Could you actually get real business value from solar?

Reduce business risk, save money with current incentives, and potentially increase revenues for your business while saving money on electricity.

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When your business relies on electricity to do business, how do you:

1. Reduce the "one wire" risk for your electricity needs.
2. Take advantage of all of the incentives at your disposal.
3. Find ways to make money on power generation.

BIG IDEA 1: Reduce business risk

Reduce risk for your business by having an over reliance on single points of failure. (One wire from the electric company.) On any given day, you will probably not have any concern over electricity. But if that is the case, why do we still sell generators?

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Your ability to function in a grid down scenario is something most people don’t think about. But as many of the current analyses have identified, there are multiple concerns regarding the grid. The concerns are many, but here are a few most mentioned:

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1.????? A Grid Hack. This is a very real and measurable risk. The grid is actually being attacked all the time, and we have seen how Russia has used this against Ukraine.

2.????? Terrorist Attacks. There have been numerous incidents of utilities having physical attacks such as snipers trying to take out relay stations.

3.????? Natural Disasters. Every flood, wind event, and earthquake has had significant effects on the grid. Even solar flares.

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Clearly you may be directly affected in any of these incidents too, but considering power generation is often miles away from your business, it is possible you will be outside the circle of damage, fully functional, but with no power. Generating your own in this instance is a great way to defray this risk.

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BIG IDEA 2: Leverage current incentives

Current incentives allow you to get a 30% tax credit should you choose to install solar. But there are other incentives that go beyond this credit. The current MACRS credit means you can depreciate the investment quickly, potentially defraying up to 70% of the cost of solar.

There are more incentives such as 10% for choosing an installation that has all American made products. Additionally, you may qualify for other incentives related to the region and zone you are in as a business.

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BIG IDEA 3: Destination Charging – Making your customer’s visit last longer!

Owning the means to generate electricity on your property is just another potential revenue stream. This revenue stream has an inexhaustible source, assuming the sun keeps rising every day. You don’t get a bill for the sun rising, so it is a pretty good way to generate revenues in the long run.

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The reason that today is a good time to consider this, is to understand the ability to get into power generation for the lowest possible entry point. You are probably not going to deploy enough solar to generate revenue on it, but there are several ways you can leverage this resource to your advantage.

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There is an increasing demand for charging because of the electric car market. Do not be fooled by the news that EV demand is down. The “ICE” (internal combustion engine) demand has been dropping dramatically, while the EV demand is going up exponentially. The actual demand of gas-powered vehicles has gone down 16% since 2014, and electric battery only vehicles has doubled every year since 2017. The person who pays for advertising dictates the message.

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You could offer “destination chargers” for EVs at your site. The speed is not going to be like a Super Charger, but if your business offers a destination charger, how long will a customer stay with you if you give them the option to plug in while there? If you own a farm, or restaurant, or entertainment venue (music, etc.), you could be giving your customers additional incentive to be at your business for an extended period of time. How could you monetize this, while also charging them for the electricity that you generated from the roof?

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If you have any questions about any of these ideas, feel free to reach out. Happy to have a discussion to expand your knowledge on the topic, or brainstorm how you can take advantage of these benefits.