Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2017

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding interim financial reporting. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. As such, these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. The unaudited consolidated financial statements are prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments (all of which are considered of normal recurring nature) considered necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial results. The results of the six months ended June 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 or other future periods.

The consolidated financial statements reflect the accounts and operations of the Company and those of its subsidiaries, including Funds, in which the Company has a controlling financial interest. The typical condition for a controlling financial interest ownership is holding a majority of the voting interests of an entity. However, a controlling financial interest may also exist in entities, such as variable interest entities (“VIEs”), through arrangements that do not involve controlling voting interests. In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification Topic 810 (“ASC 810”) Consolidation, the Company consolidates any VIE of which it is the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary, as defined in ASC 810, is the party that has (1) the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and (2) the obligation to absorb the losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The Company evaluates its relationships with its VIEs on an ongoing basis to determine whether it continues to be the primary beneficiary. The consolidated financial statements reflect the assets and liabilities of VIEs that are consolidated. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. The Company regularly makes significant estimates and assumptions, including, but not limited to, the estimates that affect the collectability of accounts receivable, the valuation of inventories, the useful lives of solar energy systems, the useful lives of property and equipment, the valuation and useful lives of intangible assets, the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the effective interest rate used to amortize lease pass-through financing obligations, the fair value used to value solar energy systems, the valuation of stock-based compensation, the determination of valuation allowances associated with deferred tax assets, the fair value of debt instruments disclosed and the redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interests. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be reasonable. Actual results may differ from such estimates.

Segment Information

The Company has one operating segment with one business activity, providing solar energy services and products to customers. The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is its Chief Executive Officer, who manages operations on a consolidated basis for purposes of allocating resources. When evaluating performance and allocating resources, the CODM reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis.

Revenues from external customers (including, but not limited to homeowners) for each group of similar products and services are as follows (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Operating leases	$	47,034	$	32,980	$	82,096	$	58,307
Incentives	18,303		12,414		31,339		21,627
Operating leases and incentives	65,337		45,394		113,435		79,934

Solar energy systems	28,078		35,878		48,697		66,070
Products	44,433		41,266		79,833		75,277
Solar energy systems and product sales	72,511		77,144		128,530		141,347
Total revenue	$	137,848	$	122,538	$	241,965	$	221,281

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The Company uses valuation approaches to measure fair value that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The FASB establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements as follows:


•	Level 1—Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date;


•	Level 2—Inputs are observable, unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the related assets or liabilities; and


•	Level 3—Inputs that are unobservable, significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities and are supported by little or no market data.

The Company’s financial instruments include cash, receivables, accounts payable, accrued expenses, distributions payable to noncontrolling interests, derivatives, and recourse and non-recourse debt.

Recently Issued and Adopted Accounting Standards

In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The standard establishes a single revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers, eliminates industry specific requirements, and expands disclosure requirements. This ASU is effective for the Company for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 including the interim reporting periods within that fiscal year. Adoption of this ASU is either retrospective to each prior period presented or retrospective with a cumulative adjustment to retained earnings or accumulated deficit as of the adoption date.

The Company currently accounts for Customer Agreements pursuant to ASC 840, Leases. The Company currently believes the adoption of ASC 842, Leases ("ASC 842") will cause Customer Agreements to be accounted for under ASC 606. As such, the Company is considering adopting ASC 842 simultaneously with its adoption of ASC 606.

Under ASC 606, total consideration for Customer Agreements, including price escalators, may be recognized ratably over the term of the Customer Agreement. Customer Agreements with a prepaid element may include a significant financing component which will increase total consideration and interest expense using the effective interest rate method. The Company expects to accelerate the timing of revenue recognition for certain incentives recognized under "Operating leases and incentives." The accounting is not expected to materially differ for revenue currently recognized as "Solar energy systems and product sales."

The Company is continuing to assess the impact of such changes, as well as other potential impacts of the revenue and lease standards. The Company has a project plan in place to meet the requirements of these standards using internal resources and consultants. The Company has completed its initial assessment and is currently performing contract reviews and developing a preliminary accounting policy.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02 to replace existing lease guidance with ASC 842, Leases. ASC 842 changes how the definition of a lease is applied and judgment may be required in applying the definition of a lease to certain arrangements. The new standard may result in certain contracts no longer being leases. For lessees, the standard requires all leases with an initial term greater than one year be recorded on the balance sheet as an asset and a lease liability. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. Adoption of this ASU is applied using a modified retrospective approach.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation. The new guidance requires all income tax effects of awards to be recognized in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled. It also requires the Company to make an accounting policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest or account for forfeitures as they occur. The Company adopted the new ASU effective January 1, 2017. The Company elected to continue to estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest. Upon the adoption, deferred tax liabilities decreased by $3.3 million, and retained earnings increased by $3.3 million as of January 1, 2017.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which replaces the current incurred loss impairment methodology with a current expected credit losses model. The amendment applies to entities which hold financial assets and net investment in leases that are not accounted for at fair value through net income as well as loans, debt securities, trade receivables, net investments in leases, off-balance sheet credit exposures, reinsurance receivables and any other financial assets not excluded from the scope that have the contractual right to receive cash. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. Adoption of this ASU is applied using a modified retrospective approach, with certain aspects requiring a prospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance and the impact it may have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory, which requires entities to recognize income tax consequences of an intra-entity transfer of an asset other than inventory when the transfer occurs. As a result, a reporting entity will recognize the tax expense from the sale of assets in the seller’s tax jurisdiction when the transfer occurs, even though the pre-tax effects of the transaction are eliminated in the consolidated financial statements. Any deferred tax asset that arises in the buyer’s jurisdiction will also be recognized at the time of the transfer. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2017. As the Company sells solar energy systems to Funds, the Company will record the current tax effects of the gain on such sales as well as a deferred tax asset related to the Company’s increased tax basis in the partnership as a result of such sales. As a result of the adoption, the Company reversed net prepaid tax assets of $378.5 million, recognized gross deferred tax assets of $378.2 million and recorded a cumulative adjustment decreasing retained earnings by $0.3 million as of January 1, 2017.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230), Restricted Cash, which requires a statement of cash flows to present the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. Adoption of this ASU is applied using a retrospective approach. As a result, the Company will no longer present transfers between cash and restricted cash in the consolidated cash flow statements upon adoption in the first quarter of 2018.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805), Clarifying the Definition of a Business, to clarify the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions of assets or businesses. The amendments in this update provide a screen to determine when a set of operations is not a business. The screen requires that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired (or disposed of) is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not a business. This screen reduces the number of transactions that need to be further evaluated. The Company early adopted the new ASU effective January 1, 2017 on a prospective basis.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350), Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Instead, under this amendment, an entity shall perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. The ASU is effective for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests beginning in fiscal years after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The adoption of this standard would only have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements if it failed Step 1 of the goodwill impairment test, which has not occurred to date.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation, Scope of Modification Accounting, which requires entities to apply modification accounting guidance when there are changes in the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award unless all of the following conditions are met: (i) the fair value of the modified award is the same as the fair value of the original award immediately before modification, (ii) the vesting conditions of the modified award are the same as the original award immediately before modification, and (iii) the classification of the modified award is the same as the original award immediately before modification. The Company early adopted the new ASU effective April 1, 2017, on a prospective basis.