliers of solar energy system components and technologies. While we believe there are other sources of supply for these products available, transitioning to a new supplier may result in additional costs and delays in acquiring our solar products and deploying our systems, and may require us to obtain the approval of our financing partners in order to utilize new products. These issues could harm our business or financial performance.
There have also been periods of industry-wide shortages of key components, including solar panels, in times of rapid industry growth. The manufacturing infrastructure for some of these components has a long lead-time, requires significant capital investment and relies on the continued availability of key commodity materials, potentially resulting in an inability to meet demand for these components. The solar industry is growing and, as a result, shortages of key components, including solar panels, may be more likely to occur, which in turn may result in price increases for such components. Even if industry-wide shortages do not occur, suppliers may decide to allocate key components with high demand or insufficient production capacity to more profitable customers, customers with long-term supply agreements or customers other than us and our supply of such components may be reduced as a result.
We have entered into multi-year agreements with certain of our major suppliers. These agreements are denominated in U.S. dollars. Since our revenue is also generated in U.S. dollars, we are mostly insulated from currency fluctuations. However, since our suppliers often incur a significant amount of their costs by purchasing raw materials and generating operating expenses in foreign currencies, if the value of the U.S. dollar depreciates significantly or for a prolonged period of time against these other currencies, this may cause our suppliers to raise the prices they charge us, which could harm our financial results. As noted above, the U.S. government has imposed a 30% tariff (decreasing by 5% each year for four years) on imports of solar cells not partially or fully assembled into other products and a 30% tariff (decreasing by 5% each year for four years) on imported solar panels from most foreign countries. It is unclear what further actions the current U.S. presidential administration may take with respect to existing and proposed trade agreements, or restrictions on trade generally. The existing tariffs, and any new tariffs, duties or other trade measures, or shortages, delays, price changes or other limitation in our ability to obtain components or technologies we use could limit our growth, cause cancellations or adversely affect our profitability, and result in loss of market share and damage to our brand.
Our operating results may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year, which could make our future performance difficult to predict and could cause our operating results for a particular period to fall below expectations, resulting in a severe decline in the price of our common stock.
Our quarterly and annual operating results are difficult to predict and may fluctuate significantly in the future. We have experienced seasonal and quarterly fluctuations in the past. However, given that we are in a growing industry, the true extent of these fluctuations may have been masked by our historical growth rates and thus may not be readily apparent from our historical operating results and may be difficult to predict. For example, the amount of revenue we recognize in a given period depends in part on the types of customer contracts we have entered into—because revenue from System Sales is recognized when the system is placed into service whereas revenue from our PPAs and Solar Leases is recognized over the contract life, which is typically 20 years—and, in the case of PPAs and Solar Leases is dependent in part on the amount of energy generated by solar energy systems under such contracts. As a result, revenue derived from PPAs is impacted by seasonally shorter daylight hours in winter months. In addition, our ability to install solar energy systems is impacted by weather, such as during the winter months in the Northeastern United States. Such delays can impact the timing of when we can install and begin to generate revenue from solar energy systems. As such, our past quarterly operating results may not be good indicators of future performance.
In addition to the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, the following factors could cause our operating results to fluctuate:
 
 	•	 	the expiration or initiation of any rebates or incentives;	
 
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 	•	 	significant fluctuations in customer demand for our offerings;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to complete installations and interconnect to the power grid in a timely manner;	
 
 	•	 	the availability and costs of suitable financing;	
 
 	•	 	the amount and timing of sales of SRECs;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to continue to expand our operations, and the amount and timing of expenditures related to this expansion;	
 
 	•	 	actual or anticipated changes in our growth rate relative to our competitors;	
 
 	•	 	announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital-raising activities or commitments;	
 
 	•	 	changes in our pricing policies or terms or those of our competitors, including traditional utilities; and	
 
 	•	 	actual or anticipated developments in our competitors’ businesses or the competitive landscape.	
For these or other reasons, the results of any prior quarterly or annual periods should not be relied upon as indications of our future performance. In addition, our actual revenue, key operating metrics and other operating results in future periods may fall short of the expectations of investors and financial analysts, which could have an adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock.
The profitability and residual value of our solar energy systems during and at the end of the associated term of the PPA or Solar Lease may be lower than projected today and adversely affect our financial performance and valuation.
We maintain ownership of the solar energy systems that we install under our PPAs or Solar Leases. We amortize the costs of our solar energy systems over a 30-year estimated useful life, which exceeds the period of the component warranties and the corresponding payment streams from our contracts with our customers. If we incur repair and maintenance costs on these systems after the warranties have expired, and if they then fail or malfunction, we will be liable for the expense of repairing these systems without a chance of recovery from our suppliers. We are also contractually obligated to remove, store and reinstall the solar energy systems, typically for a nominal fee, if customers need to replace or repair their roofs. However, customer fees may not cover our costs to remove, store and reinstall the solar energy systems. In addition, we typically bear the cost of removing the solar energy systems at the end of the term of the customer contract if the customer does not renew his or her contract or purchase the system. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict how future environmental regulations may affect the costs associated with the removal, disposal or recycling of our solar energy systems. We also face other factors that could increase the costs or diminish the production of a solar energy system, such as unanticipated damage or malfunctions, animal interference and weather-related matters. If the residual value of the systems is less than we expect at the end of the customer contract, after giving effect to any associated removal and redeployment costs, we may be required to accelerate all or some of the remaining unamortized costs. If the profitability or the residual value of the systems is lower than expected, this could materially impair our future operating results and estimated retained value.
Compliance with occupational safety and health requirements and best practices can be costly, and noncompliance with such requirements may result in potentially significant monetary penalties, operational delays and adverse publicity.
The installation of solar energy systems requires our employees to work at heights with complicated and potentially dangerous electrical systems and at potentially high temperatures. The evaluation and modification of
 
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buildings as part of the installation process requires our employees to work in locations that may contain potentially dangerous levels of asbestos, lead, mold or other materials known or believed to be hazardous to human health. We also maintain a fleet of over 700 trucks and other vehicles to support our installers and operations. There is substantial risk of serious injury or death if proper safety procedures are not followed. Our operations are subject to regulation under OSHA, DOT, and equivalent state laws. Changes to OSHA, DOT or state requirements, or stricter interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could result in increased costs. If we fail to comply with applicable OSHA regulations, even if no work-related serious injury or death occurs, we may be subject to civil or criminal enforcement and be required to pay substantial penalties, incur significant capital expenditures or suspend or limit operations. We could be exposed to increased liability in the future. In the past, we have had workplace accidents and received citations from OSHA regulators for alleged safety violations, resulting in fines. Any such accidents, citations, violations, injuries or failure to comply with industry best practices may subject us to adverse publicity, damage our reputation and competitive position and adversely affect our business or financial performance.
Problems with product quality or performance may cause us to incur expenses, may lower the residual value of our solar energy systems and may damage our market reputation and adversely affect our financial results.
We agree to maintain the solar energy systems installed on our customers’ homes in connection with a PPA or Solar Lease during the length of the term of our customer contracts, which is typically 20 years. We are exposed to any liabilities arising from the systems’ failure to operate properly and are generally under an obligation to ensure that each system remains in good condition during the term of the agreement. We also agree to provide a workmanship warranty and maintain the solar energy systems we sell to customers for a period of one to ten years. As part of our operations and maintenance work, we provide a pass-through of the inverter and panel manufacturers’ warranty coverage to our System Sales customers, which generally range from ten to 20 years. We also take advantage of manufacturers’ warranty coverage when maintaining solar energy systems installed under PPAs and Solar Leases. One or more of these third-party manufacturers could cease operations and no longer honor these warranties, leaving us to fulfill these potential obligations to our customers or to our fund investors without underlying warranty coverage. We, either ourselves or through our investment funds, bear the cost of such major equipment. Even if the investment fund bears the direct expense of such replacement equipment, we could suffer financial losses associated with a loss of production from the solar energy systems.
To be competitive in the market and to comply with the requirements of our jurisdictions, our Solar Leases contain a performance guarantee in favor of the lessee. Solar Leases with performance guarantees require us to refund money to the lessee if the solar energy system fails to generate a stated minimum amount of electricity in a 12-month period. We may also suffer financial losses associated with such refunds if significant performance guarantee payments are triggered.
Our failure to accurately predict future liabilities related to material quality or performance expenses could result in unexpected volatility in our financial condition. Because of the long estimated useful life of our solar energy systems, we have been required to make assumptions and apply judgments regarding a number of factors, including our anticipated rate of warranty claims, and the durability, performance and reliability of our solar energy systems. We have made these assumptions based on the historic performance of similar systems or on accelerated life cycle testing. Our assumptions could prove to be materially different from the actual performance of our systems, causing us to incur substantial expense to repair or replace defective solar energy systems in the future or to compensate customers for systems that do not meet their performance guarantees. Equipment defects, serial defects or operational deficiencies also would reduce our revenue from customer contracts because the customer payments under such agreements are dependent on system production or would require us to make refunds under performance guarantees. Any widespread product failures or operating deficiencies may damage our market reputation and adversely impact our financial results.
 
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We are responsible for providing maintenance, repair and billing on solar energy systems that are owned or leased by our investment funds on a fixed fee basis, and our financial performance could be adversely affected if our cost of providing such services is higher than we project.
We typically provide a workmanship warranty for periods of five to 20 years to our investment funds for every system we sell to them. We are also generally contractually obligated to cover the cost of maintenance, repair and billing on any solar energy systems that we sell or lease to our investment funds. We are subject to a maintenance services agreement under which we are required to operate and maintain the system and perform customer billing services for a fixed fee that is calculated to cover our future expected maintenance and servicing costs of the solar energy systems in each investment fund over the term of the PPA or Solar Lease with the covered customers. If our solar energy systems require an above-average number of repairs or if the cost of repairing systems were higher than our estimate, we would need to perform such repairs without additional compensation. If our solar energy systems are damaged in the event of a natural disaster beyond our control, such as an earthquake, tornado, wildfire, tsunami or hurricane, losses could be outside the scope of insurance policies or exceed insurance policy limits, and we could incur unforeseen costs that could harm our business and financial condition. We may also incur significant costs for taking other actions in preparation for, or in reaction to, such events. When required to do so under the terms of a particular investment fund, we purchase property and business interruption insurance or other insurance policies with industry standard coverage and limits approved by the investor’s third-party insurance advisors to hedge against risk, but such coverage may not cover our losses, and we have not acquired such coverage for all of our funds.
Product liability claims against us or accidents could result in adverse publicity and potentially significant monetary damages.
If our solar energy systems or other products were to injure someone, we could be exposed to product liability claims. In addition, it is possible that our products could cause property damage as a result of product malfunctions, defects, improper installation, fire or other causes. We rely on our general liability insurance to cover product liability claims. Any product liability claims we face could be expensive to defend and divert management’s attention. The successful assertion of product liability claims against us could result in potentially significant monetary damages, penalties or fines, increase our insurance rates, subject us to adverse publicity, damage our reputation and competitive position and adversely affect sales of our systems and other products. In addition, product liability claims, injuries, defects or other problems experienced by other companies in the residential solar industry could lead to unfavorable market conditions to the industry as a whole and may have an adverse effect on our ability to attract new customers, thus affecting our growth and financial performance.
Failure by our component suppliers to use ethical business practices and comply with applicable laws and regulations may adversely affect our business.
We do not control our suppliers or their business practices. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee that they follow ethical business practices such as fair wage practices and compliance with environmental, safety and other local laws. A lack of demonstrated compliance could lead us to seek alternative suppliers, which could increase our costs and result in delayed delivery of our products, product shortages or other disruptions of our operations. Violation of labor or other laws by our suppliers or the divergence of a supplier’s labor or other practices from those generally accepted as ethical in the United States or other markets in which we do business could also attract negative publicity for us and harm our business.
Damage to our brand and reputation or change or loss of use of our brand could harm our business and results of operations.
We depend significantly on our reputation for high-quality products, best-in-class customer service and the brand name “Vivint Solar” to attract new customers and grow our business. If we fail to continue to deliver our solar energy systems within the planned timelines, if our offerings do not perform as anticipated or if we
 
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damage any of our customers’ properties or delay or cancel projects, our brand and reputation could be significantly impaired. Future technical improvements may allow us to offer lower prices or offer new technology to new customers; however, technical limitations in our current solar energy systems may prevent us from offering such lower prices or new technology to our existing customers. The inability of our current customers to benefit from technological improvements could cause our existing customers to lower the value they perceive our existing products offer and impair our brand and reputation.
We have focused particular attention on growing our direct sales force, leading us in some instances to take on candidates who we later determined did not meet our standards. In addition, given our direct sales business model and the sheer number of interactions our sales and other personnel have with customers and potential customers, it is inevitable that some customers’ and potential customers’ interactions with our company will be perceived as less than satisfactory. This has led to instances of customer complaints, some of which have affected our digital footprint on rating websites and social media platforms. If we cannot manage our hiring and training processes to avoid or minimize these issues to the extent possible, our reputation may be harmed and our ability to attract new customers would suffer.
Given our relationship with our sister company Vivint and the similarity in our names, customers may associate us with any problems experienced with Vivint, such as complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Because we have no control over Vivint, we cannot take remedial action to cure any issues Vivint has with its customers, and our brand and reputation may be harmed if we are mistaken for the same company.
In addition, if we were to no longer use, lose the right to continue to use, or if others use, the “Vivint Solar” brand, we could lose recognition in the marketplace among customers, suppliers and partners, which could affect our growth and financial performance, and would require financial and other investment, and management attention in new branding, which may not be as successful.
Marketplace confidence in our liquidity and long-term business prospects is important for building and maintaining our business.
Our financial condition, operating results and business prospects may suffer materially if we are unable to establish and maintain confidence about our liquidity and business prospects among consumers and within our industry. Our solar energy systems require ongoing maintenance and support. If we were to reduce operations now or in the future, existing buyers of our systems might have difficulty in having us repair or service our systems, which remain our responsibility under the terms of our customer contracts. As a result, consumers may be less likely to purchase our solar energy systems now if they are uncertain that our business will succeed or that our operations will continue for many years. Similarly, suppliers and other third parties will be less likely to invest time and resources in developing business relationships with us if they are not convinced that our business will succeed. Accordingly, in order to build and maintain our business, we must maintain confidence among customers, suppliers and other parties in our liquidity and long-term business prospects. We may not succeed in our efforts to build this confidence.
If we fail to manage our recent and future operations and growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of customer service or adequately address competitive challenges.
We have experienced growth in recent periods with the cumulative capacity of our solar energy systems growing from 864.9 megawatts as of December 31, 2017 to 1,006.6 megawatts as of September 30, 2018, and we intend to continue to expand our business within existing markets and in a number of new locations in the future. This growth has placed, and any future growth may place, a strain on our management, operational and financial infrastructure. Our operations, growth and expansion require significant time and effort on the part of our management team as it is required to maintain and expand our relationships with customers, suppliers and other third parties and attract new customers, suppliers and financing, as well as manage multiple geographic locations.
 
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In addition, our current and planned operations, personnel, information technology and other systems and procedures might be inadequate to support our future growth and may require us to make additional unanticipated investments in our infrastructure. Our success and ability to further scale our business will depend, in part, on our ability to manage these changes in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
If we cannot manage our operations and growth, we may be unable to meet our or industry analysts’ expectations regarding growth, opportunity and financial targets, take advantage of market opportunities, execute our business strategies, meet our investment fund commitments or respond to competitive pressures. This could also result in declines in quality or customer satisfaction, increased costs, difficulties in introducing new offerings or other operational difficulties. Any failure to effectively manage our operations and growth could adversely impact our business and reputation.
Expansion into new markets could be costly and time-consuming. Historically, we have only provided our offerings to residential customers, which could put us at a disadvantage relative to companies who also compete in other markets.
We have historically only provided our offerings to residential customers. We compete with companies who sell solar energy systems in the commercial, industrial and government markets, in addition to the residential market. While we believe that in the future we could have opportunities to expand our operations into other markets, there are no assurances that our design and installation systems will work for non-residential customers or that we will be able to compete successfully with companies with historical presences in such markets or we may not realize the anticipated benefits of entering such markets, and entering new markets has numerous risks, including the following:
 
 	•	 	incurring significant costs if we are required to adapt our current or develop new design and installation processes for use in non-residential applications;	
 
 	•	 	diversion of our management and employees from our core residential business;	
 
 	•	 	difficulty adapting our current or developing new marketing strategies and sales channels to non-residential customers;	
 
 	•	 	inability to obtain key customers, brand recognition and market share and compete successfully with companies with historical presences in such markets; and	
 
 	•	 	inability to achieve the financial and strategic goals for such market.	
If we choose to pursue opportunities in additional markets, including batteries or electric vehicle charging stations, and are unable to successfully compete in such markets, our operating results and growth prospects could be materially adversely affected. Additionally, there is intense competition in the residential solar energy market in the markets in which we operate. As new entrants continue to enter into these markets, we may be unable to gain or maintain market share and we may be unable to compete with companies that earn revenue in both the residential market and non-residential markets.
We may not realize the anticipated benefits of past or future acquisitions, and integration of these acquisitions may disrupt our business and management.
In the future we may acquire companies, project pipelines, products or technologies or enter into joint ventures or other strategic initiatives. We may not realize the anticipated benefits of any future acquisition, and any acquisition has numerous risks. These risks include the following:
 
 	•	 	difficulty in assimilating the operations and personnel of the acquired company;	
 
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 	•	 	difficulty in effectively integrating the acquired technologies or products with our current technologies;	
 
 	•	 	difficulty in maintaining controls, procedures and policies during the transition and integration;	
 
 	•	 	disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of our management and employees from other opportunities and challenges due to integration issues;	
 
 	•	 	difficulty integrating the acquired company’s accounting, management information and other administrative systems;	
 
 	•	 	inability to retain key technical and managerial personnel of the acquired business;	
 
 	•	 	inability to retain key customers, vendors and other business partners of the acquired business;	
 
 	•	 	inability to achieve the financial and strategic goals for the acquired and combined businesses;	
 
 	•	 	incurring acquisition-related costs or amortization costs for acquired intangible assets that could impact our operating results;	
 
 	•	 	potential failure of the due diligence processes to identify significant issues with product quality, intellectual property infringement and other legal and financial liabilities, among other things;	
 
 	•	 	potential inability to assert that internal controls over financial reporting are effective; and	
 
 	•	 	potential inability to obtain, or obtain in a timely manner, approvals from governmental authorities, which could delay or prevent such acquisitions.	
Mergers and acquisitions of companies are inherently risky, and if we do not complete the integration of acquired businesses successfully and in a timely manner, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions to the extent anticipated, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The loss of one or more members of our senior management or key employees may adversely affect our ability to implement our strategy.
We are highly dependent on the efforts and abilities of the principal members of our senior management team, and the loss of one or more key executives could have a negative impact on our business.
We also depend on our ability to retain and motivate key employees and attract qualified new employees. None of our key executives are bound by employment agreements for any specific term, and we do not maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our executive officers. Our compensation structure, which includes salary, bonus, equity and benefits components, is important to our ability to attract, retain and motivate our employees. If we do not provide adequate compensation, or appropriately structure our equity grants, we may be unable to maintain our current workforce or attract new talent in the future, and we may be unable to replace key members of our management team and key employees if we lose their services. Integrating new employees into our team could prove disruptive to our operations, require substantial resources and management attention and ultimately prove unsuccessful. An inability to attract and retain sufficient managerial personnel who have critical industry experience and relationships could limit or delay our strategic efforts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
 
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We may be subject to intellectual property rights claims by third parties, which are extremely costly to defend, could require us to pay significant damages and could limit our ability to use certain technologies.
Third parties, including our competitors, may own patents or other intellectual property rights that cover aspects of our technology or business methods. Such parties may claim we have misappropriated, misused, violated or infringed their intellectual property rights, and, if we gain greater recognition in the market, we face a higher risk of being the subject of claims that we have violated others’ intellectual property rights. Any claim that we violate a third party’s intellectual property rights, whether with or without merit, could be time-consuming, could be expensive to settle or litigate and could divert our management’s attention and other resources. If we do not successfully settle or defend an intellectual property claim, we could be liable for significant monetary damages and could be prohibited from continuing to use certain technology, business methods, content or brands. To avoid a prohibition, we could seek a license from third parties, which could require us to pay significant royalties, increasing our operating expenses. If a license is not available at all or not available on reasonable terms, we may be required to develop or license a non-violating alternative, either of which could require significant effort and expense. If we cannot license or develop a non-violating alternative, we would be forced to limit or stop sales of our offerings and may be unable to effectively compete. Any of these results would adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. To deter other companies from making intellectual property claims against us or to gain leverage in settlement negotiations, we may be forced to significantly increase the size of our intellectual property portfolio through internal efforts and acquisitions from third parties, both of which could require significant expenditures. However, a robust intellectual property portfolio may provide little or no deterrence in some circumstances, such as for patent holding companies or other patent owners that have no relevant product revenues.
We use “open source” software in our solutions, which may restrict how we distribute our offerings, require that we release the source code of certain software subject to open source licenses or subject us to possible litigation or other actions that could adversely affect our business.
We currently use in our solutions, and expect to continue to use in the future, software that is licensed under so-called “open source,” “free” or other similar licenses. Open source software is made available to the general public on an “as-is” basis under the terms of a non-negotiable license. We currently combine our proprietary software with open source software but not in a manner that we believe requires the release of the source code of our proprietary software to the public. We do not plan to integrate our proprietary software with open source software in ways that would require the release of the source code of our proprietary software to the public; however, our use and distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software. Open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. In addition, if we combine our proprietary software with open source software in a certain manner, we could, under certain open source licenses, be required to release to the public or remove the source code of our proprietary software. We may also face claims alleging noncompliance with open source license terms or infringement or misappropriation of proprietary software. These claims could result in litigation or require us to purchase a costly license or remove the software. In addition, if the license terms for open source software that we use change, we may be forced to re-engineer our solutions, incur additional costs or discontinue the sale of our offerings if re-engineering could not be accomplished on a timely basis. Although we monitor our use of open source software to avoid subjecting our offerings to unintended conditions, few courts have interpreted open source licenses, and there is a risk that these licenses could be construed in a way that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our offerings. We cannot guarantee that we have incorporated open source software in our software in a manner that will not subject us to liability, or in a manner that is consistent with our current policies and procedures.
 
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The installation and operation of solar energy systems depends heavily on suitable solar and meteorological conditions. If meteorological conditions are unexpectedly unfavorable, the electricity production from our solar energy systems may be substantially below our expectations and our ability to timely deploy new systems may be adversely impacted.
The energy produced and revenue and cash receipts generated by a solar energy system depend on suitable solar, atmospheric and weather conditions, all of which are beyond our control. Furthermore, components of our systems, such as panels and inverters, could be damaged by severe weather or other natural disasters, such as hailstorms, lightning or wildfires. Although we maintain insurance to cover for many such casualty events, our investment funds would be obligated to bear the expense of repairing the damaged solar energy systems, sometimes subject to limitations based on our ability to successfully make warranty claims. Our economic model and projected returns on our systems require us to achieve certain production results from our systems and, in some cases, we guarantee these results for both our customers and our investors. If the systems underperform for any reason, our financial results could suffer.
Sustained unfavorable weather also could delay our installation of solar energy systems, leading to increased expenses and decreased revenue and cash receipts in the relevant periods. We have experienced seasonal fluctuations in our operations. The amount of revenue we recognize in a given period from PPAs is dependent in part on the amount of energy generated by solar energy systems under such contracts. As a result, operating leases and incentives revenue is impacted by seasonally shorter daylight hours in winter months. In addition, our ability to install solar energy systems is impacted by weather. We have limited ability to install solar energy systems during the winter months in the Northeastern United States. Such delays can impact the timing of when we can install and begin to generate revenue from solar energy systems. However, given that we are in a growing industry, the true extent of these fluctuations may have been masked by our historical growth rates and thus may not be readily apparent from our historical operating results and may be difficult to predict. As such, our historical operating results may not be indicative of future performance. Furthermore, weather patterns could change, making it harder to predict the average annual amount of sunlight striking each location where we install a solar energy system. This could make our solar energy systems less economical individually or in the aggregate. Any of these events or conditions could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Disruptions to our solar monitoring systems could negatively impact the operation of our business and our revenues and increase our expenses.
Our ability to accurately charge our customers for the energy produced by our solar energy systems depends on our ability to monitor our customers’ solar energy systems. Our customer agreements require our customers to maintain a broadband internet connection so that we may receive data regarding solar energy system production from their home networks. We could incur significant expenses or disruptions of our operations in connection with failures of our solar monitoring systems, including failures of our customers’ home networks that would prevent us from accurately monitoring solar energy production. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that we procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including “bugs” and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of our systems. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate viruses and bugs, or any problems associated with failures of our customers’ home networks could be significant, and the efforts to address these problems could result in interruptions, delays or cessation of service that may impede our sales, distribution or other critical functions. When a customer’s solar monitoring system is not properly communicating with us, we estimate the production of their solar energy systems. Such estimates may prove inaccurate and could cause us to underestimate the power being generated by our solar energy systems and undercharge our customers, thereby harming our results of operations.
 
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We are exposed to the credit risk of our customers.
Our customers most commonly purchase energy or lease solar energy systems from us pursuant to one of two types of long-term contracts: a PPA or a Solar Lease. The terms of PPAs and Solar Leases are typically for 20 years and require the customer to make monthly payments to us. Accordingly, we are subject to the credit risk of our customers. As of September 30, 2018, the average FICO score of our customers was approximately 760. However, as we grow our business, the risk of customer defaults could increase. Our reserve for this exposure is estimated to be $4.5 million as of September 30, 2018, and our future exposure may exceed the amount of such reserves. While we do not currently extend credit to customers interested in System Sales, many of those customers are interested in financing the purchase of a solar energy system. While these customers may seek third-party financing through their own lender or a lender with whom we have a relationship, if they do not have sufficient credit to qualify for a loan, they may be unable to purchase a solar energy system. This could reduce our potential customer pool and limit our System Sales.
A failure to comply with laws and regulations relating to our interactions with current or prospective residential customers could result in negative publicity, claims, investigations and litigation, and adversely affect our financial performance.
Our business focuses on contracts and transactions with residential customers. We must comply with numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations that govern matters relating to our interactions with consumers, including those pertaining to privacy and data security, consumer financial and credit transactions, home improvement contracts, warranties, door-to-door solicitation as well as specific regulations pertaining to sales and installations of solar energy systems. These laws and regulations are dynamic and subject to potentially differing interpretations, and various federal, state and local legislative and regulatory bodies may initiate investigations, expand current laws or regulations, or enact new laws and regulations, regarding these matters. Changes in these laws or regulations or their interpretation could dramatically affect how we do business, acquire customers, and manage and use information we collect from and about current and prospective customers and the costs associated therewith.
Several states in which we operate, including Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Utah, have enacted new laws that provide enhanced rights and require increased disclosures to customers. Most of these laws and regulations are specific to the solar industry and require changes to our contracts and processes. Some of the laws have been enacted along with other changes to state law that further impact the residential solar industry. Other laws and regulations, such as the ones that relate to licensing of sales representatives, are applicable to a wide array of industries, and failure to comply with such regulations could result in citations, fines, license suspensions, revocations and other penalties. Further, to the extent that states undertake enforcement actions against us or other states enact further regulations applicable to our industry, we may be required to expend additional resources in order to modify our business practices to meet these regulatory requirements.
We strive to comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to our interactions with residential customers. It is possible, however, that these requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. For example, in March 2018, the New Mexico Attorney General’s office filed an action against us and certain of our officers alleging violation of state consumer protection statutes. In September 2018, the California Contractors State License Board, or CSLB, disclosed that it intended to refer a customer complaint to the California Attorney General’s Office for further action. The CSLB subsequently withdrew such recommendation and notified us that it intends to issue a licensing citation with a de minimis fine. If federal, state or other local regulators or agencies were to initiate an investigation against us or enact regulations relating to the marketing of our products to residential consumers, responding to such investigation or complying with such regulations could divert management’s attention to our business, require us to modify our operations and incur significant additional expenses, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations or could reduce the number of our potential customers.
 
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We cannot ensure that our sales force will comply with our standard practices and policies, as well as applicable laws and regulations, including sales licensure requirements. Any such non-compliance, or the perception of noncompliance, potentially could expose us to claims, proceedings, litigation, investigations, and/or enforcement actions by private parties and regulatory authorities, as well as substantial fines and negative publicity, each of which may materially and adversely affect our business. We have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant expenses to comply with the laws, regulations and industry standards that apply to us.
Any unauthorized access to, or disclosure or theft of personal information or other proprietary information we gather, store or use could harm our reputation and subject us to claims or litigation.
We receive, store and use personal information of our customers, including names, addresses, e-mail addresses, credit information and other housing and energy use information. We also store and use personal information of our employees. In addition, we previously used certain shared information and technology systems with Vivint, and Vivint continues to store some of our historical data. We take certain steps in an effort to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of the personal information and other proprietary and confidential information we collect, store or transmit, but there is no guarantee that inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure will not occur or that third parties will not gain unauthorized access to this information despite our efforts. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or sabotage systems change frequently and generally are not identified until they are launched against a target, we and our suppliers or vendors, including Vivint, may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative or mitigation measures. In addition, due to a potential time lapse between when a sales representative leaves us and when we are made aware of the separation, sales representatives may have continued access to our customers’ information for a period when they should not.
We are also subject to laws and regulations relating to the collection, use, retention, security and transfer of personal information of our customers. In many cases, these laws apply not only to third-party transactions, but also to transfers of information between one company and its subsidiaries. Several jurisdictions have passed new laws in this area, and other jurisdictions are considering imposing additional restrictions. These laws continue to develop and may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In addition to government regulation, privacy advocates and industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards that either legally or contractually apply to us, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI DSS, which may affect any processes associated with handling credit card numbers. In the event we fail to be compliant with the PCI DSS, fines and other penalties could result. Complying with emerging and changing requirements may cause us to incur costs or require us to change our business practices. Any actual or alleged failure by us, our affiliates or other parties with whom we do business to comply with privacy-related or data protection laws, regulations and industry standards could result in proceedings against us by governmental entities or others, which could have a detrimental effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Any actual or perceived unauthorized use or disclosure of, or access to, any personal information or other proprietary or confidential information maintained by us or on our behalf, whether through breach of our systems or breach of the systems of our suppliers or vendors, including Vivint, by an unauthorized party, or through employee or contractor error, theft or misuse, or otherwise, could harm our business. If any such unauthorized use or disclosure of, or access to, such personal information were to occur or to be believed to have occurred, our operations could be seriously disrupted, and we could be subject to demands, claims and litigation by private parties, and investigations, related actions, and penalties by regulatory authorities. In addition, we could incur significant costs in notifying affected persons and entities and otherwise complying with the multitude of federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to unauthorized access to, or use or disclosure of, personal information. Finally, any perceived or actual unauthorized access to, or use or disclosure of, such information could harm our reputation, substantially impair our ability to attract and retain customers and have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
 
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We are involved, and may become involved in the future, in legal proceedings that, if adversely adjudicated or settled, could adversely affect our financial results.
We are, and may in the future become, party to litigation. For examples, see Note 17—Commitments and Contingencies. While we intend to defend against these actions vigorously, the ultimate outcomes of these cases are presently not determinable as they are in preliminary phases. In general, litigation claims can be expensive and time consuming to bring or defend against, may result in the diversion of management attention and resources from our business and business goals and could result in settlements or damages that could significantly affect financial results and the conduct of our business. It is not possible to predict the final resolution of the litigation to which we currently are or may in the future become party, and the impact of certain of these matters on our business, prospects, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and cash flows.
Our reported financial results may be affected, and comparability of our financial results with other companies in our industry may be impacted, by changes in the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Generally accepted accounting principles in the United States are subject to change and interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. A change in these principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported financial results and on the financial results of other companies in our industry and may even affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement or effectiveness of a change. For example, in May 2014 the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which affected certain elements of our accounting for revenue and costs incurred to acquire contracts as we adopted this standard on January 1, 2018. Other companies in our industry may be affected differently by the adoption of Topic 606 or other new accounting standards, including timing of the adoption of new accounting standards, adversely affecting the comparability of our financial statements. See Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies for information about Topic 606.
Risks Related to our Relationship with Vivint
Our inability to resolve any disputes that arise between us and Vivint with respect to our past and ongoing relationships may adversely affect our financial results, and such disputes may also result in claims for indemnification.
Disputes may arise between Vivint and us in a number of areas relating to our past and ongoing relationships, including the following:
 
 	•	 	intellectual property, labor, tax, employee benefits, indemnification and other matters arising from our separation from Vivint;	
 
 	•	 	employee retention and recruiting;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to use, modify and enhance the intellectual property that we have licensed from Vivint;	
 
 	•	 	business combinations or divestitures;	
 
 	•	 	exclusivity arrangements;	
 
 	•	 	the nature, quality and pricing of products and services Vivint agrees to provide to us; and	
 
 	•	 	business opportunities that may be attractive to both Vivint and us.	
 
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We have entered into certain agreements with Vivint. In August 2017, we entered into a sales dealer agreement with Vivint. Under this agreement, each party will act as a dealer for the other party to market, promote and sell each other’s products. The agreement has a two-year term, which will be automatically renewed for successive one-year terms unless written notice of termination is provided by one of the parties to the other no less than 90 days prior to the end of the then current term. The products, territories and consideration that is payable by each party to the other is determined in accordance with the agreement. There can be no assurances regarding the number of sales and installations of our products that Vivint will be able to generate, or the number of leads that we will be able to generate. In addition, as we work to expand our customer opportunities and product offerings through our relationship with Vivint, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected by factors that affect Vivint’s business and our relationship. Pursuant to the terms of a Non-Competition Agreement we have entered into with Vivint, as amended, we and Vivint each have agreed not to solicit for employment any member of the other’s executive or senior management team, or any of the other’s employees who primarily manage sales, installation or services of the other’s products and services until the termination of the sales dealer agreement. The commitment not to solicit each other’s employees lasts for 180 days after such employee finishes employment with us or Vivint. Historically, we had recruited a significant number of our sales personnel from Vivint. This agreement may require us to obtain personnel from other sources, and any inability to do so may limit our ability to continue scaling our business if we are unable to do so. Notwithstanding the above, a number of sales representatives work for both Vivint and us. To the extent there is any confusion concerning the relationship between us and Vivint with respect to the products and services we offer and the products and services of Vivint, such sales representatives could expose us to increased claims, proceedings, litigation and investigations by consumers and regulatory authorities. In addition, having sales representatives who work for both Vivint and us could distract such sales representatives, impact the effectiveness of our sales force, and potentially increase the turnover of our existing sales representatives who may feel displaced by the addition of Vivint sales representatives to our sales force.
We may not be able to resolve any potential conflicts relating to these agreements or otherwise, and even if we do, the resolution may be less favorable than if we were dealing with an unaffiliated party. In addition, we have indemnification obligations under some of the agreements we have entered into with Vivint, and disputes between us and Vivint may result in claims for indemnification. However, we do not currently expect that these indemnification obligations will materially affect our potential liability compared to what it would be if we did not enter into these agreements with Vivint.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock and this Offering
The price of our common stock may be volatile, and the value of your investment could decline.
The trading price of our common stock may be highly volatile. For example, from our initial public offering on October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2018, the closing price of our common stock has ranged from a high of $16.01 to a low of $2.22. Our stock price could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control.
These factors include:
 
 	•	 	our financial condition and the availability and terms of future financing;	
 
 	•	 	changes in laws or regulations applicable to our industry or offerings, including any new tariffs or trade regulations that affect our ability to import goods at attractive prices or at all;	
 
 	•	 	additions or departures of key personnel;	
 
 	•	 	actual or anticipated changes in expectations regarding our performance by investors or securities analysts;	
 
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 	•	 	securities litigation involving us;	
 
 	•	 	price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market;	
 
 	•	 	volatility in the market price and trading volume of companies in our industry or companies that investors consider comparable;	
 
 	•	 	share price and volume fluctuations attributable to inconsistent trading volume levels of our shares;	
 
 	•	 	the failure of securities analysts to cover our common stock;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights;	
 
 	•	 	sales of our common stock by us, our stockholders or our employees, including sales of equity awards granted to our employees to cover tax withholding obligations;	
 
 	•	 	litigation or disputes involving us, our industry or both;	
 
 	•	 	major catastrophic events;	
 
 	•	 	general economic and market conditions; and	
 
 	•	 	potential acquisitions.	
Further, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In addition, the stock prices of many renewable energy companies have experienced wide fluctuations that have often been unrelated to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions, interest rate changes or international currency fluctuations, may cause the market price of our common stock to decline. If the market price of our common stock decreases, investors may not realize any return on investment and may lose some or all of their investments.
In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We could become the target of additional securities litigation in the future, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.
As an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, we will utilize certain modified disclosure requirements, and we cannot be certain if these reduced requirements will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company, and, for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies but not to “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to have our independent registered public accounting firm audit our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We have utilized, and we plan in future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to continue to utilize, the modified disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important.
 
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We could remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest of (1) December 31, 2019, (2) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenue exceeds $1.1 billion, (3) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if we become a seasoned issuer and the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter and (4) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the preceding three-year period.
Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements. Similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in periodic reports and proxy statements and have certain other reduced disclosure obligations in their SEC filings.
We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
Our stock price could decline due to the large number of outstanding shares of our common stock eligible for future sale.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. These sales could also make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate.
As of September 30, 2018, we had 119.3 million outstanding shares of common stock. These shares may be sold in the public market in the United States, subject to prior registration in the United States, if required, or reliance upon an exemption from U.S. registration, including, in the case of shares held by affiliates or control persons, compliance with the volume restrictions of Rule 144.
In addition, we have granted and expect to continue to grant equity awards to our directors and employees as additional compensation in an effort to align their interests with those of our stockholders. Approximately 2.7 million shares of our common stock are reserved for future issuance under our Long-Term Incentive Plan, and these shares will be issued, vest and be immediately tradable without restriction on the date that our Sponsor and its affiliates achieve specified returns on their invested capital.
Further, equity awards for 10.4 million shares of common stock remained outstanding as of September 30, 2018, with 1.8 million of those shares being vested and exercisable as of September 30, 2018. Additionally, “sell-to-cover” transactions are utilized in connection with the vesting and settlement of equity awards that are granted to our employees so that shares of our common stock are sold on behalf of our employees in an amount sufficient to cover the tax withholding obligations associated with these awards. As a result of these transactions, a significant number of shares of our stock may be sold over a limited time period in connection with significant vesting events. During the month of May 2018, for example, approximately 2.3 million restricted stock units vested and settled, which increased the volume of our shares that would otherwise have been sold during that time.
Stockholders owning an aggregate of 84.4 million shares of our common stock are entitled, under contracts providing for registration rights, to require us to register shares of our common stock owned by them for public sale in the United States, subject to the restrictions of Rule 144. In October 2014, we filed a registration statement on Form S-8 to register 22.9 million shares previously issued or reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans and agreements, and we registered an additional 12.9 million
 
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shares in March 2017. Under these registration statements, subject to the satisfaction of applicable vesting periods, the shares of common stock issued upon exercise of outstanding options and vested restricted stock units will be available for immediate resale in the United States in the open market. Sales of our common stock as restrictions end or pursuant to registration rights may make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. These sales also could cause our stock price to fall and make it more difficult for investors to sell shares of our common stock.
Our Sponsor and its affiliates control us, and their interests may conflict with ours or investors’ in the future.
As of November 1, 2018, 313 Acquisition LLC, which is controlled by our Sponsor and its affiliates, beneficially owned approximately 69% of our common stock. Following the completion of this offering, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares, 313 Acquisition LLC will beneficially own approximately 62.3% of our common stock assuming the sale of 8,000,000 shares of common stock (or 61.3% if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). Moreover, under our organizational documents and the stockholders agreement with 313 Acquisition LLC, for so long as our existing owners and their affiliates retain significant ownership of us, we will agree to nominate to our board individuals designated by our Sponsor, whom we refer to as the Sponsor directors. In addition, for so long as 313 Acquisition LLC continues to own shares representing a majority of the total voting power, we will agree to nominate to our board individuals appointed by Summit Partners and Todd Pedersen. Even when our Sponsor and its affiliates and certain of its co-investors cease to own shares of our stock representing a majority of the total voting power, for so long as our Sponsor and its affiliates continue to own a significant percentage of our stock our Sponsor will still be able to significantly influence the composition of our board of directors and the approval of actions requiring stockholder approval. In addition, under the stockholders agreement, affiliates of our Sponsor will have consent rights with respect to certain actions involving our company, provided a certain aggregate ownership threshold is maintained collectively by our Sponsor and its affiliates, together with Summit Partners, Todd Pedersen and Alex Dunn and their respective affiliates. Accordingly, for such period of time, our Sponsor and certain of its co-investors will have significant influence with respect to our management, business plans and policies, including the appointment and removal of our officers. In particular, for so long as our Sponsor and its affiliates continue to own a significant percentage of our stock, our Sponsor will be able to cause or prevent a change of control of our company or a change in the composition of our board of directors and could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of our company. The concentration of ownership could deprive investors of an opportunity to receive a premium for shares of common stock as part of a sale of our company and ultimately might affect the market price of our common stock.
Our Sponsor and its affiliates engage in a broad spectrum of activities, including investments in the energy sector. In the ordinary course of their business activities, our Sponsor and its affiliates may from time to time acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. For example, affiliates of our Sponsor regularly invest in utility companies and solar and renewable energy companies that may compete with us. Our certificate of incorporation provides that none of our Sponsor, any of its affiliates or any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his or her director and officer capacities) or his or her affiliates will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities or similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. Our Sponsor also may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. In addition, our Sponsor may have an interest in pursuing acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions that, in its judgment, could enhance its investment, even though such transactions might involve risks to investors.
 
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We have elected to take advantage of the “controlled company” exemption to the corporate governance rules for New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, listed companies, which could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.
Because we qualify as a “controlled company” under the corporate governance rules for NYSE-listed companies, we are not required to have a majority of our board of directors be independent, nor are we required to have a compensation committee or an independent nominating function. In light of our status as a controlled company, in the future we could elect not to have a majority of our board of directors be independent or not to have a compensation committee or nominating and governance committee. Accordingly, should the interests of 313 Acquisition LLC or our Sponsor differ from those of other stockholders, the other stockholders may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance rules for NYSE-listed companies. Our status as a controlled company could make our common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws, stockholders agreement and under Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and stockholders agreement contain provisions that could depress the trading price of our common stock by discouraging, delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may believe advantageous. These provisions include:
 
 	•	 	establishing a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board of directors are elected at one time;	
 
 	•	 	authorizing “blank check” preferred stock that our board of directors could issue to increase the number of outstanding shares to discourage a takeover attempt;	
 
 	•	 	limiting the ability of stockholders to call a special stockholder meeting;	
 
 	•	 	limiting the ability of stockholders to act by written consent;	
 
 	•	 	providing that the board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our bylaws;	
 
 	•	 	establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings;	
 
 	•	 	requiring our Sponsor to consent to certain actions, as described under the section of our Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14A, filed with the SEC on April 26, 2018, captioned “Related Party Transactions—Agreements with Our Sponsor,” for so long as our Sponsor, Summit Partners, Todd Pedersen and Alex Dunn or their respective affiliates collectively own, in the aggregate, at least 30% of our outstanding shares of common stock;	
 
 	•	 	the removal of directors only for cause and only upon the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66-2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, if Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors; and	
 
 	•	 	that certain provisions may be amended only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66-2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our company entitled to vote	
 
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 	thereon, voting together as a single class, if Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.	
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who do now, or may in the future, cover us change their recommendation regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our stock price would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
 
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 IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain certain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “will,” “may,” “seek,” and other similar expressions. You should read these statements carefully because they discuss future expectations, contain projections of future results of operations or financial condition, or state other “forward-looking” information. These statements relate to our future plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and financial performance and the assumptions that underlie these statements.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
 
 	•	 	federal, state and local regulations and policies governing the electric utility industry;	
 
 	•	 	the regulatory regime for our offerings and for third-party owned solar energy systems;	
 
 	•	 	technical limitations imposed by operators of the power grid;	
 
 	•	 	the continuation of tax rebates, credits and incentives, including changes to the rates of the ITC beginning in 2020;	
 
 	•	 	the price of utility-generated electricity and electricity from other sources;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to finance the installation of solar energy systems;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to efficiently install and interconnect solar energy systems to the power grid;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to manage growth, product offering mix and costs;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to further penetrate existing markets and expand into new markets;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to develop new product offerings and distribution channels;	
 
 	•	 	our relationship with our sister company Vivint and our Sponsor;	
 
 	•	 	our ability to manage our supply chain;	
 
 	•	 	the cost of equipment and the residual value of solar panels after the expiration of our customer contracts;	
 
 	•	 	the course and outcome of litigation and other disputes; and	
 
 	•	 	our ability to maintain our brand and protect our intellectual property;	
All forward-looking statements are based on information available to us on the date of this prospectus supplement and we will not update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus supplement, except as required by law. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this prospectus supplement. The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus supplement, and other written and oral forward-looking statements made by us from time to time, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the following discussion and within the section of this prospectus supplement captioned “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-5.
 
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In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus supplement, and although we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted a thorough inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may contain market data that we obtain from industry sources. These sources do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information. Although we believe that our industry sources are reliable, we do not independently verify the information. The market data may include projections that are based on a number of other projections. While we believe these assumptions to be reasonable and sound as of the date of this prospectus, actual results may differ from the projections.
 
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 USE OF PROCEEDS
The selling stockholder will receive all of the net proceeds from the sale of the shares of our common stock in this offering. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement, dated as of October 6, 2014, entered into with Blackstone and other parties in connection with our initial public offering, we will pay certain registration expenses of the selling stockholder in connection with this offering, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholder, including from any exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares.
 
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 MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our common stock to non-U.S. holders, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all the potential tax considerations relating thereto. This summary is based upon the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as of the date hereof. These authorities may be changed, possibly retroactively, so as to result in U.S. federal tax consequences different from those set forth below. We have not sought any ruling from the IRS with respect to the statements made and the conclusions reached in the following summary, and there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with such statements and conclusions.
This summary also does not address the tax considerations arising under the laws of any non-U.S., state or local jurisdiction or under U.S. federal gift and estate tax laws, except to the limited extent below. In addition, this discussion does not address tax considerations applicable to an investor’s particular circumstances or to investors that may be subject to special tax rules, including, without limitation:
 
 	•	 	banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions;	
 
 	•	 	persons subject to the alternative minimum tax or net investment income tax;	
 
 	•	 	tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations;	
 
 	•	 	controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid United States federal income tax;	
 
 	•	 	brokers or dealers in securities or currencies;	
 
 	•	 	traders in securities that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities holdings;	
 
 	•	 	persons that own, or are deemed to own, more than five percent of our capital stock (except to the extent specifically set forth below);	
 
 	•	 	certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;	
 
 	•	 	entities or arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes and other pass-through entities (and investors therein);	
 
 	•	 	persons who hold our common stock as a position in a hedging transaction, “straddle,” “conversion transaction” or other risk reduction transaction;	
 
 	•	 	persons who hold or receive our common stock pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation;	
 
 	•	 	persons who do not hold our common stock as a capital asset (within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code); or	
 
 	•	 	persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code.	
In addition, if a partnership or entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner generally will depend on the status of the partner and upon the activities of the partnership. Accordingly, partnerships that hold our common stock, and partners in such partnerships, should consult their tax advisors.
 
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You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of the U.S. federal income tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock arising under the U.S. federal income, estate or gift tax rules or under the laws of any state, local, non-U.S. or other taxing jurisdiction or under any applicable tax treaty.
Non-U.S. Holder Defined
For purposes of this discussion, you are a non-U.S. holder if you are a beneficial owner of our common stock that is not, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a partnership or entity or arrangement classified as a partnership, or:
 
 	•	 	an individual citizen or resident of the United States;	
 
 	•	 	a corporation or other entity taxable as a corporation created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof;	
 
 	•	 	an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or	
 
 	•	 	a trust (x) whose administration is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and which has one or more U.S. persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (y) which has made an election to be treated as a U.S. person.	
Distributions
We have not made any distributions on our common stock, and we do not plan to make any distributions for the foreseeable future. However, if we do make distributions (other than certain pro rata distributions of our stock) on our common stock, those payments will generally constitute dividends for U.S. tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. To the extent those distributions exceed both our current and our accumulated earnings and profits, they will constitute a return of capital and will first reduce your basis in our common stock, but not below zero, and then will be treated as gain from the sale of stock.
Subject to the discussion below on effectively connected income, any dividend paid to you generally will be subject to U.S. withholding tax either at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividend or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. In order to receive a reduced treaty rate, you must provide us with an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or other appropriate version of IRS Form W-8 certifying qualification for the reduced rate. A non-U.S. holder of shares of our common stock eligible for a reduced rate of U.S. withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may be able to obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. If the non-U.S. holder holds the stock through a financial institution or other agent acting on the non-U.S. holder’s behalf, the non-U.S. holder will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the agent, which then will be required to provide certification to us or our paying agent, either directly or through other intermediaries.
Dividends received by you that are effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by you in the United States) are generally exempt from such withholding tax. In order to obtain this exemption, you must provide us with an IRS Form W-8ECI properly certifying such exemption. Such effectively connected dividends, although not subject to withholding tax, are taxed at the same graduated rates applicable to U.S. persons, net of certain deductions and credits, subject to an applicable income tax treaty providing otherwise. In addition, if you are a corporate non-U.S. holder, dividends you receive that are effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business may also be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.
 
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Gain on Disposition of Common Stock
Subject to the discussion below regarding backup withholding and foreign accounts, you generally will not be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other disposition of our common stock unless:
 
 	•	 	the gain is effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the gain is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by you in the United States);	
 
 	•	 	you are an individual who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the calendar year in which the sale or disposition occurs and certain other conditions are met; or	
 
 	•	 	our common stock constitutes a U.S. real property interest by reason of our status as a “United States real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or USRPHC, at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding your disposition of, or your holding period for, our common stock.	
We believe that we are not currently and will not become a USRPHC. However, because the determination of whether we are a USRPHC depends on the fair market value of our U.S. real property relative to the fair market value of our other business assets, there can be no assurance that we will not become a USRPHC in the future. Even if we become a USRPHC, however, as long as our common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, such common stock will be treated as U.S. real property interests only if you actually or constructively hold more than five percent of such regularly traded common stock at any time during the applicable period described above.
If you are a non-U.S. holder described in the first bullet above, you will be required to pay tax on the net gain derived from the sale under regular graduated U.S. federal income tax rates, and corporate non-U.S. holders described in the first bullet above may be subject to the branch profits tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. If you are an individual non-U.S. holder described in the second bullet above, you will be required to pay a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from the sale, which gain may be offset by U.S. source capital losses (even though you are not considered a resident of the United States, provided you have timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses). You should consult your tax advisor regarding any applicable income tax or other treaties that may provide for different rules.
Federal Estate Tax
Our common stock beneficially owned by an individual non-U.S. holder at the time of death will generally be includable in the decedent’s gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting
Generally, we must report annually to the IRS the amount of dividends paid to you, your name and address, and the amount of tax withheld, if any. A similar report is sent to you. Pursuant to applicable income tax treaties or other agreements, the IRS may make these reports available to tax authorities in your country of residence.
Payments of dividends or of proceeds on the disposition of stock made to you may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding at a current rate of 24% unless you establish an exemption, for
 
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example by properly certifying your non-U.S. status on an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E or another appropriate version of IRS Form W-8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, backup withholding and information reporting may apply if either we or our paying agent has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that you are a U.S. person.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, the U.S. federal income tax liability of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund or credit may generally be obtained from the IRS, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS in a timely manner.
FATCA
Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code (such Sections commonly referred to as “FATCA”), impose a U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% on dividends on and gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common stock paid to a “foreign financial institution” (as specially defined under the FATCA rules), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the U.S. government to withhold on certain payments and to collect and provide to the U.S. tax authorities substantial information regarding the U.S. account holders of such institution (which includes certain equity and debt holders of such institution, as well as certain account holders that are foreign entities with U.S. owners) or otherwise establishes an exemption. FATCA also generally imposes a U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% on dividends on and gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common stock paid to a “non-financial foreign entity” (as specially defined under the FATCA rules) unless such entity provides the withholding agent with a certification identifying certain substantial direct and indirect U.S. owners of the entity, certifies that there are none or otherwise establishes an exemption. The withholding provisions under FATCA generally apply to dividends on our common stock, and under current transition rules, are expected to apply with respect to the gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common stock on or after January 1, 2019. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify the requirements described in this paragraph. Non-U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this legislation on their investment in our common stock.
The preceding discussion of U.S. federal income tax considerations is for general information only. It is not tax advice. Each prospective investor should consult its own tax advisor regarding the particular U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. tax consequences of purchasing, holding and disposing of our common stock, including the consequences of any proposed change in applicable laws.
 
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 SELLING STOCKHOLDER
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock by the selling stockholder before and after giving effect to this offering by the selling stockholder. Our calculation of the percentage of beneficial ownership is based on 119,319,921 shares of common stock outstanding as of November 1, 2018.
For more information about our relationships with the selling stockholder and its affiliates, see “Related Party Transactions” in our Definitive Proxy Statement on Form 14A, filed with the SEC on April 26, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference.

  	  	Shares of Common Stock
Beneficially
Owned Prior to the	
Offering	 	  		Shares of
Common
Stock that
May be
Offered for
Resale	 	  	Shares of Common Stock
Beneficially
Owned After the	
Offering	 		
	Name of Selling Stockholder	  		Shares	 	  							Percentage	 	  		Shares	 	  		Percentage	 	
313 Acquisition LLC(1)	  	 	82,359,374	 	  	 	69.0%	 	  	 	8,000,000	 	  	 	74,359,374	 	  	 	62.3	% 		

(1)	313 Acquisition LLC is managed by a board of managers and Blackstone Capital Partners VI L.P. (“BCP VI”), as managing member. The members of the board of managers of 313 Acquisition LLC are Peter Wallace, Bruce McEvoy, Alex Dunn, Jay Pauley, Todd Pedersen, David F. D’Alessandro, Joseph S. Tibbetts, Jr. and Paul S. Galant. Blackstone Management Associates VI L.L.C. is the general partner of BCP VI. BMA VI L.L.C. is the sole member of Blackstone Management Associates VI L.L.C. Blackstone Holdings III L.P. is the managing member of BMA VI L.L.C. The general partner of Blackstone Holdings III L.P. is Blackstone Holdings III GP L.P. The general partner of Blackstone Holdings III GP L.P. is Blackstone Holdings III GP Management L.L.C. The sole member of Blackstone Holdings III GP Management L.L.C. is The Blackstone Group L.P. The general partner of The Blackstone Group L.P. is Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. is wholly owned by Blackstone’s senior managing directors and controlled by its founder, Stephen A. Schwarzman. The foregoing Blackstone entities and Stephen A. Schwarzman may be deemed to beneficially own all the outstanding shares of our common stock beneficially owned by 313 Acquisition LLC. Each of such Blackstone entities and Mr. Schwarzman disclaim beneficial ownership of such shares of our common stock held by 313 Acquisition LLC. The address of each of such Blackstone entities and Mr. Schwarzman is c/o The Blackstone Group L.P., 345 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10154. In addition to funds affiliated with Blackstone, principal holders of limited liability company interests in 313 Acquisition LLC include entities affiliated with Summit Partners L.P., Todd Pedersen and Alex Dunn. The address of 313 Acquisition LLC is 4931 N. 300 W., Provo, Utah 84604.	
 
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 UNDERWRITING (CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated is acting as representative of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in an underwriting agreement among us, the selling stockholder and the underwriters, the selling stockholder has agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the selling stockholder, the number of shares of common stock set forth opposite its name below.

                           Underwriter	  	Number	
of Shares	 	
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated	  	 	3,200,000	 		
Barclays Capital Inc.	  	 	400,000	 		
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.	  	 	400,000	 		
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC	  	 	400,000	 		
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.	  	 	400,000	 		
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC	  	 	400,000	 		
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC	  	 	400,000	 		
Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P.	  	 	800,000	 		
Guggenheim Securities, LLC	  	 	320,000	 		
JMP Securities LLC	  	 	320,000	 		
KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.	  	 	320,000	 		
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.	  	 	320,000	 		
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.	  	 	320,000	 		
	  	 	 	 		
Total	  	 	8,000,000	 		
	  	 	 	 		
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the shares sold under the underwriting agreement if any of these shares are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated.
We and the selling stockholder have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the shares, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the shares, and other conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Commissions and Discounts
The representative has advised us and the selling stockholder that the underwriters propose initially to offer the shares to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and to dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $0.1815 per share. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of the offering may be changed.
 
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The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds before expenses to the selling stockholder. The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares.

 	  		Per Share	 	  		Without Option	 	  		With Option	 	
Public offering price	  	$	5.5000	 	  	$	44,000,000	 	  	$	50,600,000	 		
Underwriting discount	  	$	0.3025	 	  	$	2,420,000	 	  	$	2,783,000	 		
Proceeds, before expenses, to the selling stockholder	  	$	5.1975	 	  	$	41,580,000	 	  	$	47,817,000	 		
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $800,000 and are payable by us and the selling stockholder.
Option to Purchase Additional Shares
The selling stockholder has granted an option to the underwriters, exercisable for 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, to purchase 1,200,000 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, to purchase a number of additional shares proportionate to that underwriter’s initial amount reflected in the above table.
No Sales of Similar Securities
We, the selling stockholder and our executive officers and directors have agreed not to sell or transfer any common stock or securities convertible into, exchangeable for, exercisable for, or repayable with common stock, for 60 days after the date of this prospectus without first obtaining the written consent of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. Specifically, we and these other persons have agreed, with certain limited exceptions, not to directly or indirectly
 
 	•	 	offer, sell, contract to sell or pledge any common stock,	
 
 	•	 	grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of any common stock,	
 
 	•	 	file a registration statement related to the common stock, or	
 
 	•	 	enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic consequence of ownership of any common stock whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of shares or other securities, in cash or otherwise.	
This lock-up provision applies to common stock and to securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or repayable with common stock. It also applies to common stock owned now or acquired later by the person executing the agreement or for which the person executing the agreement later acquires the power of disposition.
This lock-up provision will not apply to the sale of shares of our common stock pursuant to an existing trading plan that satisfies the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, among other exceptions.
New York Stock Exchange
The shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “VSLR.”
Price Stabilization, Short Positions
Until the distribution of the shares is completed, SEC rules may limit underwriters and selling group members from bidding for and purchasing our common stock. However, the representative may engage in
 
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transactions that stabilize the price of the common stock, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell our common stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional shares or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the option granted to them. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of such option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of shares of common stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.
Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representative will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Electronic Distribution
In connection with the offering, certain of the underwriters or securities dealers may distribute prospectuses by electronic means, such as e-mail.
Other Relationships
Some of the underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Conflicts of Interest
Affiliates of Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. control 313 Acquisition LLC, which owns in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock and, as the selling stockholder in this offering, will receive in excess of 5% of the net proceeds of this offering. Because Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. is an underwriter in this offering and its affiliates own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock and will receive
 
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more than 5% of the net proceeds of this offering, this offering will be conducted in accordance with Rule 5121 of FINRA. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5121, the appointment of a “qualified independent underwriter” is not required in connection with this offering as the members primarily responsible for managing the public offering do not have a conflict of interest, are not affiliates of any member that has a conflict of interest and meet the requirements of paragraph (f)(12)(E) of Rule 5121. Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. will not confirm sales to any account over which it exercises discretionary authority without the specific written approval of the account holder.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area (“Member State”), no offer of ordinary shares which are the subject of the offering has been, or will be made to the public in that Member State, other than under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive:
 
 	(a)	to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;	
 
 	(b)	to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representative for any such offer; or	
 
 	(c)	in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive;	
provided that no such offer of ordinary shares referred to in (a) to (c) above shall result in a requirement for the Company or the representative to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive, or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.
Each person located in a Member State to whom any offer of ordinary shares is made or who receives any communication in respect of an offer of ordinary shares, or who initially acquires any ordinary shares will be deemed to have represented, warranted, acknowledged and agreed to and with the representative and the Company that (1) it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of the law in that Member State implementing Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive; and (2) in the case of any ordinary shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, the ordinary shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Member State other than qualified investors, as that term is defined in the Prospectus Directive, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representative has been given to the offer or resale; or where ordinary shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in any Member State other than qualified investors, the offer of those ordinary shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Directive as having been made to such persons.
The Company, the representative and their respective affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgments and agreements.
This prospectus supplement has been prepared on the basis that any offer of shares in any Member State will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of shares. Accordingly any person making or intending to make an offer in that Member State of shares which are the subject of the offering contemplated in this prospectus supplement may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for the Company or the representative to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive in relation to such offer. Neither the Company nor the representative has authorized, nor do they authorize, the making of any offer of shares in circumstances in which an obligation arises for the Company or the representative to publish a prospectus for such offer.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of ordinary shares to the public” in relation to any ordinary shares in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the ordinary shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to
 
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decide to purchase or subscribe the ordinary shares, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Member State.
The above selling restriction is in addition to any other selling restrictions set out below.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
In addition, in the United Kingdom, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer subsequently made may only be directed at persons who are “qualified investors” (as defined in the Prospectus Directive) (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19 (5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) and/or (ii) who are high net worth companies (or persons to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated) falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This document must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not relevant persons. In the United Kingdom, any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is only available to, and will be engaged in with, relevant persons.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
The shares may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the shares or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company, the shares have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of shares will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA), and the offer of shares has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of shares.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus supplement relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). This prospectus supplement is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus supplement nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus supplement. The shares to which this prospectus supplement relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus supplement you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”), in relation to the offering. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (the “Corporations Act”), and do not
 
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purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.
Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons (the “Exempt Investors”) who are “sophisticated investors” (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), “professional investors” (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.
This prospectus supplement contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus supplement is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong
The shares have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than (a) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance; or (b) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance. No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares has been or may be issued or has been or may be in the possession of any person for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan
The shares have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) and, accordingly, will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or for the benefit of any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to any Japanese Person, except in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines promulgated by relevant Japanese governmental or regulatory authorities in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese Person” shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus supplement and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional
 
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investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the shares are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
(a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
(b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor,
securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
 
 	(a)	to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;	
 
 	(b)	where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;	
 
 	(c)	where the transfer is by operation of law;	
 
 	(d)	as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or	
 
 	(e)	as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore.	
Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada
The shares may be sold only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations . Any resale of the shares must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus supplement (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 (or, in the case of securities issued or guaranteed by the government of a non-Canadian jurisdiction, section 3A.4) of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
 
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 LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, Palo Alto, California. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, New York, New York, has acted as counsel for the underwriters in connection with certain legal matters related to this offering. An investment vehicle comprised of selected partners of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, members of their families, related persons and others owns an interest representing less than 1% of the capital commitments of funds affiliated with The Blackstone Group L.P.
 EXPERTS
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our financial statements are, and audited financial statements to be included in subsequently filed documents will be, incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s reports (to the extent covered by consents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission), given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
 WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports, and other information that we file with or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act can also be accessed free charge through the investor relations page of our website located at http://investors.vivintsolar.com/company/investors/financial-information/sec-filings/default.aspx. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not part of this prospectus supplement.
Our securities are not being offered in any state where the offer is not permitted. The information contained in documents that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the dates of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
 
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 INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
We “incorporate by reference” certain documents we file with the SEC, which means that we are disclosing important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement, and any information contained in this prospectus supplement or in any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus provided to you in connection with this offering, or in any other document we subsequently file with the SEC that also is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, modifies or supersedes the original statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to be a part of this prospectus supplement.
The following documents filed with the SEC are hereby incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement:
 
 	•	 	our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, filed with the SEC on March 7, 2018, including portions of our proxy statement relating to our 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 13, 2018 to the extent incorporated by reference into such Annual Report on Form 10-K;	
 
 	•	 	our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018, and September 30, 2018 filed with the SEC on May 8, 2018, August 7, 2018, and November 6, 2018, respectively;	
 
 	•	 	our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 5, 2018, June 12, 2018, June 13, 2018 (as amended by Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on June 13, 2018), and August 7, 2018;	
 
 	•	 	the description of our common stock as set forth in our registration statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-36642), filed with the SEC on September 24, 2014, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any subsequent amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.	
All reports and other documents subsequently filed by us pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus supplement and prior to the termination of this offering shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such reports and other documents.
Notwithstanding the statements in the preceding paragraphs, no document, report or exhibit (or portion of any of the foregoing) or any other information that we have “furnished” or may in the future “furnish” to the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act shall be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.
We hereby undertake to provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus supplement is delivered, upon written or oral request of any such person, a copy of any and all of the information that has been or may be incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, other than exhibits to such documents, unless such exhibits have been specifically incorporated by reference thereto. Requests for such copies should be directed to our Investor Relations department, at the following address: Vivint Solar, Inc., 1800 West Ashton Blvd., Lehi, Utah 84043, Attention: Investor Relations, or you may call us at (877) 404-4129.
 
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Vivint Solar, Inc.

Vivint Solar, Inc. may offer, from time to time,

•  common stock	  	•  preferred stock	
		
•  depositary shares	  	•  debt securities	
		
•  warrants	  	•  subscription rights	
		
•  units	  		
All of the securities listed above may be sold separately or as units with other securities.
We may from time to time in one or more offerings offer and sell common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, debt securities, warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock or debt securities, subscription rights or units in any combination of the foregoing.
In addition, selling stockholders to be named in a prospectus supplement may also offer and sell, from time to time, shares of our common stock. To the extent that any selling stockholder resells any securities, the selling stockholder may be required to provide you with this prospectus and a prospectus supplement identifying and containing specific information about the selling stockholder and the amount and terms of the securities being offered. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of our common stock by selling stockholders.
The aggregate offering price of the securities sold pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed $200,000,000.
This prospectus may not be used to sell securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement, which will describe the method and the terms of the offering. We will provide you with the specific amount, price and terms of the applicable offered securities in one or more supplements to this prospectus. You should read this prospectus and any supplement carefully before you purchase any of our securities.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “VSLR.” On August 23, 2018, the reported closing sale price of our common stock on the NYSE was $5.30 per share.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws, and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this and future filings. We will provide information in any applicable prospectus supplement regarding any listing of securities other than shares of our common stock on any securities exchange.

Investing in our securities involves risks. Please carefully read the information under the headings “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus and “Item 1A—Risk Factors” of our most recent report on Form 10-K or 10-Q that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus before you invest in our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
These securities may be offered and sold to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, on a continuous or delayed basis. If underwriters, dealers, or agents are used to sell the securities, we will name them and describe their compensation in a prospectus supplement. In addition, the underwriters may overallot a portion of the securities.

Prospectus dated September 11, 2018.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 	  	Page	 	
About This Prospectus	  	 	i	 	
Prospectus Summary	  	 	1	 	
Risk Factors	  	 	5	 	
Forward-Looking Statements	  	 	5	 	
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges	  	 	6	 	
Use of Proceeds	  	 	6	 	
Dividend Policy	  	 	6	 	
Description of Capital Stock	  	 	7	 	
Description of the Depositary Shares	  	 	15	 	
Description of the Debt Securities	  	 	18	 	
Description of the Warrants	  	 	30	 	
Description of the Subscription Rights	  	 	32	 	
Description of Units	  	 	33	 	
Plan of Distribution	  	 	35	 	
Legal Matters	  	 	39	 	
Experts	  	 	39	 	
Where You Can Find More Information	  	 	39	 	
Information Incorporated by Reference	  	 	40	 	

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 ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf process, we may, from time to time, offer or sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings, and the selling stockholders to be named in a supplement to this prospectus may, from time to time, offer or sell our common stock. The aggregate offering price of the securities sold pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed $200,000,000.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we and the selling stockholders may offer. Each time we or the selling stockholders sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add to, update or change information contained in this prospectus and, accordingly, to the extent inconsistent, information in this prospectus is superseded by the information in the prospectus supplement.
The prospectus supplement to be attached to the front of this prospectus may describe, as applicable: the terms of the securities offered; the initial price to the public; the price paid for the securities; net proceeds; and the other specific terms related to the offering of the securities.
No person has been authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus in connection with the offering described herein and therein. Neither this prospectus nor any prospectus supplement nor any related free writing prospectus shall constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy offered securities in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offering or solicitation. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the offering of the securities, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits.
You should read the entire prospectus and any prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, before making an investment decision. Neither the delivery of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any circumstances imply that the information contained or incorporated by reference herein or in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus is correct as of any date subsequent to the date hereof or of such prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, as applicable. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the applicable documents, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of securities. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
 
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 PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights selected information that is presented in greater detail elsewhere, or incorporated by reference, in this prospectus. It does not contain all of the information that may be important to you and your investment decision. Before investing in our securities, you should carefully read this entire prospectus, including the matters set forth under the sections of this prospectus captioned “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, the financial statements and related notes and other information that we incorporate by reference herein, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Vivint Solar,” “the company,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this prospectus refer to Vivint Solar, Inc. and its subsidiaries. References to “Vivint” refer to Vivint Smart Home, Inc. (formerly APX Parent Holdco, Inc.) and its subsidiaries, including our sister company Vivint, Inc. Investment funds associated with or designated by The Blackstone Group L.P., which controls 313 Acquisition LLC, our largest stockholder that presently controls the majority of our common stock, are referred to herein as “Blackstone” or “our sponsor.”
Vivint Solar
Overview
We offer distributed solar energy—electricity generated by a solar energy system installed at or near customers’ locations—to residential customers, primarily through a customer-focused and neighborhood-driven direct-to-home sales model. We believe we are disrupting the traditional electricity market by satisfying customers’ demand for increased energy independence and less expensive, more socially responsible electricity generation. As a result, we primarily compete with traditional utilities in the markets we serve, and our strategy is to price the energy we sell below prevailing retail electricity rates. The price our customers pay to buy energy from us varies depending on the state where the customer is located, the impact of the local traditional utility, customer price sensitivity, the availability of incentives and rebates, the need to offer a compelling financial benefit and the price other solar energy companies charge in the region. We also compete with distributed solar energy system providers for solar energy system sales on the basis of price, service and availability of financing options.
Our primary product offering includes the following:
 
 	•	 	Power Purchase Agreements.  Under power purchase agreements, or PPAs, we charge customers a fee per kilowatt hour based on the amount of electricity the solar energy system actually provides, which is billed monthly. PPAs typically have a term of 20 years and are subject to an annual price escalator of 2.9%. Over the term of the PPA, we operate the system and agree to maintain it in good condition. Customers who buy energy from us under PPAs are covered by our workmanship warranty equal to the length of the term of these agreements.	
 
 	•	 	Legal-form Leases.  Under legal-form leases, or Solar Leases, we charge customers a fixed monthly payment to lease the solar energy system, which is based on a calculation that accounts for expected solar energy generation. Solar Leases typically have a term of 20 years and are subject to an annual price escalator of 2.9%. We provide our Solar Lease customers a performance guarantee, under which we agree to refund certain payments to the customer if the solar energy system does not meet the guaranteed production level in the prior 12-month period. Over the term of the Solar Lease, we operate the system and agree to maintain it in good condition. Customers who buy energy from us under Solar Leases are covered by our workmanship warranty equal to the length of the term of these agreements.	
 
 	•	 	Solar Energy System Sales.  Under solar energy system sales, or System Sales, we offer our customers the option to purchase solar energy systems for cash or through third-party financing. The price for these contracts is determined as a function of the respective market rate and the size of the solar energy	

 
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 	system to be installed. Customers can additionally contract with us for certain structural upgrades, smart home products, battery storage systems, electric vehicle charging station and other accessories based on the markets where they are located in connection with the installation of a solar energy system. We believe System Sales are advantageous to us as they provide immediate access to cash.	
Our 20-year customer contracts generate predictable, recurring cash flows and establish a long-term relationship with homeowners. As of December 31, 2017 the average estimated nominal contracted payment for our long-term customer contracts was approximately $27,750, and there is the potential for additional payments if customers choose to renew their contracts at the end of the term. The ownership of the solar energy systems we install under long-term customer contracts allows us and the other fund investors to benefit from various local, state and federal incentives. We obtain financing based on cash flows from customers and these incentives. When customers decide to move or sell the home prior to the end of their contract term, the customer contracts allow our customers to transfer their obligations to the new home buyer. If the home buyer does not wish to assume the customer’s obligations, the contract allows us to require the customer to purchase the system. Our sources of financing are used to offset our direct installation costs and most, if not all, of our allocated overhead expenses. As of July 31, 2018, we had raised 24 investment funds to which investors such as banks and other large financial investors have committed to invest approximately $1.7 billion. The undrawn committed capital for these funds as of July 31, 2018 is approximately $125.2 million, which we estimate will fund approximately 78 megawatts of future deployments.
We have developed an integrated approach to providing residential distributed solar energy where we fully control the lifecycle of our customers’ experience including the initial professional consultation, design and engineering process, installation, and ongoing monitoring and service. We deploy our sales force on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, which allows us to cultivate a geographically concentrated customer base that reduces our costs and increases our operating efficiency. We couple this model with repeatable and scalable processes to establish warehouse facilities, assemble and train sales and installation teams and open new offices. We believe that our processes enable us to expand within existing markets and into new markets. We also believe that our direct sales model and integrated approach represent a differentiated platform, unique in the industry, that maximizes sales effectiveness, delivering high levels of customer satisfaction and driving cost efficiency.
Of the 87.4 megawatts installed in the six months ended June 30, 2018, approximately 85% were installed under PPAs and Solar Leases and 15% were installed under System Sales.
Corporate Information and History
We were incorporated in Delaware in 2011 when Vivint, Inc., a residential security solutions and home automation services provider, recognized an opportunity to replicate its strong and scalable direct-to-home selling model in the solar energy market. On November 16, 2012, investment funds affiliated with Blackstone and certain co-investors, through 313 Acquisition LLC, acquired 100% of the equity interests of Vivint Solar, Inc. (then known as V Solar Holding, Inc.) and Vivint, Inc. Our principal executive office is located at 1800 West Ashton Blvd., Lehi, Utah 84043. Our telephone number is (877) 404-4129. Our website address is www.vivintsolar.com. Information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus and you should not rely on any such information in making the decision whether to purchase our common stock.

 
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The Securities We May Offer
We may offer or sell common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, debt securities, warrants, subscription rights and units in one or more offerings and in any combination and the selling stockholders to be named in a supplement to this prospectus may offer or sell shares of our common stock. The aggregate offering price of the securities sold pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed $200,000,000. Each time we or the selling stockholders offer securities with this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and terms of the securities being offered.
We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities to or through underwriters, dealers or agents or directly to purchasers or as otherwise set forth below under “Plan of Distribution.” We or the selling stockholders, as well as any agents acting on our or their behalf, reserve the sole right to accept and to reject in whole or in part any proposed purchase of securities. Each prospectus supplement will set forth the names of any underwriters, dealers, agents or other entities involved in the sale of securities described in that prospectus supplement and any applicable fee, commission or discount arrangements with them.
Common Stock
We may offer shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, either alone or underlying other registered securities convertible into our common stock. The selling stockholders may offer shares of our common stock to the extent such shares were issued and outstanding prior to the original date of the filing of the registration statement. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends, subject to rights, if any, of preferred stockholders. Currently, we do not pay a cash dividend. Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote per share. The holders of common stock have no preemptive rights.
Preferred Stock and Depositary Shares
Our board of directors has the authority, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, to issue preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations or restrictions, in each case without further vote or action by our stockholders.
We may also issue fractional shares of preferred stock that will be represented by depositary shares and depositary receipts.
Each series of preferred stock, depositary shares or depositary receipts, if issued, will be more fully described in the particular prospectus supplement that will accompany this prospectus, including redemption provisions, rights in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, voting rights and rights to convert into common stock.
Warrants
We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities.
Debt Securities
We may offer secured or unsecured obligations in the form of one or more series of senior or subordinated debt. The senior debt securities and the subordinated debt securities are together referred to in this prospectus as the “debt securities.” The subordinated debt securities generally will be entitled to payment only after payment of our senior debt. Senior debt generally includes all debt for money borrowed by us, except debt that is stated in the instrument governing the terms of that debt to be not senior to, or to have the same rank in right of payment

 
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as, or to be expressly junior to, the subordinated debt securities. We may issue debt securities that are convertible into shares of our common stock.
The senior and subordinated debt securities will be issued under separate indentures between us and a trustee. We have summarized the general features of the debt securities to be governed by the indentures. These indentures have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We encourage you to read these indentures. Instructions on how you can get copies of these documents are provided under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”
Subscription Rights
We may issue subscription rights to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. These subscription rights may be offered independently or together with any other security offered hereby and may or may not be transferable by the stockholder receiving the subscription rights in such offering.
Units
We may issue units comprised of one or more of the other classes of securities issued by us as described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit.

 
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 RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The prospectus supplement applicable to each offering of our securities will contain a discussion of the risks applicable to an investment in our securities. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement or appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under “Part I—Item 1A—Risk Factors” of our most recent report on Form 10-K or “Part II—Item 1A—Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that are incorporated herein by reference, and may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations.
 FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus includes and incorporates by reference forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts and can be identified by words such as: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained and incorporated by reference included in this prospectus, we caution you that these statements are based on our projections of the future that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, to differ. The sections in this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors,” in “Part I—Item 1A—Risk Factors” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or “Part II—Item 1A—Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus as well as other disclosures included in this prospectus or the supplement hereto, discuss some of the factors that could contribute to these differences.
Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could harm our results. Consequently, actual results or developments anticipated by us may not be realized or, even if substantially realized, may not have the expected consequences to, or effects on, us. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and although we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted a thorough inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus may contain market data that we obtain from industry sources. These sources do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information. Although we believe that our industry sources are reliable, we do not independently verify the
 
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information. The market data may include projections that are based on a number of other projections. While we believe these assumptions to be reasonable and sound as of the date of this prospectus, actual results may differ from the projections.
 RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The following table sets forth our consolidated ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the periods indicated.

 	  	Year Ended	 	  	Six Months
Ended	 	
 	  	December 31,
2015	 	  	December 31,
2016	 	  	December 31,
2017	 	  	June 30,
2018	 	
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges (1)	  	 	2.6x	 	  	 	1.7x	 	  	 	1.8x	 	  	 	3.0x	 	

(1)	The ratio of earnings to fixed charges represents the number of times that fixed charges are covered by earnings. Earnings consist of income or loss before income taxes, fixed charges and amortization of capitalized interest, less capitalized interest, and net loss attributable to non-controlling interests and redeemable non-controlling interests. Fixed charges consist of interest expense, capitalized interest and estimated interest expense within rental expense.	
As of the date of this prospectus, we have no shares of preferred stock outstanding, and consequently, our ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred share dividends and ratio of earnings to fixed charges would be identical.
 USE OF PROCEEDS
Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, we expect to use the net proceeds that we will receive from the sale of the securities for working capital and other general corporate purposes. Pending the uses described above, we plan to invest the net proceeds that we receive in this offering in short-term and intermediate-term investment-grade interest-bearing securities.
The specific allocations of the proceeds we receive from the sale of our securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by selling stockholders.
 DIVIDEND POLICY
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to fund our growth, and we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Additionally, the terms of one or more of our current debt instruments restrict our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws and provisions of our debt instruments and organizational documents, after taking into account our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, general business conditions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.
 
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 DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following is a summary of the rights of our capital stock. This summary is not complete. For more detailed information, please see our certificate of incorporation and bylaws.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 1,010,000,000 shares, with a par value of $0.01 per share, of which:
 
 	•	 	1,000,000,000 shares are designated as common stock; and	
 
 	•	 	10,000,000 shares are designated as preferred stock.	
As of June 30, 2018, we had outstanding 118,476,790 shares of common stock, held by 280 stockholders of record, and no outstanding shares of preferred stock. In addition, as of June 30, 2018, we had outstanding equity grants to acquire approximately 13.0 million shares of common stock, and 14.3 million additional shares of common stock available for issuance under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan.
Common Stock
Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote generally, including the election or removal of directors. The holders of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.
Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up and after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of our common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution. Holders of our common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. The common stock will not be subject to further calls or assessment by us. There will be no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. The rights, powers, preferences and privileges of holders of our common stock will be subject to those of the holders of any shares of our preferred stock we may authorize and issue in the future.
Preferred Stock
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to designate and issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series. Unless required by law or by the NYSE, the authorized shares of preferred stock will be available for issuance without further action by you. Our board of directors is able to determine, with respect to any series of preferred stock, the powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including, without limitation:
 
 	•	 	the designation of the series;	
 
 	•	 	the number of shares of the series, which our board of directors may, except where otherwise provided in the preferred stock designation, increase (but not above the total number of authorized shares of the class) or decrease (but not below the number of shares then outstanding);	
 
 	•	 	whether dividends, if any, will be cumulative or non-cumulative and the dividend rate of the series;	
 
 	•	 	the dates at which dividends, if any, will be payable;	
 
 	•	 	the redemption rights and price or prices, if any, for shares of the series;	
 
 	•	 	the terms and amounts of any sinking fund provided for the purchase or redemption of shares of the series;	
 
 	•	 	the amounts payable on shares of the series in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the affairs of our company;	
 
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 	•	 	whether the shares of the series will be convertible into shares of any other class or series, or any other security, of our company or any other entity, and, if so, the specification of the other class or series or other security, the conversion price or prices or rate or rates, any rate adjustments, the date or dates as of which the shares will be convertible and all other terms and conditions upon which the conversion may be made;	
 
 	•	 	restrictions on the issuance of shares of the same series or of any other class or series; and	
 
 	•	 	the voting rights, if any, of the holders of the series.	
We could issue a series of preferred stock that could, depending on the terms of the series, impede or discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction that some, or a majority, of the holders of our common stock might believe to be in their best interests or in which the holders of our common stock might receive a premium for your common stock over the market price of the common stock. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect the holders of our common stock by restricting dividends on the common stock, diluting the voting power of the common stock or subordinating the liquidation rights of the common stock. As a result of these or other factors, the issuance of preferred stock could have an adverse impact on the market price of our common stock.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law, Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and Our Stockholders Agreement
Our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, contain provisions, which are summarized in the following paragraphs, that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors. These provisions are intended to avoid costly takeover battles, reduce our vulnerability to a hostile change of control and enhance the ability of our board of directors to maximize stockholder value in connection with any unsolicited offer to acquire us. However, these provisions may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a merger or acquisition of our company by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or other takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the prevailing market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.
Undesignated Preferred Stock
As discussed above, our board of directors has the ability to designate and issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could deter hostile takeovers or delay changes in our control or management.
Board Classification
Our certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes of directors, with the classes to be as nearly equal in number as possible, and with the directors serving three-year terms. As a result, approximately one-third of our board of directors is elected each year. The classification of directors has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board of directors. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that, subject to any rights of holders of preferred stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors will be fixed from time to time exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board of directors with a maximum of 15 directors.
 
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Business Combinations
We have opted out of Section 203 of the DGCL; however, our certificate of incorporation contains similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:
 
 	•	 	prior to such time, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;	
 
 	•	 	upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares; or	
 
 	•	 	at or subsequent to that time, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.	
Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with that person’s affiliates and associates, owns, or within the previous three years owned, 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. For purposes of this section only, “voting stock” has the meaning given to it in Section 203 of the DGCL.
Under certain circumstances, this provision will make it more difficult for a person who would be an “interested stockholder” to effect various business combinations with us for a three-year period. This provision may encourage companies interested in acquiring our company to negotiate in advance with our board of directors because the stockholder approval requirement would be avoided if our board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our board of directors and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that Blackstone and its affiliates, and any of their respective direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons are parties, do not constitute “interested stockholders” for purposes of this provision.
Removal of Directors; Vacancies
Under the DGCL, unless otherwise provided in our certificate of incorporation, directors serving on a classified board may be removed by the stockholders only for cause. Our certificate of incorporation provides that directors may be removed with or without cause upon the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of all outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class; provided, however, at any time when Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, directors may only be removed for cause, and only by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class. In addition, our certificate of incorporation also provides that, subject to the rights granted to one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding or the rights granted under the stockholders agreement with affiliates of Blackstone, any newly created directorship on our board of directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancies on our board of directors will be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum, by a sole remaining director or by the stockholders; provided, however, at any time when Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any newly created directorship on the board of
 
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directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancy occurring in the board of directors may only be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum or by a sole remaining director (and not by the stockholders).
No Cumulative Voting
Under Delaware law, the right to vote cumulatively does not exist unless the certificate of incorporation specifically authorizes cumulative voting. Our certificate of incorporation does not authorize cumulative voting. Therefore, stockholders holding a majority in voting power of the shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors will be able to elect all our directors.
Special Stockholder Meetings
Our certificate of incorporation provides that special meetings of our stockholders may be called at any time only by or at the direction of the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors; provided, however, at any time when Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, at least 30% in voting power of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, special meetings of our stockholders shall also be called by the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors at the request of Blackstone and its affiliates. Our bylaws prohibit the conduct of any business at a special meeting other than as specified in the notice for such meeting. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers or changes in control or management of our company.
Requirements for Advance Notification of Director Nominations and Stockholder Proposals
Our bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors. For any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder has to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Our bylaws also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. Our bylaws allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings that may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions do not apply to Blackstone and its affiliates so long as the stockholders agreement remains in effect. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of our company.
Stockholder Action by Written Consent
Pursuant to Section 228 of the DGCL, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of the stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, unless our certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our certificate of incorporation precludes stockholder action by written consent at any time when Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.
Supermajority Provisions
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that our board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend, change, add to, rescind or repeal, in whole or in part, our bylaws without a stockholder vote
 
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in any matter not inconsistent with Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation. For as long as Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, at least 30% in voting power of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our stockholders will require the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of our stock present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting of stockholders and entitled to vote on such amendment, alteration, change, addition, rescission or repeal. At any time when Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of all outstanding shares of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our stockholders will require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class.
The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, unless the certificate of incorporation requires a greater percentage. Our certificate of incorporation provides that at any time when Blackstone and its affiliates beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 30% in voting power of the stock of our company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, the following provisions in our certificate of incorporation may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of our company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class:
 
 	•	 	the provision requiring a 66 2/3% supermajority vote for stockholders to amend our bylaws;	
 
 	•	 	the provisions providing for a classified board of directors (the election and term of our directors);	
 
 	•	 	the provisions regarding resignation and removal of directors;	
 
 	•	 	the provisions regarding competition and corporate opportunities;	
 
 	•	 	the provisions regarding entering into business combinations with interested stockholders;	
 
 	•	 	the provisions regarding stockholder action by written consent;	
 
 	•	 	the provisions regarding calling special meetings of stockholders;	
 
 	•	 	the provisions regarding filling vacancies on our board of directors and newly created directorships;	
 
 	•	 	the provisions eliminating monetary damages for breaches of fiduciary duty by a director; and	
 
 	•	 	the amendment provision requiring that the above provisions be amended only with a 66 2/3% supermajority vote.	
The combination of the classification of our board of directors, the lack of cumulative voting and the supermajority voting requirements will make it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our board of directors as well as for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Because our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management.
These provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control of us or our management, such as a merger, reorganization or tender offer. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of our company. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. The provisions are also intended to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our shares that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts.
 
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Investor Approvals
In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into a stockholders agreement with 313 Acquisition LLC, which is an affiliate of our sponsor, Summit Partners, Todd Pedersen and Alex Dunn. The stockholders agreement provides that for so long as our sponsor, Summit Partners, Todd Pedersen and Alex Dunn or their respective affiliates collectively own, in the aggregate, at least 30% of the shares of our common stock entitled to vote generally in the election of our directors and our sponsor is entitled to designate at least one director pursuant to the stockholders agreement, our sponsor must approve in advance certain of our significant business decisions, including each of the following:
 
 	•	 	changes in the size or composition of our board of directors or any committee of our board of directors;	
 
 	•	 	any changes in the nature of our business or operations as of the date of the stockholders agreement;	
 
 	•	 	our or any of our subsidiaries’ entry into any voluntary liquidation, dissolution or commencement of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, the decision not to oppose any similar proceeding commenced by a third party, the adoption of a plan with respect to any of the foregoing or any reorganization or recapitalization;	
 
 	•	 	the consummation of a change of control;	
 
 	•	 	entering into any agreement providing for any acquisition or divestiture by us of the assets or equity interests of any other entity involving consideration payable or receivable by us or any of our subsidiaries in excess of $100 million in the aggregate in any single transaction or series of transactions during any twelve-month period;	
 
 	•	 	incurring any indebtedness by us (including through capital leases, the issuance of debt securities or the guarantee of indebtedness of another entity) or entry into tax equity financing in excess of $200 million in the aggregate in any single transaction or series of transactions;	
 
 	•	 	any issuance of equity securities for an aggregate consideration in excess of $100 million;	
 
 	•	 	entering into joint ventures or similar business alliance involving investment by us or any of our subsidiaries having an aggregate value in excess of $100 million;	
 
 	•	 	any amendment, modification or waiver of the stockholders agreement or the employee stockholders agreement; and	
 
 	•	 	any amendment, modification or waiver of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws.	
The above-described provisions of the stockholders agreement will remain in effect until our sponsor is no longer entitled to nominate a sponsor director pursuant to the stockholders agreement, unless our sponsor requests that they terminate at an earlier date. See the section captioned “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 for additional information.
Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal and Payment
Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders will have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of our company. Pursuant to the DGCL, stockholders who properly request and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such merger or consolidation will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Stockholders’ Derivative Actions
Under the DGCL, any of our stockholders may bring an action in our name to procure a judgment in our favor, also known as a derivative action, provided that the stockholder bringing the action is a holder of our
 
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shares at the time of the transaction to which the action relates or such stockholder’s stock thereafter devolved by operation of law.
Exclusive Forum
Our certificate of incorporation provides that unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf, to the fullest extent permitted by law, of our company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors or officers to our company or our stockholders, creditors or other constituents, (3) action asserting a claim against our company or any of our directors or officers arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws or (4) action asserting a claim against us or any of our directors or officers governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to said Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our certificate of incorporation. However, the enforceability of similar forum provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be unenforceable.
Conflicts of Interest
Delaware law permits corporations to adopt provisions renouncing any interest or expectancy in certain opportunities that are presented to the corporation or its officers, directors or stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation, to the maximum extent permitted from time to time by Delaware law, renounce any interest or expectancy that we have in, or right to be offered an opportunity to participate in, specified business opportunities that are from time to time presented to our officers, directors or stockholders or their respective affiliates, other than those officers, directors, stockholders or affiliates who are our or our subsidiaries’ employees. Our certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, none of Blackstone or any of its affiliates (including Vivint, Inc. and its affiliates), Summit Partners or any of its affiliates or any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his director and officer capacities) or his or her affiliates have any duty to refrain from (1) engaging in a corporate opportunity in the same or similar lines of business in which we or our affiliates now engage or propose to engage or (2) otherwise competing with us or our affiliates. In addition, to the fullest extent permitted by law, if Blackstone, Summit Partners or any non-employee director acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself or himself or its or his affiliates or for us or our affiliates, such person has no duty to communicate or offer such transaction or business opportunity to us or any of our affiliates and they may take any such opportunity for themselves or offer it to another person or entity. Our certificate of incorporation does not renounce our interest in any business opportunity that is expressly offered to a non-employee director solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no business opportunity will be deemed to be a potential corporate opportunity for us unless we would be permitted to undertake the opportunity under our certificate of incorporation, we have sufficient financial resources to undertake the opportunity and the opportunity would be in line with our business.
Limitations on Liability of and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
The DGCL authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of directors to corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for breaches of directors’ fiduciary duties, subject to certain exceptions. Our certificate of incorporation includes a provision that eliminates the personal liability of directors for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of these provisions is to eliminate the rights of us and our stockholders, through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf, to recover monetary
 
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damages from a director for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, including breaches resulting from grossly negligent behavior. However, exculpation does not apply to any director if the director has acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized illegal dividends or redemptions or derived an improper benefit from his or her actions as a director.
Our bylaws provide that we must indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL. We also are expressly authorized to carry directors’ and officers’ liability insurance providing indemnification for our directors, officers and certain employees for some liabilities. We believe that these indemnification and advancement provisions and insurance are useful to attract and retain qualified directors and executive officers.
The limitation of liability, indemnification and advancement provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. In addition, your investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We currently are party to indemnification agreements with certain of our directors and officers. These agreements require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified. See the section captioned “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 for additional information.
There is currently no pending material litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. The transfer agent’s address is 250 Royall Street, Canton, MA 02121.
Listing
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “VSLR.”
 
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 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPOSITARY SHARES
General
At our option, we may elect to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, rather than full shares of preferred stock. If we do elect to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, we will issue receipts for depositary shares and each of these depositary shares will represent a fraction of a share of a particular series of preferred stock, as specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each owner of a depositary share will be entitled, in proportion to the applicable fractional interest in shares of preferred stock underlying that depositary share, to all rights and preferences of the preferred stock underlying that depositary share. These rights may include dividend, voting, redemption and liquidation rights.
The shares of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares will be deposited with a bank or trust company selected by us to act as depositary, under a deposit agreement by and among us, the depositary and the holders of the depositary receipts. The depositary will be the transfer agent, registrar and dividend disbursing agent for the depositary shares.
The depositary shares will be evidenced by depositary receipts issued pursuant to the depositary agreement. Holders of depositary receipts agree to be bound by the deposit agreement, which requires holders to take certain actions such as filing proof of residence and paying certain charges.
The summary of terms of the depositary shares contained in this prospectus is not complete, and is subject to modification in any prospectus supplement for any issuance of depositary shares. You should refer to the forms of the deposit agreement, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the certificate of designation that are, or will be, filed with the SEC for the applicable series of preferred stock.
Dividends
The depositary will distribute cash dividends or other cash distributions, if any, received in respect of the series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares to the record holders of depositary receipts in proportion to the number of depositary shares owned by those holders on the relevant record date. The relevant record date for depositary shares will be the same date as the record date for the preferred stock.
In the event of a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute property received by it to the record holders of depositary receipts that are entitled to receive the distribution, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make the distribution. If this occurs, the depositary, with our approval, may adopt another method for the distribution, including selling the property and distributing the net proceeds to the holders.
Liquidation Preference
If a series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares has a liquidation preference, in the event of our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of depositary shares will be entitled to receive the fraction of the liquidation preference accorded each share of the applicable series of preferred stock, as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Redemption
If a series of preferred stock underlying the depositary shares is subject to redemption, the depositary shares will be redeemed from the proceeds received by the depositary resulting from the redemption, in whole or in part, of the preferred stock held by the depositary. Whenever we redeem any preferred stock held by the depositary, the depositary will redeem, as of the same redemption date, the number of depositary shares representing the preferred stock so redeemed. The depositary will mail the notice of redemption to the record holders of the
 
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depositary receipts promptly upon receiving the notice from us and not fewer than 20 or more than 60 days, unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, prior to the date fixed for redemption of the preferred stock.
Voting
Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of preferred stock are entitled to vote, the depositary will mail the information contained in the notice of meeting to the record holders of the depositary receipts underlying the preferred stock. Each record holder of those depositary receipts on the record date will be entitled to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights pertaining to the amount of preferred stock underlying that holder’s depositary shares. The record date for the depositary will be the same date as the record date for the preferred stock. The depositary will, to the extent practicable, vote the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares in accordance with these instructions. We will agree to take all action that may be deemed necessary by the depositary in order to enable the depositary to vote the preferred stock in accordance with these instructions. The depositary will not vote the preferred stock to the extent that it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary receipts.
Withdrawal of Preferred Stock
Owners of depositary shares will be entitled to receive upon surrender of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary and payment of any unpaid amount due to the depositary, the number of whole shares of preferred stock underlying their depositary shares.
Partial shares of preferred stock will not be issued. Holders of preferred stock will not be entitled to deposit the shares under the deposit agreement or to receive depositary receipts evidencing depositary shares for the preferred stock.
Amendment and Termination of the Deposit Agreement
The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement may be amended by agreement between the depositary and us. However, any amendment which materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders of depositary shares, other than fee changes, will not be effective unless the amendment has been approved by at least a majority of the outstanding depositary shares. The deposit agreement may be terminated by the depositary or us only if:
 
 	•	 	all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed; or	
 
 	•	 	there has been a final distribution of the preferred stock in connection with our dissolution and such distribution has been made to all the holders of depositary shares.	
Charges of Depositary
We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of the depositary arrangement. We will also pay charges of the depositary in connection with:
 
 	•	 	the initial deposit of the preferred stock;	
 
 	•	 	the initial issuance of the depositary shares;	
 
 	•	 	any redemption of the preferred stock; and	
 
 	•	 	all withdrawals of preferred stock by owners of depositary shares.	
 
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Holders of depositary receipts will pay transfer, income and other taxes and governmental charges and other specified charges as provided in the deposit agreement for their accounts. If these charges have not been paid, the depositary may:
 
 	•	 	refuse to transfer depositary shares;	
 
 	•	 	withhold dividends and distributions; and	
 
 	•	 	sell the depositary shares evidenced by the depositary receipt.	
Miscellaneous
The depositary will forward to the holders of depositary receipts all reports and communications we deliver to the depositary that we are required to furnish to the holders of the preferred stock. In addition, the depositary will make available for inspection by holders of depositary receipts at the principal office of the depositary, and at such other places as it may from time to time deem advisable, any reports and communications we deliver to the depositary as the holder of preferred stock.
Neither the depositary nor we will be liable if either the depositary or we are prevented or delayed by law or any circumstance beyond the control of either the depositary or us in performing our respective obligations under the deposit agreement. Our obligations and the depositary’s obligations will be limited to the performance in good faith of our or the depositary’s respective duties under the deposit agreement. Neither the depositary nor we will be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares or preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. The depositary and we may rely on:
 
 	•	 	written advice of counsel or accountants;	
 
 	•	 	information provided by holders of depositary receipts or other persons believed in good faith to be competent to give such information; and	
 
 	•	 	documents believed to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or parties.	
Resignation and Removal of Depositary
The depositary may resign at any time by delivering a notice to us. We may remove the depositary at any time. Any such resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. The successor depositary must be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice for resignation or removal. The successor depositary must be a bank and trust company having its principal office in the United States of America and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000.
Federal Income Tax Consequences
Owners of the depositary shares will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as if they were owners of the preferred stock underlying the depositary shares. As a result, owners will be entitled to take into account for U.S. federal income tax purposes and deductions to which they would be entitled if they were holders of such preferred stock. No gain or loss will be recognized for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the withdrawal of preferred stock in exchange for depositary shares. The tax basis of each share of preferred stock to an exchanging owner of depositary shares will, upon such exchange, be the same as the aggregate tax basis of the depositary shares exchanged. The holding period for preferred stock in the hands of an exchanging owner of depositary shares will include the period during which such person owned such depositary shares.
 
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 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEBT SECURITIES
The debt securities may be either secured or unsecured and will either be our senior debt securities or our subordinated debt securities. The debt securities will be issued under one or more separate indentures between us and a trustee to be specified in an accompanying prospectus supplement. Senior debt securities will be issued under a senior indenture and subordinated debt securities will be issued under a subordinated indenture. Together, the senior indenture and the subordinated indenture are called indentures in this description. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplement, will describe the terms of a particular series of debt securities.
The following is a summary of selected provisions and definitions of the indentures and debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The summary of selected provisions of the indentures and the debt securities appearing below is not complete and is subject to, and qualified entirely by reference to, all of the provisions of the applicable indenture and certificates evidencing the applicable debt securities. For additional information, you should look at the applicable indenture and the certificate evidencing the applicable debt security that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement that includes the prospectus. In this description of the debt securities, the words “we,” “us,” or “our” refer only to Vivint Solar, Inc. and not to any of our subsidiaries, unless we expressly state or the context otherwise requires.
The following description sets forth selected general terms and provisions of the applicable indenture and debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. Other specific terms of the applicable indenture and debt securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any particular terms of the indenture or debt securities described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described below, then the terms described below will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement
General
Debt securities may be issued in separate series without limitation as to aggregate principal amount. We may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for the debt securities of any series.
We are not limited as to the amount of debt securities we may issue under the indentures. Unless otherwise provided in a prospectus supplement, a series of debt securities may be reopened to issue additional debt securities of such series.
The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities will set forth:
 
 	•	 	whether the debt securities are senior or subordinated;	
 
 	•	 	the offering price;	
 
 	•	 	the title;	
 
 	•	 	any limit on the aggregate principal amount;	
 
 	•	 	the person who shall be entitled to receive interest, if other than the record holder on the record date;	
 
 	•	 	the date or dates the principal will be payable;	
 
 	•	 	the interest rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, if any, the date from which interest will accrue, the interest payment dates and the regular record dates, or the method for calculating the dates and rates;	
 
 	•	 	the place where payments may be made;	
 
 	•	 	any redemption provisions at our option and any applicable redemption prices associated with these provisions;	
 
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 	•	 	any obligation by us to redeem or repurchase any debt securities pursuant to any sinking fund or similar provision or any redemption or repurchase at the option of the holder and any applicable redemption or repurchase terms and conditions and prices associated with these provisions;	
 
 	•	 	if issued other than in denominations of U.S. $1,000 or any multiple of U.S. $1,000, the denominations in which the debt securities shall be issuable;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the method for determining how the principal, premium, if any, or interest will be calculated by reference to an index or formula;	
 
 	•	 	if other than U.S. currency, the currency or currency units in which principal, premium, if any, or interest will be payable and whether we or a holder may elect payment to be made in a different currency;	
 
 	•	 	if the principal, premium or interest on debt securities is payable at our option or the holder thereof in one more currencies or currency units other than those in which debt securities are payable, the currency or currency units in which the principal, premium or interest on the debt securities as to which such election is made shall be payable and the terms and conditions associated with these provisions;	
 
 	•	 	the percentage of the principal amount at which the debt securities may be issued, and if other than the entire amount, the portion of the principal amount that will be payable upon acceleration of maturity;	
 
 	•	 	if the principal amount payable at stated maturity will not be determinable as of any date prior to stated maturity, the amount or method for determining the amount which will be deemed to be the principal amount;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, whether the debt securities shall be subject to the defeasance provisions described below under “Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance” or such other defeasance provisions specified in the applicable prospectus supplement for the debt securities;	
 
 	•	 	any conversion or exchange provisions;	
 
 	•	 	whether the debt securities will be issuable in the form of a global security, the depository for any such global security, the form of legends for any global security and the terms for exchanging any such global security into a definitive registered debt security;	
 
 	•	 	the deletion, addition or change in any event of default, and any change in the right of the trustee or the requisite percentage of holders to declare the principal amount due and payable;	
 
 	•	 	any change or modification to the subordination provisions applicable to the subordinated debt securities if different from those described below under “Subordinated Debt Securities;”	
 
 	•	 	any deletion, addition or change in the covenants set forth in Article 10 of the indenture;	
 
 	•	 	any paying agents, authenticating agents, security registrars or other agents for the debt securities, if other than the trustee;	
 
 	•	 	any provisions relating to any security provided for the debt securities, including any provisions regarding the circumstances under which collateral may be released or substituted;	
 
 	•	 	any provisions relating to guaranties for the securities and any circumstances under which there may be additional obligors;	
 
 	•	 	any provisions granting special rights to holders when a specified event occurs;	
 
 	•	 	any provision with respect to any special interest premium or other premium;	
 
 	•	 	any special tax provisions that apply to the debt securities;	
 
 	•	 	with respect to the debt securities that do not bear interest, the dates for certain required reports to the applicable trustee;	
 
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 	•	 	any and all additional, eliminated or changed terms that will apply to the debt securities; and	
 
 	•	 	any other terms of such debt securities.	
Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be registered debt securities. Debt securities may be sold at a substantial discount below their stated principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which at time of issuance is below market rates. The U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to debt securities sold at a discount will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Exchange and Transfer
Debt securities may be transferred or exchanged at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us.
We will not impose a service charge for any transfer or exchange, but we may require holders to pay any tax or other governmental charges associated with any transfer or exchange.
In the event of any partial redemption of debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:
 
 	•	 	issue, register the transfer of, or exchange, any debt security of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or	
 
 	•	 	register the transfer of or exchange any debt security of that series selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of the debt security being redeemed in part.	
We will appoint the trustee as the initial security registrar. Any transfer agent, in addition to the security registrar initially designated by us, will be named in the prospectus supplement. We may designate additional transfer agents or change transfer agents or change the office of the transfer agent. However, we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.
Global Securities
The debt securities of any series may be represented, in whole or in part, by one or more global securities. Each global security will:
 
 	•	 	be registered in the name of a depositary, or its nominee, that we will identify in a prospectus supplement;	
 
 	•	 	be deposited with the depositary or nominee or custodian; and	
 
 	•	 	bear any required legends.	
No global security may be exchanged in whole or in part for debt securities registered in the name of any person other than the depositary or any nominee unless:
 
 	•	 	the depositary has notified us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or has ceased to be qualified to act as depositary;	
 
 	•	 	an event of default is continuing with respect to the debt securities of the applicable series; or	
 
 	•	 	any other circumstance described in a prospectus supplement has occurred permitting or requiring the issuance of any such security.	
As long as the depositary, or its nominee, is the registered owner of a global security, the depositary or nominee will be considered the sole owner and holder of the debt securities represented by the global security for
 
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all purposes under the indentures. Except in the above limited circumstances, owners of beneficial interests in a global security will not be:
 
 	•	 	entitled to have the debt securities registered in their names;	
 
 	•	 	entitled to physical delivery of certificated debt securities; or	
 
 	•	 	considered to be holders of those debt securities under the indenture.	
Payments on a global security will be made to the depositary or its nominee as the holder of the global security. Some jurisdictions have laws that require that certain purchasers of securities take physical delivery of such securities in definitive form. These laws may impair the ability to transfer beneficial interests in a global security.
Institutions that have accounts with the depositary or its nominee are referred to as “participants.” Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be limited to participants and to persons that may hold beneficial interests through participants. The depositary will credit, on its book-entry registration and transfer system, the respective principal amounts of debt securities represented by the global security to the accounts of its participants.
Ownership of beneficial interests in a global security will be shown on and effected through records maintained by the depositary, with respect to participants’ interests, or any participant, with respect to interests of persons held by participants on their behalf.
Payments, transfers and exchanges relating to beneficial interests in a global security will be subject to policies and procedures of the depositary. The depositary policies and procedures may change from time to time. Neither any trustee nor we will have any responsibility or liability for the depositary’s or any participant’s records with respect to beneficial interests in a global security.
Payment and Paying Agents
Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, the provisions described in this paragraph will apply to the debt securities. Payment of interest on a debt security on any interest payment date will be made to the person in whose name the debt security is registered at the close of business on the regular record date. Payment on debt securities of a particular series will be payable at the office of a paying agent or paying agents designated by us. However, at our option, we may pay interest by mailing a check to the record holder. The trustee will be designated as our initial paying agent.
We may also name any other paying agents in a prospectus supplement. We may designate additional paying agents, change paying agents or change the office of any paying agent. However, we will be required to maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.
All moneys paid by us to a paying agent for payment on any debt security that remain unclaimed for a period ending the earlier of:
 
 	•	 	10 business days prior to the date the money would be turned over to the applicable state; or	
 
 	•	 	at the end of two years after such payment was due,	
will be repaid to us thereafter. The holder may look only to us for such payment.
No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control
Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change in control or in the event of a highly-leveraged transaction, whether or not such transaction results in a change in control.
 
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Covenants
Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, the debt securities will not contain any financial or restrictive covenants.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets
Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement with respect to a particular series of debt securities, we may not consolidate with or merge into any other person (other than one of our subsidiaries), in a transaction in which we are not the surviving corporation, or convey, transfer or lease our properties and assets substantially as an entirety to, any person (other than to one or more subsidiaries of Vivint Solar, Inc.), unless:
 
 	•	 	the successor entity, if any, is a U.S. corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust or other business entity;	
 
 	•	 	the successor entity assumes our obligations on the debt securities and under the indentures;	
 
 	•	 	immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no default or event of default shall have occurred and be continuing; and	
 
 	•	 	certain other conditions specified in the indenture are met.	
Events of Default
Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, the following will be events of default for any series of debt securities under the indentures:
 
 	(1)	we fail to pay principal of or any premium or the redemption price on any debt security of that series when due;	
 
 	(2)	we fail to pay any interest on any debt security of that series for 30 days after it becomes due;	
 
 	(3)	we fail to deposit any sinking fund payment when due;	
 
 	(4)	we default or breach any covenant or warranty in the applicable indenture and such failure continues for 90 days after we are given the notice required in the indentures; and	
 
 	(5)	certain events involving our bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization.	
Additional or different events of default applicable to a series of debt securities may be described in a prospectus supplement. An event of default of one series of debt securities is not necessarily an event of default for any other series of debt securities.
The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of any default, except defaults in the payment of principal, premium, if any, interest, any sinking fund installment on, or with respect to any conversion right of, the debt securities of such series. However, the trustee must consider it to be in the interest of the holders of the debt securities of such series to withhold this notice.
Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, if an event of default, other than an event of default described in clause (5) above, shall occur and be continuing with respect to any series of debt securities, either the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding securities of that series may declare the principal amount and premium, if any, of the debt securities of that series, or if any debt securities of that series are original issue discount securities, such other amount as may be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, in each case together with accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, to be due and payable immediately.
Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, if an event of default described in clause (5) above shall occur, the principal amount and premium, if any, of all the debt securities of that series, or if any debt
 
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securities of that series are original issue discount securities, such other amount as may be specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, in each case together with accrued and unpaid interest thereon, if any, will automatically become immediately due and payable. Any payment by us on the subordinated debt securities following any such acceleration will be subject to the subordination provisions described below under “Subordinated Debt Securities.”
Notwithstanding the foregoing, each indenture will provide that we may, at our option, elect that the sole remedy for an event of default relating to our failure to comply with our obligations described under the section entitled “Reports” below or our failure to comply with the requirements of Section 314(a)(1) of the Trust Indenture Act will for the first 360 days after the occurrence of such an event of default consist exclusively of the right to receive additional interest on the relevant series of debt securities at an annual rate equal to (1) 0.25% of the principal amount of such series of debt securities for the first 180 days after the occurrence of such event of default and (2) 0.50% of the principal amount of such series of debt securities from the 181 st day to, and including, the 360 th day after the occurrence of such event of default, which we call “additional interest.” If we so elect, the additional interest will accrue on all outstanding debt securities from and including the date on which such event of default first occurs until such violation is cured or waived and shall be payable on each relevant interest payment date to holders of record on the regular record date immediately preceding the interest payment date. On the 361 st day after such event of default (if such violation is not cured or waived prior to such 361 st day), the debt securities will be subject to acceleration as provided above. In the event we do not elect to pay additional interest upon any such event of default in accordance with this paragraph, the debt securities will be subject to acceleration as provided above.
In order to elect to pay the additional interest as the sole remedy during the first 360 days after the occurrence of any event of default relating to the failure to comply with the reporting obligations in accordance with the preceding paragraph, we must notify all holders of debt securities and the trustee and paying agent of such election prior to the close of business on the first business day following the date on which such event of default occurs. Upon our failure to timely give such notice or pay the additional interest, the debt securities will be immediately subject to acceleration as provided above.
After acceleration, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding securities of that series may, under certain circumstances, rescind and annul such acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal, or other specified amounts or interest, have been cured or waived.
Other than the duty to act with the required care during an event of default, the trustee will not be obligated to exercise any of its rights or powers at the request of the holders unless the holders shall have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity. Generally, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee.
A holder of debt securities of any series will not have any right to institute any proceeding under the indentures, or for the appointment of a receiver or a trustee, or for any other remedy under the indentures, unless:
 
 	(1)	the holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default with respect to the debt securities of that series;	
 
 	(2)	the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made a written request and have offered reasonable indemnity to the trustee to institute the proceeding; and	
 
 	(3)	the trustee has failed to institute the proceeding and has not received direction inconsistent with the original request from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series within 60 days after the original request.	
 
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Holders may, however, sue to enforce the payment of principal, premium or interest on any debt security on or after the due date or to enforce the right, if any, to convert any debt security (if the debt security is convertible) without following the procedures listed in (1) through (3) above.
We will furnish the trustee an annual statement from our officers as to whether or not we are in default in the performance of the conditions and covenants under the indenture and, if so, specifying all known defaults.
Modification and Waiver
Unless we indicate otherwise in a prospectus supplement, the applicable trustee and we may make modifications and amendments to an indenture with the consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding securities of each series affected by the modification or amendment.
We may also make modifications and amendments to the indentures for the benefit of holders without their consent, for certain purposes including, but not limited to:
 
 	•	 	to evidence the succession of another person to Vivint Solar, or successive successions, and the assumption by any such successor of the covenants of Vivint Solar in the indentures in compliance with Article 8 of the indentures;	
 
 	•	 	adding covenants for the benefit of holders or surrendering any right or power conferred upon Vivint Solar;	
 
 	•	 	adding events of default for the benefit of holders;	
 
 	•	 	making certain changes to facilitate the issuance of the debt securities in bearer form, registrable or not registrable as to the principal, with or without interest coupons, or permit or facilitate the issuance of debt securities in uncertificated form;	
 
 	•	 	to add to, change or eliminate any of the provisions of the indentures or series of securities, provided that any such addition, change or elimination (1) shall neither (a) apply to any security of any series created prior to the execution of such supplemental indenture and entitled to the benefit of such provision nor (b) modify the rights of the holder of any such security with respect to such provision or (2) shall become effective only when there is no such security outstanding;	
 
 	•	 	securing the debt securities, including provisions regarding the circumstances under which collateral may be released and substituted;	
 
 	•	 	providing for guaranties of, or adding additional obligors on, the debt securities;	
 
 	•	 	to establish the form or term of debt securities as permitted by Sections 2.1 and 3.1 of the indenture;	
 
 	•	 	providing for a successor trustee or additional trustees;	
 
 	•	 	conforming the indenture to the description of the securities set forth in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement;	
 
 	•	 	curing any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency or to make any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the indenture;	
 
 	•	 	supplementing any of the provisions of the indenture to such extent as shall be necessary to permit or facilitate the defeasance and discharge of the debt securities, provided that such action shall not adversely affect the interest of the holders in any material respect;	
 
 	•	 	make such other provisions in regard to matters or questions arising under the indentures or under any supplemental indentures as our board of directors may deem necessary or desirable, and which does not in each case adversely affect the interests of the holders of the debt securities of a series; and	
 
 	•	 	comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualifications of the indentures under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”).	
 
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However, neither the trustee nor we may make any modification or amendment without the consent of the holder of each outstanding security of that series affected by the modification or amendment if such modification or amendment would:
 
 	•	 	change the stated maturity of the principal of, or any installment of principal or interest on, any debt security;	
 
 	•	 	reduce the principal, premium, if any, or interest on any debt security or any premium payable upon redemption or repurchase, whether at our option or the option of any holder, or reduce the amount of any sinking fund payments;	
 
 	•	 	reduce the principal of an original issue discount security or any other debt security payable on acceleration of maturity;	
 
 	•	 	change the place of payment or the currency in which any debt security is payable;	
 
 	•	 	impair the right to enforce any payment after the stated maturity (or in the case of redemption, on or after the redemption date);	
 
 	•	 	if subordinated debt securities, modify the subordination provisions in a materially adverse manner to the holders;	
 
 	•	 	adversely affect the right to convert any debt security if the debt security is a convertible debt security; or	
 
 	•	 	change the provisions in the indenture that relate to modifying or amending the indenture.	
Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance
We may be discharged from our obligations on the debt securities, subject to limited exceptions, of any series that have matured or will mature or be redeemed within one year if we deposit enough money with the trustee to pay all the principal, interest and any premium due to the stated maturity date or redemption date of the debt securities.
Each indenture contains a provision that permits us to elect either or both of the following:
 
 	•	 	we may elect to be discharged from all of our obligations, subject to limited exceptions, with respect to any series of debt securities then outstanding. If we make this election, the holders of the debt securities of the series will not be entitled to the benefits of the indenture, except for the rights of holders to receive payments on debt securities or the registration of transfer and exchange of debt securities and replacement of lost, stolen or mutilated debt securities.	
 
 	•	 	we may elect to be released from our obligations under some or all of any financial or restrictive covenants applicable to the series of debt securities to which the election relates and from the consequences of an event of default resulting from a breach of those covenants.	
To make either of the above elections, we must irrevocably deposit in trust with the trustee enough money to pay in full the principal, interest and premium on the debt securities. This amount may be made in cash and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars, cash in the currency in which such series of securities is denominated and/or foreign government obligations. As a condition to either of the above elections, for debt securities denominated in U.S. dollars we must deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel that the holders of the debt securities will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the action.
With respect to debt securities of any series that are denominated in a currency other than United States dollars, “foreign government obligations” means:
 
 	•	 	direct obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued the currency in which such securities are denominated and for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged,	
 
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 	or, with respect to debt securities of any series which are denominated in Euros, direct obligations of certain members of the European Union for the payment of which obligations the full faith and credit of such members is pledged, which in each case are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof; or	
 
 	•	 	obligations of a person controlled or supervised by or acting as an agency or instrumentality of a government described in the bullet above the timely payment of which is unconditionally guaranteed as a full faith and credit obligation by such government, which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof.	
Notices
Notices to holders will be given by mail to the addresses of the holders in the security register.
Governing Law
The indentures and the debt securities will be governed by, and construed under, the laws of the State of New York.
No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and Stockholders
No incorporator, stockholder, employee, agent, officer, director or subsidiary of ours will have any liability for any obligations of ours, or because of the creation of any indebtedness under the debt securities, the indentures or supplemental indentures. The indentures provide that all such liability is expressly waived and released as a condition of, and as a consideration for, the execution of such indentures and the issuance of the debt securities.
Regarding the Trustee
The indentures limit the right of the trustee, should it become our creditor, to obtain payment of claims or secure its claims.
The trustee will be permitted to engage in certain other transactions with us. However, if the trustee acquires any conflicting interest, and there is a default under the debt securities of any series for which it is trustee, the trustee must eliminate the conflict or resign.
Subordinated Debt Securities
The following provisions will be applicable with respect to each series of subordinated debt securities, unless otherwise stated in the prospectus supplement relating to that series of subordinated debt securities.
The indebtedness evidenced by the subordinated debt securities of any series is subordinated, to the extent provided in the subordinated indenture and the applicable prospectus supplement, to the prior payment in full, in cash or other payment satisfactory to the holders of senior debt, of all senior debt, including any senior debt securities.
Upon any distribution of our assets upon any dissolution, winding up, liquidation or reorganization, whether voluntary or involuntary, marshalling of assets, assignment for the benefit of creditors, or in bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership or other similar proceedings, payments on the subordinated debt securities will be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt of all senior debt.
 
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In the event of any acceleration of the subordinated debt securities of any series because of an event of default with respect to the subordinated debt securities of that series, holders of any senior debt would be entitled to payment in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt of all senior debt before the holders of subordinated debt securities are entitled to receive any payment or distribution.
In addition, the subordinated debt securities will be structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries, including trade payables and lease obligations. This occurs because our right to receive any assets of our subsidiaries upon their liquidation or reorganization, and your right to participate in those assets, will be effectively subordinated to the claims of that subsidiary’s creditors, including trade creditors, except to the extent that we are recognized as a creditor of such subsidiary. If we are recognized as a creditor of that subsidiary, our claims would still be subordinate to any security interest in the assets of the subsidiary and any indebtedness of the subsidiary senior to us.
We are required to promptly notify holders of senior debt or their representatives under the subordinated indenture if payment of the subordinated debt securities is accelerated because of an event of default.
Under the subordinated indenture, we may not make payment on the subordinated debt securities if:
 
 	•	 	a default in our obligations to pay principal, premium, if any, interest or other amounts on our senior debt occurs and the default continues beyond any applicable grace period, which we refer to as a payment default; or	
 
 	•	 	any other default occurs and is continuing with respect to designated senior debt that permits holders of designated senior debt to accelerate its maturity, which we refer to as a non-payment default, and the trustee receives a payment blockage notice from us or some other person permitted to give the notice under the subordinated indenture.	
We will resume payments on the subordinated debt securities:
 
 	•	 	in case of a payment default, when the default is cured or waived or ceases to exist, and	
 
 	•	 	in case of a non-payment default, the earlier of when the default is cured or waived or ceases to exist or 179 days after the receipt of the payment blockage notice.	
No new payment blockage period may commence on the basis of a non-payment default unless 365 days have elapsed from the effectiveness of the immediately prior payment blockage notice. No non-payment default that existed or was continuing on the date of delivery of any payment blockage notice to the trustee shall be the basis for a subsequent payment blockage notice.
As a result of these subordination provisions, in the event of our bankruptcy, dissolution or reorganization, holders of senior debt may receive more, ratably, and holders of the subordinated debt securities may receive less, ratably, than our other creditors. The subordination provisions will not prevent the occurrence of any event of default under the subordinated indenture.
The subordination provisions will not apply to payments from money or government obligations held in trust by the trustee for the payment of principal, interest and premium, if any, on subordinated debt securities pursuant to the provisions described under the section entitled “Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance,” if the subordination provisions were not violated at the time the money or government obligations were deposited into trust.
If the trustee or any holder receives any payment that should not have been made to them in contravention of subordination provisions before all senior debt is paid in full in cash or other payment satisfactory to holders of senior debt, then such payment will be held in trust for the holders of senior debt.
Senior debt securities will constitute senior debt under the subordinated indenture.
 
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Additional or different subordination provisions may be described in a prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities.
Definitions
“Designated senior debt” means our obligations under any particular senior debt in which the instrument creating or evidencing the same or the assumption or guarantee thereof, or related agreements or documents to which we are a party, expressly provides that such indebtedness shall be designated senior debt for purposes of the subordinated indenture. The instrument, agreement or other document evidencing any designated senior debt may place limitations and conditions on the right of such senior debt to exercise the rights of designated senior debt.
“Indebtedness” means the following, whether absolute or contingent, secured or unsecured, due or to become due, outstanding on the date of the indenture for such series of securities or thereafter created, incurred or assumed:
 
 	•	 	our indebtedness evidenced by a credit or loan agreement, note, bond, debenture or other written obligation;	
 
 	•	 	all of our obligations for money borrowed;	
 
 	•	 	all of our obligations evidenced by a note or similar instrument given in connection with the acquisition of any businesses, properties or assets of any kind,	
 
 	•	 	our obligations:	
 
 	•	 	as lessee under leases required to be capitalized on the balance sheet of the lessee under generally accepted accounting principles, or	
 
 	•	 	as lessee under leases for facilities, capital equipment or related assets, whether or not capitalized, entered into or leased for financing purposes;	
 
 	•	 	all of our obligations under interest rate and currency swaps, caps, floors, collars, hedge agreements, forward contracts or similar agreements or arrangements;	
 
 	•	 	all of our obligations with respect to letters of credit, bankers’ acceptances and similar facilities, including reimbursement obligations with respect to the foregoing;	
 
 	•	 	all of our obligations issued or assumed as the deferred purchase price of property or services, but excluding trade accounts payable and accrued liabilities arising in the ordinary course of business;	
 
 	•	 	all obligations of the type referred to in the above clauses of another person, the payment of which, in either case, we have assumed or guaranteed, for which we are responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, jointly or severally, as obligor, guarantor or otherwise, or which are secured by a lien on our property; and	
 
 	•	 	renewals, extensions, modifications, replacements, restatements and refundings of, or any indebtedness or obligation issued in exchange for, any such indebtedness or obligation described in the above clauses of this definition.	
“Senior debt” means the principal of, premium, if any, and interest, including all interest accruing subsequent to the commencement of any bankruptcy or similar proceeding, whether or not a claim for post-petition interest is allowable as a claim in any such proceeding, and rent payable on or in connection with, and all fees and other amounts payable in connection with, our indebtedness. However, senior debt shall not include:
 
 	•	 	any debt or obligation if its terms or the terms of the instrument under which or pursuant to which it is issued expressly provide that it shall not be senior in right of payment to the subordinated debt securities or expressly provide that such indebtedness is on the same basis or “junior” to the subordinated debt securities; or	
 
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 	•	 	debt to any of our subsidiaries, a majority of the voting stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by us.	
“Subsidiary” means a corporation more than 50% of the outstanding voting stock of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by us or by one or more of our other subsidiaries or by a combination of us and our other subsidiaries. For purposes of this definition, “voting stock” means stock or other similar interests which ordinarily has or have voting power for the election of directors, or persons performing similar functions, whether at all times or only so long as no senior class of stock or other interests has or have such voting power by reason of any contingency.
 
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 DESCRIPTION OF THE WARRANTS
General
We may issue warrants for the purchase of our debt securities, preferred stock or common stock, or any combination thereof. Warrants may be issued independently or together with our debt securities, preferred stock or common stock and may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants. The warrant agent will not have any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders or beneficial owners of warrants. This summary of certain provisions of the warrants is not complete. For the terms of a particular series of warrants, you should refer to the prospectus supplement for that series of warrants and the warrant agreement for that particular series.
Debt Warrants
The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of warrants to purchase debt securities will describe the terms of the debt warrants, including the following:
 
 	•	 	the title of the debt warrants;	
 
 	•	 	the offering price for the debt warrants, if any;	
 
 	•	 	the aggregate number of the debt warrants;	
 
 	•	 	the designation and terms of the debt securities, including any conversion rights, purchasable upon exercise of the debt warrants;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the date from and after which the debt warrants and any debt securities issued with them will be separately transferable;	
 
 	•	 	the principal amount of debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a debt warrant and the exercise price for the warrants, which may be payable in cash, securities or other property;	
 
 	•	 	the dates on which the right to exercise the debt warrants will commence and expire;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the debt warrants that may be exercised at any one time;	
 
 	•	 	whether the debt warrants represented by the debt warrant certificates or debt securities that may be issued upon exercise of the debt warrants will be issued in registered or bearer form;	
 
 	•	 	information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations;	
 
 	•	 	the antidilution provisions of the debt warrants, if any;	
 
 	•	 	the redemption or call provisions, if any, applicable to the debt warrants;	
 
 	•	 	any provisions with respect to the holder’s right to require us to repurchase the warrants upon a change in control or similar event; and	
 
 	•	 	any additional terms of the debt warrants, including procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the debt warrants.	
Debt warrant certificates will be exchangeable for new debt warrant certificates of different denominations. Debt warrants may be exercised at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement. Prior to the exercise of their debt warrants, holders of debt warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the debt securities purchasable upon exercise and will not be entitled to payment of principal or any premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities purchasable upon exercise.
 
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Equity Warrants
The prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants to purchase our common stock or preferred stock will describe the terms of the warrants, including the following:
 
 	•	 	the title of the warrants;	
 
 	•	 	the offering price for the warrants, if any;	
 
 	•	 	the aggregate number of warrants;	
 
 	•	 	the designation and terms of the common stock or preferred stock that may be purchased upon exercise of the warrants;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each security;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and any securities issued with the warrants will be separately transferable;	
 
 	•	 	the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock that may be purchased upon exercise of a warrant and the exercise price for the warrants;	
 
 	•	 	the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants shall commence and expire;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time;	
 
 	•	 	the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax considerations;	
 
 	•	 	the antidilution provisions of the warrants, if any;	
 
 	•	 	the redemption or call provisions, if any, applicable to the warrants;	
 
 	•	 	any provisions with respect to the holder’s right to require us to repurchase the warrants upon a change in control or similar event; and	
 
 	•	 	any additional terms of the warrants, including procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the warrants.	
Holders of equity warrants will not be entitled:
 
 	•	 	to vote, consent or receive dividends;	
 
 	•	 	receive notice as stockholders with respect to any meeting of stockholders for the election of our directors or any other matter; or	
 
 	•	 	exercise any rights as stockholders of us.	
The descriptions of the warrants in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement are summaries of the material provisions of the applicable warrants. These descriptions do not restate those warrants in their entirety and may not contain all the information that you may find useful. We urge you to read the applicable warrants because they, and not the summaries, define your rights as holders of the warrants. For more information, please review the forms of the relevant warrants, which will be filed with the SEC promptly after the offering of warrants and will be available as described in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
 
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 DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS
We may issue subscription rights to purchase our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. These subscription rights may be offered independently or together with any other security offered hereby and may or may not be transferable by the stockholder receiving the subscription rights in such offering. In connection with any offering of subscription rights, we may enter into a standby arrangement with one or more underwriters or other purchasers pursuant to which the underwriters or other purchasers may be required to purchase any securities remaining unsubscribed for after such offering.
The prospectus supplement relating to any subscription rights we offer, if any, will, to the extent applicable, include specific terms relating to the offering, including some or all of the following:
 
 	•	 	the price, if any, for the subscription rights;	
 
 	•	 	the exercise price payable for our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities upon the exercise of the subscription rights;	
 
 	•	 	the number of subscription rights to be issued to each stockholder;	
 
 	•	 	the number and terms of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities which may be purchased per each subscription right;	
 
 	•	 	the extent to which the subscription rights are transferable;	
 
 	•	 	any other terms of the subscription rights, including the terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the subscription rights;	
 
 	•	 	the date on which the right to exercise the subscription rights shall commence, and the date on which the subscription rights shall expire;	
 
 	•	 	the extent to which the subscription rights may include an over-subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed securities or an over-allotment privilege to the extent the securities are fully subscribed; and	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or purchase arrangement which may be entered into by Avinger in connection with the offering of subscription rights.	
The descriptions of the subscription rights in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement are summaries of the material provisions of the applicable subscription right agreements. These descriptions do not restate those subscription right agreements in their entirety and may not contain all the information that you may find useful. We urge you to read the applicable subscription right agreements because they, and not the summaries, define your rights as holders of the subscription rights. For more information, please review the forms of the relevant subscription right agreements, which will be filed with the SEC promptly after the offering of subscription rights and will be available as described in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
 
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 DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
We may issue units comprised of one or more of the other classes of securities described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security. The units may be issued under unit agreements to be entered into between us and a unit agent, as detailed in the prospectus supplement relating to the units being offered. The prospectus supplement will describe:
 
 	•	 	the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances the securities comprising the units may be held or transferred separately;	
 
 	•	 	a description of the terms of any unit agreement governing the units;	
 
 	•	 	a description of the provisions for the payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units;	
 
 	•	 	a discussion of material federal income tax considerations, if applicable; and	
 
 	•	 	whether the units if issued as a separate security will be issued in fully registered or global form.	
The descriptions of the units in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement are summaries of the material provisions of the applicable unit agreements. These descriptions do not restate those unit agreements in their entirety and may not contain all the information that you may find useful. We urge you to read the applicable unit agreements because they, and not the summaries, define your rights as holders of the units. For more information, please review the forms of the relevant unit agreements, which will be filed with the SEC promptly after the offering of units and will be available as described in the section titled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
 
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SELLING STOCKHOLDERS
This prospectus also relates to the possible resale by certain of our stockholders, who we refer to in this prospectus as the “selling stockholders,” of shares of our common stock that were issued and outstanding prior to the original date of filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, including shares that may be owned by affiliates. Unless the context otherwise requires, as used in this prospectus, “selling stockholders” may also include pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors-in-interest selling shares received from the selling stockholders as a gift, pledge, partnership distribution or other transfer after the date of this prospectus.
The selling stockholders originally acquired the shares of our common stock included in this prospectus through several private placements of our convertible preferred stock prior to our initial public offering, all of which shares were converted into shares of our common stock in connection with our initial public offering.
Information about the selling stockholders, where applicable, including their identities, the amount of shares of common stock owned by each selling stockholder prior to the offering, the number of shares of our common stock to be offered by each selling stockholder and the amount of common stock to be owned by each selling stockholder after completion of the offering, will be set forth in an applicable prospectus supplement, documents incorporated by reference or in a free writing prospectus we file with the SEC. The applicable prospectus supplement will also disclose whether any of the selling stockholders has held any position or office with, has been employed by or otherwise has had a material relationship with us during the three years prior to the date of the prospectus supplement.
The selling stockholders shall not sell any shares of our common stock pursuant to this prospectus until we have identified such selling stockholders and the shares being offered for resale by such selling stockholders in a subsequent prospectus supplement. However, the selling stockholders may sell or transfer all or a portion of their shares of our common stock pursuant to any available exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
 
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 PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities offered through this prospectus (1) to or through underwriters or dealers, (2) directly to purchasers, including our affiliates, (3) through agents, or (4) through a combination of any of these methods. The securities may be distributed at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, market prices prevailing at the time of sale, prices related to the prevailing market prices, or negotiated prices. The prospectus supplement will include the following information:
 
 	•	 	the terms of the offering;	
 
 	•	 	the names of any underwriters or agents;	
 
 	•	 	the name or names of any managing underwriter or underwriters;	
 
 	•	 	if applicable, the names of any selling stockholders;	
 
 	•	 	the purchase price of the securities;	
 
 	•	 	the net proceeds from the sale of the securities;	
 
 	•	 	any delayed delivery arrangements;	
 
 	•	 	any underwriting discounts, commissions or agency fees and other items constituting underwriters’ or agents’ compensation;	
 
 	•	 	any initial price to public;	
 
 	•	 	any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and	
 
 	•	 	any commissions paid to agents.	
In addition, the manner in which we and/or the selling stockholders may sell some or all of the securities covered by this prospectus includes, without limitation, through:
 
 	•	 	a block trade in which a broker-dealer will attempt to sell as agent, but may position or resell a portion of the block, as principal, in order to facilitate the transaction;	
 
 	•	 	purchases by a broker-dealer, as principal, and resale by the broker-dealer for its account;	
 
 	•	 	ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker solicits purchasers; or	
 
 	•	 	privately negotiated transactions.	
We may issue to the holders of our common stock on a pro rata basis for no consideration, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock or preferred stock. These subscription rights may or may not be transferable by stockholders. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the specific terms of any offering of our common or preferred stock through the issuance of subscription rights, including the terms of the subscription rights offering, the terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the subscription rights and, if applicable, the material terms of any standby underwriting or purchase arrangement entered into by us in connection with the offering of common or preferred stock through the issuance of subscription rights.
Sale through Underwriters or Dealers
If underwriters are used in the sale, the underwriters will acquire the securities for their own account, including through underwriting, purchase, security lending or repurchase agreements with us or the selling stockholders. The underwriters may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions. Underwriters may sell the securities in order to facilitate transactions in any of our other securities (described in this prospectus or otherwise), including other public or private transactions and short
 
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sales. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all the offered securities if they purchase any of them (other than any securities purchased upon exercise of any option to purchase additional securities). In connection with any offering of common stock pursuant to this prospectus, underwriters may have an option to purchase additional shares of common stock from us or certain of our stockholders. We will provide information regarding any such option to purchase additional shares of common stock from us or our stockholders in the applicable prospectus supplement. The underwriters may change from time to time any initial public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the principal underwriters, the respective amount of securities underwritten, the nature of the obligation of the underwriters to take the securities and the nature of any material relationship between an underwriter and us or the selling stockholders, as applicable.
If dealers are used in the sale of securities offered through this prospectus, we or the selling stockholders will sell the securities to them as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.
Direct Sales and Sales through Agents
We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities offered through this prospectus directly. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. Such securities may also be sold through agents designated from time to time. The prospectus supplement will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the offered securities and will describe any commissions payable to the agent by us or the selling stockholders. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, any agent will agree to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of its appointment.
We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities directly to institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those securities. The terms of any such sales will be described in the prospectus supplement.
Delayed Delivery Contracts
If the prospectus supplement indicates, we or the selling stockholders may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from certain types of institutions to purchase securities at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts. These contracts would provide for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The contracts would be subject only to those conditions described in the prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the commission payable for solicitation of those contracts.
At-the-Market Offerings
To the extent that we or the selling stockholders make sales through one or more underwriters or agents in at-the-market offerings, we will do so pursuant to the terms of a sales agency financing agreement or other at-the-market offering arrangement between us or the selling stockholders, on one hand, and the underwriters or agents, on the other. If we engage in at-the-market sales pursuant to any such agreement, we or the selling stockholders will issue and sell our securities through one or more underwriters or agents, which may act on an agency basis or a principal basis. During the term of any such agreement, we or the selling stockholders may sell securities on a daily basis in exchange transactions or otherwise as we or the selling stockholders agree with the underwriters or agents. Any such agreement will provide that any securities sold will be sold at prices related to the then prevailing market prices for our securities. Therefore, exact figures regarding proceeds that will be
 
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raised or commissions to be paid cannot be determined as of the date of this prospectus. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, we or the selling stockholders may agree to sell, and the relevant underwriters or agents may agree to solicit offers to purchase, blocks of our common stock or other securities. The terms of any such agreement will be set forth in more detail in the applicable prospectus or prospectus supplement.
Market Making, Stabilization and Other Transactions
Unless the applicable prospectus supplement states otherwise, each series of offered securities will be a new issue and will have no established trading market. We may elect to list any series of offered securities on an exchange. Any underwriters that we or the selling stockholders use in the sale of offered securities may make a market in such securities, but may discontinue such market making at any time without notice. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the securities will have a liquid trading market.
Any underwriter may also over-allot or engage in stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Rule 104 under the Exchange Act. Over-allotment or short sales involve sales by persons participating in the offering of more securities than were sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option, if any. Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase the underlying security in the open market for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of the securities. Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the securities originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. These transactions may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would be in the absence of the transactions. The underwriters may, if they commence these transactions, discontinue them at any time.
Derivative Transactions and Hedging
We, the selling stockholders the underwriters or other agents may engage in derivative transactions involving the securities. These derivatives may consist of short sale transactions and other hedging activities. The underwriters or agents may acquire a long or short position in the securities, hold or resell securities acquired and purchase options or futures on the securities and other derivative instruments with returns linked to or related to changes in the price of the securities. In order to facilitate these derivative transactions, we or the selling stockholders may enter into security lending or repurchase agreements with the underwriters or agents. The underwriters or agents may effect the derivative transactions through sales of the securities to the public, including short sales, or by lending the securities in order to facilitate short sale transactions by others. The underwriters or agents may also use the securities purchased or borrowed from us or others (or, in the case of derivatives, securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives) to directly or indirectly settle sales of the securities or close out any related open borrowings of the securities.
In addition, the selling stockholders may enter into hedging transactions with dealers which may engage in short sales of shares of our common stock in the course of hedging the positions they assume with the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders may also sell shares of our common stock short and deliver shares of our common stock to close out such short position. The selling stockholders may also enter into option or other transactions with dealers that require the delivery by such dealers of shares of our common stock, which securities may be resold thereafter pursuant to this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement.
Electronic Auctions
We or the selling stockholders may also make sales through the Internet or through other electronic means. Since we or the selling stockholders may from time to time elect to offer securities directly to the public, with or without the involvement of agents, underwriters or dealers, utilizing the Internet or other forms of electronic
 
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bidding or ordering systems for the pricing and allocation of such securities, you will want to pay particular attention to the description of that system we will provide in a prospectus supplement.
Such electronic system may allow bidders to directly participate, through electronic access to an auction site, by submitting conditional offers to buy that are subject to acceptance by us or the selling stockholders, and which may directly affect the price or other terms and conditions at which such securities are sold. These bidding or ordering systems may present to each bidder, on a so-called “real-time” basis, relevant information to assist in making a bid, such as the clearing spread at which the offering would be sold, based on the bids submitted, and whether a bidder’s individual bids would be accepted, prorated or rejected. For example, in the case of debt security, the clearing spread could be indicated as a number of “basis points” above an index treasury note. Of course, many pricing methods can and may also be used.
Upon completion of such an electronic auction process, securities will be allocated based on prices bid, terms of bid or other factors. The final offering price at which securities would be sold and the allocation of securities among bidders would be based in whole or in part on the results of the Internet or other electronic bidding process or auction.
Indemnification, Other Relationships
Agents, underwriters, and dealers may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us or the selling stockholders, to indemnification by us or the selling stockholders against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Agents, underwriters, and dealers, or their affiliates, may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us or the selling stockholders, in the ordinary course of business. In no event will the total amount of compensation paid to the agents, underwriters and dealers upon completion of any offering exceed 8.0% of the gross proceeds of such offering.
 
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 LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation, Palo Alto, California. Additional legal matters may be passed on for us, or any underwriters, dealers or agents by counsel we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
 EXPERTS
Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our financial statements are, and audited financial statements to be included in subsequently filed documents will be, incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s reports (to the extent covered by consents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission), given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
 WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and other reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments to those reports, and other information that we file with or furnish to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act can also be accessed free charge through the investor relations page of our website located at http://investors.vivintsolar.com/company/investors/financial-information/sec-filings/default.aspx. These filings will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not part of this prospectus.
 
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 INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
We “incorporate by reference” certain documents we file with the SEC, which means that we are disclosing important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and any information contained in this prospectus or in any document incorporated by reference in this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or free writing prospectus provided to you in connection with this offering, or in any other document we subsequently file with the SEC that also is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, modifies or supersedes the original statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to be a part of this prospectus.
The following documents filed with the SEC are hereby incorporated by reference in this prospectus:
 
 	•	 	our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, filed with the SEC on March 7, 2018, including portions of our proxy statement relating to our 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 13, 2018 to the extent incorporated by reference into such Annual Report on Form 10-K;	
 
 	•	 	our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, filed with the SEC on May 8, 2018 and August 7, 2018, respectively;	
 
 	•	 	our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 5, 2018, June 12, 2018, June 13, 2018, and August 7, 2018, and Current Report on Form 8-K/A filed with the SEC on June 13, 2018;	
 
 	•	 	the description of our common stock as set forth in our registration statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-36642), filed with the SEC on September 24, 2014, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any subsequent amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.	
All reports and other documents subsequently filed by us pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of this offering shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such reports and other documents.
Notwithstanding the statements in the preceding paragraphs, no document, report or exhibit (or portion of any of the foregoing) or any other information that we have “furnished” or may in the future “furnish” to the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act shall be incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
We hereby undertake to provide without charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a copy of this prospectus is delivered, upon written or oral request of any such person, a copy of any and all of the information that has been or may be incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to such documents, unless such exhibits have been specifically incorporated by reference thereto. Requests for such copies should be directed to our Investor Relations department, at the following address: Vivint Solar, Inc., 1800 West Ashton Blvd., Lehi, Utah 84043, Attention: Investor Relations, or you may call us at (877) 404-4129.
 
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8,000,000 Shares
Vivint Solar, Inc.
Common Stock

PROSPECTUS    SUPPLEMENT
 
BofA Merrill Lynch
Barclays
Citigroup
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Bank Securities
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC
Morgan Stanley
Blackstone Capital Markets
Guggenheim Securities
JMP Securities
KeyBanc Capital Markets
Oppenheimer & Co.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey
November 29, 2018