Net metering is a utility program which requires the electric company to purchase any power you produce during the day in excess, at the full-retail rate of electricity. You can then use that “banked” power in the evenings and rainy days when you need it. Most progrms are locked in for 10-25 years.

With the new inflation reduction act, businesses now qualify for up to 50% off the project contract total when going solar and eliminating demand with energy storage systems. By using US products and qualified labor, say goodbye to the high adoption cost of going solar during a time when everything seems to just cost more.

Thanks to recent tax reforms MACRS or “modified accelerated cost recovery system” business can now claim 100% bonus depretiation on their solar asset in the 1st year allowing them to further increase their 1st year cashflow. Businesses can claim depreciation on up to 85% of the contract value of the asset.

Due to many states having zero-emmission mandates and deregulated energy utilities are incentivizing businesses to go solar so they can meet their state regulatory requirements. Often this looks like “renewable energy credits” whereby the utility buys your power in blocks of 1,000kWh at a predetmined rate. This is in addition to the net-metering program. This incentive alone accounts for thousand of dollars of savings over the life of the REC program.

Commercial business often put a large strain on the power grid and often are penalized for their “demand” during peak usage periods during the week. These demand charges often account for more than half of a businesses electric bill. Unfortunately businesses had little control to eliminate those charges short of precooling buildings and turning the air up during work hours causing comfort issues among employees. With the falling costs of energy storage deployment, businesses can now discharged batteries during peak usage periods to offset those loads and avoid the utility penalizing them almost entirely.

Many “solar friendly” states are helping businesses by exempting the purchase of solar and storage systems from both sales tax and often property tax assessments. This often puts a dent in the long term cash savings of the solar asset and further helps the cause.