Businesses can get over $100,000 in incentives to install solar panels — here's how to take advantage

Successful businesses need to keep a strong grip on costs without sacrificing quality of service. That's why solar panels could be a game-changer, and the U.S. government is making it even more affordable to make the switch. 

Why should businesses take advantage of solar power incentives?

Depending on the size of your business, you could have a lot of extra space that can be utilized to significantly reduce energy bills. 

If you have a small business, you might have some available roof space that is not doing much. If you have a large business, you may have factories or warehouses with huge amounts of empty roof space or perhaps even a parking lot that would benefit from a few outdoor parking canopies. 

That's where solar panels come in. By utilizing this unused square footage, you can significantly reduce energy bills — and perhaps even make money by selling generated power back to the energy grid.

Doubters may be concerned about the upfront costs of a solar panel installation, but government incentives are making this technology cheaper than ever. 

Businesses can access both the Federal Investment Tax Credit and Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System, helping to reduce the cost of a solar panel system by as much as 70%.

For example, based on calculations from EnergySage, a 25-kilowatt system that costs $78,750 can be reduced to just $16,538. Expanding that to a 500-kilowatt system that costs $1,050,000, those incentives can slash the price to $220,500.

After all that, it won't be long until the system starts paying for itself. EnergySage says: "The average mid-sized or small business will save about $101,259 in electricity costs with solar." That's without considering what can be made by selling the power you produce.

Why is solar important for businesses?

According to the National Federation of Independent Business, energy costs are one of the top three expenses for 35% of small businesses. Meanwhile, research from PwC found that over half of U.K. businesses said energy made up around 25% of business costs.

🗣️ What should be done to make home solar panels cheaper?

🔘 More tax incentives 🏦

🔘 Lower installation costs 🧑‍🔧

🔘 Better loan options 💸

🔘 They're cheap enough already 🤷

🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

That's a huge chunk of change that could seriously jeopardize a business' future. If you can seriously reduce those annual bills, you can use those savings to help other areas of your business thrive.

With energy costs seemingly going up constantly, the time to switch is now, and EnergySage's free tools can help make the process easier by connecting you with local suppliers and installers and providing a range of quotes for comparison. 

How else can switching to solar help?

While the potential savings on energy bills will take the headlines, the move to more sustainable power can impact a business' customer base. 

The 2023 Simon-Kucher Sustainability Study found that "62 percent of respondents consider sustainability more important now than they did a year ago." If your business demonstrates sustainable practices, that will encourage people to use your services. 

Solar panels reduce — or even remove — the need to access electricity from the power grid, which still overwhelmingly runs on dirty fuels such as coal and oil. The pollution from burning these fuels for energy increases global temperatures by trapping heat in the atmosphere — which can increase the length, strength, and regularity of extreme weather events. 

But if a business generates its own clean electricity, it can cut the production of planet-warming gases from the energy industry, and customers will see that clearly with a solar panel array. 

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