Things to consider when building the business case for Commercial Solar:

1. What is the available Solar resource at this location? This is determined by a mix of Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI = how much direct sunlight strikes a square meter of Earth/roof at the site over 12 months?) multiplied by the square footage of available roof and open parking areas.

2. What is your appetite for Federal and State Tax incentives? Is the company well tax positioned with little need for the Solar tax credit and depreciation? Do you anticipate tax liability in future years which could be offset by solar tax incentives? Note: The IRS requires 5-years of system operation to prevent any claw back of Federal Solar tax incentives.

3. What is the annual kWh load and cost of electricity for this facility? (the power bill as a percent of total operations spend.)

RA POWER & LIGHT offers several ways to finance Commercial Solar projects: 

1. The first and most profitable method for system owners is to eliminate finance charges altogether and pay cash. System payback is 3-5 years in this case. Tax incentives may be immediately taken to offset the out of pocket expense or carried forward to mitigate future tax obligations.

2. For-profit entities without need for Solar tax incentives typically view RA POWER & LIGHT’s Purchase Renewal Option as the logical choice. Under the Pro Lease, the Lender/Lessor buys the Solar tax incentives in exchange for a negative interest rate and a 15% residual.

3. For-profit entities who can make use of the Solar tax credit and depreciation choose RA POWER & LIGHT’s zero down 10-year capital equipment lease at a very competitive interest rate.

4. For-profit and Nonprofit Ratepayers both benefit from PACE Financing (property assessed clean energy financing). California allows business owners to borrow up to 20% of the appraised value of their facility for energy improvements with zero down 20 year financing at a competitive interest rate.

5. RA POWER & LIGHT Lease Financing for Nonprofits effectively gives Nonprofit Ratepayers half the Federal Tax Credit (15%) under the same 10-year low interest rate with no residual.

6. RA POWER & LIGHT Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) enables nonprofit entities to directly benefit from Solar at zero expense. We install the system at your facility and maintain it at no cost.  Building owner / Ratepayers buy the peak energy produced at a discount from retail for 15-20 years. The RA POWER & LIGHT PPA is a direct path to system ownership for Churches and Schools, who have the option to purchase their systems in year 5 or 10 at a steep discount from the initial project cost.