Last week, we profiled Walmart – the country’s largest corporate supporter of solar power.
To date, it has almost 350 photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on its stores around the nation. And these installations harness free sunshine to generate over 140 MW of clean solar power.
However, we recently learned that Target has just overtaken Walmart as the #1 solar stakeholder in the United States.
Although Target has PV systems on fewer stores (about 300), the retailer’s combined solar capacity is 147 MW.
IKEA isn’t far behind either. In fact, it currently has PV installations on nearly 90% of its locations.
And what’s really interesting is the pace with which big-name retailers are getting in on the action. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Walmart, Target, IKEA, and company are collectively responsible for more than 1,000 MW of total solar capacity across the country.
And that number continues to grow – month after month.
Investing in Free Sunshine Is a Smart Business Move
The reason behind all of these solar investments is easy enough to understand:
- Large retail stores consume a tremendous amount of power.
- Utility electricity rates continue to climb every day.
- Most retail chains have plenty of flat rooftop space for solar.
- Americans increasingly prefer shopping at “green” businesses.
In essence, going solar allows these retailers to reduce their costs and attract more customers. And that’s why more and more companies around the globe are introducing “100% renewable energy pledges” – with solar representing the best way to meet these goals.
Even Apple is going solar, with plans to install 4,000 MW of PV capacity worldwide.
Learn How You Can Take Advantage of Free Sunshine
Among these big corporate stakeholders, the average size of each PV installation is about 500kW, which is 100 times what you typically see on a residential property.
But even with a small 5kW solar installation, the savings are measurable.
In fact, you can reduce your utility bill with just 1 solar panel. And as you continue to scale up, those monthly savings only grow. Many of our customers manage to wipe out their utility bills completely by combining solar PV panels with on-site batteries storage.
And thanks to green incentives like net metering and the federal solar tax credit, these installations pay for themselves very quickly. The average payback period in California is about 7 years, but our customers typically breakeven in as little as 4 or 6 years.
To learn how you can use clean sunshine to reduce your utility bills and shrink your carbon footprint, contact us today for a free consultation.
