New US commercial solar power capacity totaled 1,144 MW in 2018, according to a just-released report from the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), as businesses turn to on-site and off-site solar to reduce energy costs, boost their bottom lines, contribute to the achievement of renewable energy and climate change goals, and make positive social and environmental statements.

2018 was the second largest year on record for commercial solar installations in the seven years SEIA has been tracking deployments, the industry association highlights in its market research report, Solar Means Business. US commercial solar power capacity totaled more than 7 GW across some 35,000 installations. That's more than 23 times larger than a decade ago.

Furthermore, the pace of corporate solar adoption has surged over the course of recent years— more than half of all corporate solar deployment has taken place in the last three years. “Top companies are increasingly investing in clean, reliable solar energy because it makes economic sense,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA president and CEO. “During the Solar+ Decade, corporate solar investments will become even more significant as businesses use solar to fight climate change, create jobs and boost local economies. When global brands go solar, the rest of the world takes note, and this report puts the power of corporate solar investment on full display.”

A growing force in the low-, zero-carbon energy transition

Apple topped SEIA's top 10 list of US corporate solar energy users in 2018 having installed 130 MW in 2018 to bring its total installed capacity to 393 MW. Amazon moved up into second place, adding 36 MW for a cumulative total of 330 MW installed and Target rounded out the top three with a cumulative total of 242 MW, 230 MW of which is on-site, making it the largest commercial user of on-site solar in the nation.

Target ranked number one in terms of the number of individual solar power systems installed, having added 27 MW of on-site PV systems and 13 MW of new community solar capacity in 2018. The big-box retailer also ranked first in terms of installed, on-site solar capacity for the third year in a row. Walmart followed, continuing a streak of ranking first or second since SEIA produced its first US corporate solar report in 2012.

Real estate company Prologis ranked third. “Prologis was among the first in the logistics real estate industry to invest in solar, and our future-focused approach to environmental, social and governance practices has put us on pace to surpass our goal of 200 MW of solar capacity by 2020,” Senior Vice President, Global Energy Matt Singleton said.

IKEA continued its streak by topping the list of corporate solar users as a percentage of facilities with solar PV systems installed for the seventh consecutive year. Solar PV systems were up and running on nearly 90% of the big-box retailer's outlets as of year-end 2018. L'Oreal followed with over 70%, 16 of 22 of its US locations, and Brookfield Properties Retail ranked third with more than 45% of its properties outfitted with solar PV systems.

Emissions-free solar power

All told, the commercial solar installations SEIA tracked for its latest report produce 10.7 million MWh of emissions-free electricity per year, enough power for 1.4 million homes, according to the industry association. That offsets some 7.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent of taking 1.6 million ICE cars off the road, according to SEIA.

“Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon,” said Director of Sustainability Kara Hurst. “Major investments in renewable energy are a critical step toward addressing our carbon footprint globally. We will continue to invest in these projects and look forward to additional investments this year and beyond.”

SEIA tracked both on-site and off-site corporate solar procurement for the first time for this year's 7th edition of the report. It found that off-site procurement has been growing rapidly— nearly 4 GW of new off-site PV capacity was procured over the last 18 months. Furthermore, the 1.5 GW installed since 2014 accounts for nearly one-third of the commercial installed PV capacity total over the time period.

SEIA's rankings and analysis were based on system-level data for over 35,000 commercial solar PV systems that cover nearly 70% of all US commercial solar capacity, according to the industry association.