2 Major Reasons to Outfit Your Business with Solar Panels
In these days of corporate social responsibility, when companies are recognizing that being good stewards of the Earth is part of being a good corporate citizen and being a good corporate citizen is a moral and business imperative, one great way to move towards sustainability and a carbon-neutral future is to go solar. But that’s not all: Going solar can be a huge financial boon to your company.
Here are two major reasons why you should consider outfitting your business with solar panels:
Solar Saves Money
An investment in solar energy pays off for most commercial enterprises within five-to-eight years and then delivers 20+ years of lower energy bills. Of all the methods of reducing your company’s carbon footprint, replacing your power source with solar generally delivers the highest ROI.
Besides, the government will pay you to install solar. The Federal tax credit now stands at 26% of your expenditure on solar, and if that’s more than you owe in a single year, you can roll that credit forward. (That’s a bottom-line credit, not a deduction. In other words: money in the bank.) That credit declines to 22% next year, so acting now while energy prices are skyrocketing this year makes good sense.
States pile on the savings, with South Carolina offering a 25% credit, or $35,000, whichever is less. Again, if your tax is less, it can be spread over 10 years.
The best sites for a solar array have unshaded roof space that faces south, or flat, dry land space around the building for the solar panels. The best roofs are large, flat, solid membrane or standing seam metal roofs. But Alder Energy can adapt to any conditions you have, so it’s worth investigating.
Getting off the grid can have benefits too. Companies powered by solar with battery storage are partly immunized against power company blackouts. That is particularly important in disaster-prone areas like the Southeast coast. Contrary to popular belief, solar panels are producing electricity even on cloudy days.
The Business Case for Going Green
Why is this a business imperative in 2022? Many companies, particularly manufacturers, are facing customer demands for a carbon-neutral supply chain. There are ways to get there, like buying credits and increasing efficiency, but the fastest method is to switch to solar power. Even if solar can only offset a fraction of your company’s power needs, it’s generally worth the investment. Many retailers across the globe are demanding carbon neutrality by their suppliers this decade.
Consumers are supporting a sustainable future with their spending. Forbes reports that 88% of consumers want retailers to help them make a difference – and they’re willing to shift their purchasing to support that. With the climate change crisis already affecting weather patterns and rising sea levels, the urgency to become carbon-neutral can only increase.
In a time of labor shortage, going solar can benefit your recruitment and retention efforts. Research shows that employees want to work for ethical employers committed to a sustainable future. That is particularly true of Millennials, who comprise the majority of the workforce. A whopping 40% of them in a survey of 1,000 large company employees said they had chosen a job because of a company’s sustainability efforts.
Get All Your Solar Questions Answered
At Alder Energy, we practice what we preach. Solar provides more than 100% of our energy needs, with some of the excess used to charge our electric cars. We sell the rest back to the grid for everyone else to enjoy.
Contact Craig Knowlton at craig.knowlton@alder-energy.com for an Alder Energy property audit and discussion about your needs. You could find yourself doing well while doing good for your community.
