Friday 9 October 2020

US corporate solar market ‘increased twentyfold in last decade’

The US corporate solar market increased in size twentyfold in the last decade.

That's according to a report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), which suggests US businesses added a total of 1.2GW of photovoltaic projects to the grid in 2019.

The body says that was the second-largest year on record.

The report, which tracks more than 8.3GW of commercial solar capacity across more than 38,000 systems, also reveals tech giants Apple and Amazon remain in first and second place in the list of the top corporate solar users.

These are followed by the retail titan Walmart, which installed the most solar energy projects in 2019 and increased its solar use by 35%.

Findings of the analysis also show Facebook achieved the biggest growth last year, moving from 27th to 9th place on the top corporate solar users list.

Abigail Ross Hopper, President and Chief Executive Officer of SEIA, said: "Businesses are choosing solar energy because it can significantly curb their energy costs and add predictability during these uncertain times.

"We expect that the corporate sector will make greater investments in solar as businesses make and follow through on clean energy commitments to address the climate crisis."