Businesses in the USA are making substantial investments in solar power to slash their energy costs – and Australian enterprises can enjoy the same benefits.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA); businesses, non-profits and government organizations in the USA have installed more than 1 gigawatt of solar panels over the last year.
Cumulative commercial scale solar capacity at 32,800 locations as at the middle of this year was estimated by the SEIA to be 3,380 MW – an increase of over 40 percent on last year.
The Top 25 companies in Vote Solar and SEIA’s Solar Means Business 2013 report have installed more than 445 MW of solar PV capacity across the USA, up from about 300 MW last year.
Walmart leads the rankings with 215 installations, representing 89.43MW capacity.
“For many companies, electricity costs represent the single largest operating expense. The continued fall in solar system prices and the adoption of innovated (sic) financing models that can reduce up-front costs allow companies that have deployed solar to dramatically reduce energy expenditures,” says the report.
“In a growing number of markets, companies can either generate or purchase solar energy at or below local retail electricity rates, saving businesses money from ‘Day 1′”.
Businesses in Australia can benefit similarly. Local company Energy Matters’ commercial solar arm has grown rapidly as more companies become aware of the major savings to be had through going solar.
According to Energy Matters, if a business is paying more than 20c/kWh for daytime electricity consumption, an array sized to meet daytime load can provide immediate power bill relief and after a payback time of between 5 and 7 years, the electricity generated is essentially free.
“Any business with substantial suitable roof space could reap the rewards of a commercial scale solar power system”, says the company.
