by Shane Henson — September 26, 2012—Solar power is gaining traction as a reliable, cost-effective and sustainable way to generate power for American businesses, with Walmart Stores Inc., Costco Wholesale, and Kohl’s Department Stores among the top 20 U.S. companies in terms of on-site solar energy capacity. According to a report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Vote Solar Initiative titled Solar Means Business: Top Commercial Solar Customers in the U.S., the top 20 corporate solar users’ photovoltaic (PV) installations, which total at least 279 megawatts, generate a combined estimated $47.3 million worth of electricity each year.
The amount of solar installed by the top 20 solar-powered companies could power more than 46,500 average U.S. homes, and all U.S. commercial solar installations together could power more than 390,000 American homes, says SEIA, the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry. The companies analyzed for this report have reportedly deployed more than 700 individual PV systems on their facilities in at least 25 states and Puerto Rico.
Rounding out the list of top 20 corporate solar users, in order, are IKEA, Macy’s, McGraw-Hill, Johnson & Johnson, Staples Inc., Campbell’s Soup, Walgreens, Bed Bath & Beyond, Toys ‘R’ Us, General Motors, FedEx, White Rose Foods, Dow Jones, Snyder’s of Hanover, ProLogis, Hartz Mountain Industries, and Crayola.
In addition to looking at overall capacity, the report quantifies solar deployment by number of operating solar power systems, percentage of facilities outfitted with solar, and the geographic diversity of the installations.
Today, more than 100,000 Americans work at 5,600 solar energy companies across the nation in all 50 states, says SEIA. The industry more than doubled the amount of solar installed in the United States in the second quarter of this year compared to 2011, and growth is expected to continue in the second half of 2012.
