SolarCity says it will hire 300 new employees for phone consultations as it opens new office

Solar installer SolarCity said Friday it plans to hire at least 300 new employees in 2015 as it opens a larger office in Roseville, California.

The company said the new employees will work on its inside sales team, which does phone consultations for people who are interested in having solar panels installed on their home.

SolarCity is based in Roseville and it has about 450 employees in sales, design, IT and other roles at its office there. That includes of the company's inside sales staff. It will combine five separate offices into the new location.

SolarCity Corp. is the largest U.S. installer of solar panels. It does business in 16 states and had about 9,000 full-time employees at the end of 2014. Its shares slipped 13 cents to $49.95 in morning trading.