With low costs, the levelized cost of energy, or the average amount that you will pay for each unit of electricity that your solar system will produce over its lifetime, is between $0.06/kWh and $0.08/kWh including the federal ITC, according to an article from Building Operating Management on the FacilitiesNet website.
With the average commercial utility rate in the United States at $0.1053/kWh, a solar system will be cost effective for many locations around the country.
But cost isn’t the only reason to invest in on-site solar. Having solar on your building lets everyone know that your company is walking the talk when it comes to sustainability goals, which is hard to showcase with efficiency and off-site solar. It can also help attract and retain employees, as 90 percent of people now say they wish to work for a company with a strong green reputation.
It seems that solar projects are best suited to businesses that have higher electricity rates (greater than $0.08/kWh), own their own building, have access to capital, have corporate sustainability goals, and plan to stay in their building for the long term. However, there are actually ways to make solar work even outside of this ideal scenario.
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