Los Gatos, Calif.-based Akeena Solar (OTC BB: AKNS [1]) is the latest solar power installer trying to make it easier to get its product into the hands of consumers, announcing an alliance with Comerica Bank this week.

"The more mainstream it becomes, the better it is for everyone," David Wallace, Akeena chief financial officer told the Cleantech Group.

It's not an Akeena branded product, so homeowners can take advantage of the bank's newfound interest in solar no matter who they get their photovoltaics from.

Wallace said that the company deals with unsecured lenders in California and elswhere, but that "this is the first alliance that we've joined into with a bank for home equity loans."

There's a web of varying incentives at the state level in the U.S. and it can be daunting to navigate and discover them all.

In Akeena's home state of California alone, there are close to 100 different programs, grants and rebates for homeowners and small business, according to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency [2].

There are also federal incentives, but their numbers are not quite so overwhelming.

While some companies are shoring up supplies of silicon and researching new solar technologies, other companies have to deal with the realities of getting people to buy the things.

Akeena, as well as SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWR [3]) and others, have teamed up with banks to make it easier for consumers to get financing and get solar onto more homes.

Wallace said the financing doesn't necessarily make it easier for the consumer to grasp the complexities of a solar deal, but "it certainly adds more to the picture if you can say, oh by the way, now you can write off the interest on this as well."

In July, GE Money and the Electric and Gas Industries Association announced their GEOSmart Sustainable Financing Solutions loan program.

GE Money, a unit of General Electric (NYSE: GE [4]), said the program was designed to fund the smallest solar water heating or pool heating projects up to the largest residential solar photovoltaic installations.

Akeena CEO Barry Cinnamon said in a press release that his company's partnership with Comerica should make financing for consumers "as easy as turning on a light switch in a solar-powered home."

"Even with government incentives paying about a third of the cost of the average system, customers always worry about the hassle and cost of financing," he said.

Federal legislation passed in 2005 established limited 30 percent tax credits for both solar thermal and solar electric systems.

Residential credits are limited to $2,000. Businesses may also be able to use accelerated depreciation allowances for solar investments.

Cinnamon touted the Comerica deal, saying "in most cases, the monthly after-tax HELOC payments will be less than the electric savings from the solar power system - providing positive cash flow for our customers the moment the system is switched on."

A HELOC is a home equity line of credit, which differs from a conventional home equity loan in that the borrower is not advanced the entire sum up front, but uses the line of credit much like a credit card.

"Solar adds to the value of a house and saves customers money every month, so when homeowners can improve their cash flow it's good business for us, too," David Szafranski, VP of marketing at Comerica said in a release.

Akeena, founded in 2001, also has operations in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

In San Jose, SunPower teamed up with San Francisco's very green New Resource Bank to offer homeowners an easier way to get cash for solar.

New Resource offers a 25 year solar home equity loan, another 25 year loan with interest-only payments in the first 10 years, and a 15 year loan with fixed interest rates.