Commercial Solar Blog
Learn about solar and discover trends with content written by industry experts.
Unlocking the 10% ITC Adder for Energy Communities
The Department of Energy recently released guidance on eligibility for a 10% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) adder for geographies that qualify as Energy Communities. This...
Do Solar Panels Work on Cloudy Days?
Solar is pretty complex. We get questions about nearly every aspect of the technology–especially performance and weather. One of the most common ones we get is “do...
Unlocking the 10% ITC Adder for Energy Communities
The Department of Energy recently released guidance on eligibility for a 10% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) adder for geographies that qualify as Energy Communities. This Energy Community benefit is one of three potential adders that were included in the 2022 Inflation...
Do Solar Panels Work on Cloudy Days?
Solar is pretty complex. We get questions about nearly every aspect of the technology–especially performance and weather. One of the most common ones we get is “do solar panels work on cloudy days?” If you’re considering bringing solar to your site, these kinds of...
Solving the Split Incentive Problem
The landscape of commercial real estate is changing rapidly, and it’s putting new pressures on tenants and owners alike. Utility energy rates are seeing massive upticks. Companies are adopting new ESG commitments. Up-and-coming sustainability trends are reshaping the...
The Green Lease: Future-Proofing CRE
It’s no surprise that the world is becoming more environmentally conscious. Society is taking note of carbon footprints and eco-friendly practices, and it’s having a steady impact on our home and work lives. Unsurprisingly, this has led to the rise of numerous...
21 Questions to Ask a Solar Company
If you look around, there’s clearly a growing demand for commercial solar. It’s not just for industrial warehouses and big box stores anymore. Everything from shopping centers to office buildings are getting in on the action, using onsite solar to lower tenant energy...
Comparing Your Commercial Solar Financing Options
With rising utility energy rates and more interest in sustainability in the market, there’s never been a better time to finance commercial solar. These systems are here to stay, offering countless financial and environmental benefits. The biggest challenge for most...
King Energy Named 2023’s Most Promising Energy Tech Solutions Provider
It’s been a big year of milestones for King Energy. We’ve managed our 100th energy program in California. We've served our 8 millionth square foot of tenant space. We’ve also launched some of our biggest projects to date, pushing 1 MWs at numerous locations. But...
The Facts About Commercial Solar Panel Cleaning
Regular maintenance is key to keeping any investment running smoothly. This is especially true of solar systems, where a routine inspection and cleaning keeps panels generating more energy. If ignored, dust, dirt, and grime tints panels, blocking light and reducing...
Do Solar Panels Increase Property Taxes in California?
There are countless benefits to adding a solar system to your building. But, it can feel almost too easy to get panels on the roof, hook them to the grid, and start generating power. What’s the catch? Some commercial property owners mistakenly believe that increasing...
6 Sustainability Trends in Commercial Real Estate
Commercial real estate is a rapidly-evolving world. From the rise of flexible working spaces to new advances in technology, it can be hard to tell how else CRE could grow. But, sustainability is still a major opportunity for the industry. Commercial buildings use...
Boosting Your Rent Roll with Commercial Solar
You treat your commercial property as an investment, and you want to get the most out of your money by staying up to date. If you’ve recently looked to revamp your amenities, the idea of solar has probably come across your path once or twice. But, one of the cardinal...
What’s a PTO for Solar?
It’s no secret that there are a number of hoops to jump through before your commercial solar system goes online. Between the applications, inspections, and approvals, it’s a lot to manage, although they are all for good reason. Keeping the solar process organized and...
Ballasted Solar Racking: What You Need to Know
If you’re considering solar for your commercial building, it’s safe to assume that you probably have some reservations about your roof. It’s a pretty serious investment that keeps your tenants safe and dry and protects your structure from the elements. The last thing...
Attracting New Tenants with Commercial Solar
Managing vacancy is an unavoidable part of being a property owner or manager. Tenants can move locations or unfortunately close up shop, and it’s always tough to see them go. You develop a relationship with them, and they become a part of your community. Plus, a...
Commercial Roofing, the Customer-Centric Way
Much of the excitement for the increasing availability and efficiency of commercial rooftop solar emphasizes the latter half—the solar part. But there is no rooftop solar without the roof, and that’s Bill Pegnato’s specialty. Bill, the CEO of Pegnato Roof Intelligence...
Do Commercial Solar Panels Void My Roof Warranty?
There are plenty of ways to improve your commercial building, but investing in a quality roof is probably one of the most important. It shields your structure from the elements and keeps your tenants dry, so you appreciate having a warranty to keep it safe. Flat roofs...
The Direction and Future of Renewable Electricity
The promise of renewable energy sources is that they will improve sustainability—not just for the environment, but for businesses. After all, solar and wind aren’t subject to all the same forces as coal, natural gas, or nuclear fuel sources, and business owners value...
The Real Cost of Rising Commercial Electricity Rates in California
Keeping up with the rising cost of commercial energy in California is a financial challenge for any business. It’s also difficult to keep track of the governmental and provider actions that affect your energy bills. It might feel like the only sure thing is that your...
How Rooftop Solar can Help Multi-Tenant Properties Earn LEED Certification
As the world moves towards sustainable and eco-friendly practices, the importance of LEED certification has become more prominent. LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a globally recognized green building certification that ensures a...
C&I Solar: Most Common Questions Answered
Commercial and industrial (C&I) solar is becoming increasingly more accessible across the United States, as businesses and organizations look for ways to save on rising energy costs and improve their environmental sustainability efforts. Compared to residential...
How Much Energy can a Shopping Center Rooftop Solar Program Generate?
Have you ever looked at an aerial image of a shopping center and wondered what could be done with all that open rooftop space? Flat rooftops like this are ideal for the installation of solar, the energy they generate can reduce the center’s energy costs, increase...
Modeling a Better Way Forward for Solar Production
Josh Wirth, founder of Daly Energy, saw a need for a better solar modeling process. His solution is a game-changer for the industry. Similar to financing a commercial building, solar developers estimate the cash flow of their systems and use those estimates for...
The Environmental Benefits of Installing Solar at your Neighborhood Shopping Center
What are the environmental benefits of installing solar at your neighborhood shopping center? The installation of solar panels at a neighborhood shopping center can have a significant impact on a community’s environmental and economic sustainability. The solar energy...
Breaking Down Your Commercial Solar Project: From Lease Signature to Commercial Operation
After making the decision to partner with King Energy on a rooftop commercial solar program, you may be wondering what happens next. When will your property start capturing and distributing solar energy to your tenants? After signing your lease with King Energy, it...
How to Make a Commercial Solar Program Beneficial for Your Tenants
Thinking about putting solar on your commercial building? As a commercial property owner, you may be considering solar for your building. Not only is solar energy a clean and renewable resource, but it can also provide a number of benefits for your tenants. That...
The Dirt on Soiling Loss Mitigation in Solar
Solar energy is way past proof-of-concept projects; instead, the main industry efforts are financial and practical as we reach into global scale. Investors and companies interested in solar energy are not just motivated by environmental concerns, but also by the...
What’s the Best Roof for Solar?
From the gently sloping roofs of a neighborhood shopping center to enormous sprawling commercial buildings, there are huge differences in roof construction and the material types used. At King Energy, our mission is to transform unused commercial rooftops into...
Entrepreneur Codes Smart Solar Storage Software Solution
As solar energy is more universally adopted throughout the nation one enormous issue still remains: energy storage. How do batteries know when to store energy and when to release it? Inherently, solar power is not available 24 hours a day, but humans consume energy...
Solar on Shopping Center Roofs Reduces Strain on Power Grid
Grid instability is a growing problem across the United States, and solar might be the fix. When we flick on the lights in a room, few of us stop to consider exactly how far that electricity had to travel from its point of origin to reach our wires and outlets. The...
Rooftop vs. Carport: Choosing Where to Mount Solar Panels on a Commercial Property
When you invest in a solar program for a commercial property, should you mount the solar panels on the roof or a carport? Or both? Rooftop and carport programs have several differences that could be the determining factor for the placement of the solar panels. We...
Investment Platform Offers ‘By-the-panel’ Online Solar Investing
Legends Solar offers rooftop solar—without the roof. Legends Solar, a startup based out of Brooklyn, New York is creating a completely new product that would give everyday investors the ability to buy panels on commercial-scale solar projects and earn monthly...
Partnerships & Collaborations Essential in Growing Solar Industry
From homeowners to policymakers, the list of people advocating for and making decisions in the solar industry is long. For it all to come together smoothly, someone has to be at the helm, guiding and connecting all of these key players. Kacie Peters at Pivot Energy...
How Will The Inflation Reduction Act Impact Commercial Solar in California?
What Is the IRA? The United States Government passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August of 2022 in an effort to boost the economy. Supporting energy-saving investments is one of the major tenets of the IRA, and this has many implications for commercial solar...
The Scoop on Dirty Solar Panels
We often get asked about how we manage solar panels after they are installed and live. As a practical matter, solar panels have no moving parts and are built to sit in the hot sun for decades. So, really, what kind of maintenance is involved? There are no air filters...
Solar Entrepreneur Invents First Operations & Maintenance Robot
As a young man in his twenties, Derek Chase didn’t think he was on a particularly compelling career path. He landed a summer job in California working for a guy running a solar installation company out of his garage. The industry was new, interesting, and constantly...
How Solar Adds Value to Real Estate Investment Trusts
As a commercial property owner, you have a wide range of ways to ensure a successful property. Maybe you’re all about vacancy reductions. Or maybe you're striving to retain the tenants you already have. Perhaps your tenant mix is in a good place and you’re looking to...
Don’t Finance Solar on your Commercial Property
There’s something comforting about the permanent-yet-impermanent quality of a multi-tenant commercial property. Hosting everything from bubble tea shops and chiropractors to franchise restaurants and dog groomers, these rotating carousels of businesses are a staple in...
Podcast Guest Appearance – “The solarcoaster” w/ John Witchel
Mitigating climate change is a race against time, requiring “rapid, far reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society,” according to the IPCC, who says we need to halve global emissions by 2030. But Tom Dinwoodie of Epic Institute believes that this...
Increasing Tenant Satisfaction with Solar
A commercial property is only as successful as its tenants, so how will a solar program affect the tenant experience? The good news is that with millions of commercial solar installations worldwide, positive tenant experiences are at an all-time high. In fact,...
OneBill™: The Industry’s Leading Consolidated Energy Bill
When you fly into LAX and the plane is skimming over the rooftops of strip malls, office buildings, hospitals, and other large properties, you will notice there is hardly a solar panel in sight. Market trends are showing solar is profitable for property owners and a...
Top 5 Commercial Rooftop Solar Questions
As a commercial property owner, your roof is one of the most important investments you make. So we understand the concern when asked to consider solar. The good news is that solar is a mature industry with infrastructure in place across millions of projects worldwide,...
In the Money: Finding a Future-Proof Strategy for CRE Solar Investment
Dave Riess, CEO and Co-Founder of Wunder, a leading provider of solar solutions for Commercial and Industrial properties, walked us through the strategies available to commercial real estate (CRE) owners to build a financially viable energy platform within their...
An Easy Way to Learn the Value of Solar
King Energy’s 90-day analysis process Solar energy can increase the value and income of a shopping center, office building, or industrial park; however, there are some details to figure out before getting started. In order to create a formal solar program plan, King...
How Solar Works on Flat Roofs
Solar is a long-term investment So, how do you ensure that putting solar on the roof of a commercial property does not limit future leasing options for the building? What if a new tenant wants to move in ten years from now, and has unique venting or HVAC requirements?...
Sharing Solar Across Many Businesses
How multiple businesses can benefit from a single solar program Let’s say you own a business in a shopping center or office building. You are likely leasing the space and pay your own energy bill. Since you don’t own the building or control what goes on the roof, is...
Why Don’t Shopping Centers Have Solar Panels?
Have you noticed that most shopping centers don’t have solar panels? Less than 10% of US shopping centers have solar in any form. For those that do, the panel installation is typically driven by a specific, progressive business that resides in the center, such as...