Key Takeaways:
- 7th Annual Solar Means Business Report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) documents 7 Gigawatts of solar across 35,000 installations
- Big tech and retail giants lead the way with hundreds of Megawatts of solar capacity each
- Steady drop in price and more flexible financing options have fueled the solar boom
Tech and retail giants are dominating the solar market with the most installed capacity among U.S. businesses, as Apple (393 Megawatts), Amazon (330 MW), Target (242 MW), Walmart (209 MW) and Google (143 MW) rank among the top six in solar generation nationwide, according to the 7th annual Solar Means Business Report issued by the Solar Energy Industries Association.
The SEIA’s 2018 index tracked more than 7 Gigawatts of solar capacity across 35,000 installations, from large to small, in 43 states, and included 70% of the country’s commercial solar installed capacity. It found that more businesses than ever are now “choosing solar as their preferred energy source.”
Other notable companies generating significant solar power include (though not limited to) Lockheed Martin, Bed Bath & Beyond, Intel, Cisco, Facebook, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson, Toyota, Staples, Campbell Soup, L’Oreal, and Walgreens. “Whether it’s to support cloud computing, to power retail centers, or to manufacture products, these companies are using solar to move their operations forward,” said the report.
Visit the SEIA report’s stand-alone website at solarmeansbusiness.com to view interactive maps, sort data by company names and capacity, and learn more about the decreasing costs of solar installs and how businesses in the United States are doing their part in the Path to 100% renewables.
What We’re Reading” “Solar Means Business,” as published on the Solar Energy Industries Association stand-alone website solarmeansbusiness.com