Five (5) things to know about going solar for your business
Before going solar for business, it is a good thing to find out the benefits or facts and figures that can help you make an informed decision about investing in going solar. Below you will find information as well as tools that you can use to get started in the right direction.
1. More than 100 of the fortune 500 companies have gone solar
Today, more than 100 of the fortune 500 companies have adopted the idea of going solar, including Walmart, Target, Apple, IKEA, Intel, Microsoft, and the list goes on. Switching to solar by these companies tell us that they see going solar as a great idea because of anticipated social and economic benefits.
Going solar presents businesses with opportunities to decrease their operational costs, lock-in energy costs for years to come (about 25 years which is normally the life-span of most solar panels) as well as reducing their carbon footprint.
2. EnergySage marketplace data shows that a 75% reduction in energy costs is achievable with going solar
According to the EnergySage marketplace data collected over time, it has shown that an average commercial property owner paid $1,950 in monthly electricity bills before going solar and after their solar installation, their electricity bill was reduced to approximately $500, which translates to a 75% reduction. It is such data that helps to shed light on the economic benefits of going solar and the potential money savings that can be achieved in the long-term.
The advancement of solar PV technology is one of the major breakthroughs to helping it to be adopted because of the decrease in solar panel cost. Also, both the private sector and the government have helped to introduce solar PV to companies and businesses as an innovation to help them reduce their energy costs while promoting sustainability.
3. Advancement of the Solar PV technology and the resultant reduced cost of going solar
The advancement of solar PV technology is one of the major breakthroughs to helping it to be adopted because of the decrease in solar panel cost.
About 10 years ago, in 2008, the cost of a solar panel installation was $8.82 per watt compared to just $3.14/watt today, according to EnergySage. In addition, to the cost of solar going down, the government provides incentives to increase the adoption of solar. It is well-known that solar PV requires a high initial cost before adoption. For instance, EnergySage estimates show that the average commercial PV system costs for a 25kW to be $51,625; 50kW to be $103,250; 100kW to be $206,500 and a $250kW is about $516,250.
Research and development efforts have helped to reduce the solar panel cost while both the private sector and the government have helped to introduce solar PV to companies and businesses as an innovation to help them reduce their energy costs while promoting sustainability.
4. Financial instruments such as ITC makes it possible to go solar
The above figures of different sizes of commercial PV systems tell us that any business will require a huge upfront investment to be able to go solar. However, with government tax credits, specifically the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and state rebates help to reduce this financial burden to the end-user. On the other hand, solar leasing and solar power purchase agreements (solar PPA), which are implemented in some states are good financial instruments used by solar companies to help business owners implement solar PV in their companies with no money down. No money down solar is a very effective financing tool even though it is not implemented in all the states in the U.S. You can learn more about this concept here.
5. New solar mapping tools are available to help get the data you need to determine your potential savings when you go solar.
Last but not least, the availability of solar mapping tools created by the government in collaboration with the private sector. This development has led to the creation of online solar marketplaces like EnergySage which help online users determine their solar potential and shop for the best solar panels. Normally online users locate their business or home by just typing their physical address to retrieve their specific solar data set that is special to their address.
In this case, users are advised about their solar potential or how many solar panels are required to be installed, how much they can save with going solar, what solar panels will be ideal for their building and so on. These tools have the potential to present multiple solar quotes to individuals and businesses and help them find the best solar quotes before making a decision to going solar. Click here to get started with the EnergySage by calculating how much you can save when you go solar.
