COMMUNITY SOLAR FOR BUSINESS

It’s no secret that you’ll save money on your electric bill by replacing your electricity source with solar energy. But until recently, this was only available if you had a roof suitable for solar panels. But things have changed.

Community solar enables ANY business to take advantage of solar power, even businesses who lease their premises or don’t have suitable buildings for rooftop solar energy systems. You CAN enjoy the freedom of going solar with nothing installed on your roof or property, with no hassle or maintenance – just immediate savings from green power.

Community solar is a large solar array which benefits multiple customers in a geographic area. This allows customers who may not have enough space, or whose property may not be suited for solar, to take advantage of saving money with renewable energy.

With community solar, there are no installation issues and no maintenance responsibilities. Your business receives solar energy from a remotely located commercial grade system that is optimally designed to be up to 30% more efficient than traditional residential rooftop systems. Your business receives clean power for decades.

COMMUNITY SHARED SOLAR INSTALLATION

How it works

The process is simple. First, choose how much solar energy you want for your business. You can offset a part of your energy bill, or all of it. Then, each month you pay your community solar rate for the amount of your subscription. This rate applies only to those using this particular community solar project. Usually businesses receive a credit on their utility bill for electricity generated by their share of the community solar system.  If you use more electricity than your share of community solar, you’ll pay your normal electric rate for the excess. Contract terms and savings vary by state, utility, and project, but there is no large financial outlay needed to take advantage of solar energy, and your company is not responsible for maintenance.

Another potential benefit of these solar farms is to the landowner. Underutilized land, even brownfields, can be leased to a developer for use as a solar energy farm. This land could become an asset to the landowner, providing reliable and consistent income while also bringing clean energy to a business or a community.

Genie has put together creative and beneficial solutions when working with multiple businesses. For example, one company may have a large roof and low power needs, while another business may require more power but be in a location unsuited for solar panels. Together, they can each benefit from the financial advantages of solar power.

A company can address community solar in any of three ways:

  • Build, where a business with suitable property for a solar array can take advantage of the location and create a solar array that can sell the additional output to others, or
  • Lease their land to a solar developer who will pay rent and build a larger farm to own and operate, or
  • Subscribe, where a business buys or leases a portion of a large array and benefits from the energy created by that portion.

Customers in programs Genie Solar Energy is working with typically save around 10-25% off their energy

Genie Energy Ltd., (NYSE: GNE, GNEPRA) is a global energy solutions company. We supply customers in the US and Europe with electricity, including electricity generated from renewable resources and with natural gas. Through Genie Solar Energy and Prism Solar, we design, construct and install commercial solar energy solutions. We provide commercial and industrial clients with energy brokerage and consultative services through our Diversegy brand.