Corporate America is investing in clean energy at record levels, and tech giants are leading solar adopters.
Meta, Google, and Amazon are leading the way in solar and battery storage adoption, according to the latest Solar Energy Industries Association's (SEIA's) “Solar Means Business” report.
Meta continues to hold the title of the leading solar user in Corporate America, with approximately 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity installed. Meanwhile, Google is leading the way in energy storage, boasting 936 megawatt-hours (MWh) of installed battery capacity. In the first quarter of 2024, these companies added more solar power to their energy portfolios, with major players such as General Motors, Toyota, and US Steel also stepping up.
The report shows that US businesses have installed nearly 40 GW of solar capacity both on-site and off-site by Q1 2024, and corporate storage usage now exceeds 1.8 gigawatt hours (GWh). More growth is coming: The companies have more than 3 GWh of batteries under contract to come online in the next five years.
“Some of the world's largest industrial and data operations continue to turn to solar and storage as a reliable, cost-effective way to power their operations,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper.
Technology companies are at the forefront of this change as data center growth increases demand for electricity. Amazon, for example, leads the US with 13.6 GW of solar purchases under contract, while Meta and Google each have nearly 6 GW under contract – pipelines 10 times larger than the next company in the rankings.
Target remains the top US user of corporate solar for the ninth year in a row, with Prologis, Walmart, Amazon, and Blackstone also rounding out the top five. For the first time, the “Solar Means Business” report also tracks corporate battery energy storage, with Google, Apple, Meta, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and Kohl's among the top companies. -10 that use storage to meet most of their energy needs. in real time.
Looking ahead, both on-site and offshore energy storage are expected to play a larger role in the company's renewable strategies. Medical companies like Kaiser Permanente are already using batteries to power microgrids, making their facilities more resilient to blackouts.
Carolyn Campbell, Meta's head of clean and renewable energy, Mpumalanga, emphasized the importance of expanding solar power to match the company's global operations with 100% clean energy: “We are very pleased to be ranked number one in the company's solar purchases in the SEIA report this year. , and we continue to find ways to grow the grid for everyone's benefit.”
Target's vice president of property management, Erin Tyler, said of Target's 20-year-old program, “With our commitment to the solar industry, we are well on our way to achieving our goal of 100% renewable energy. 2030.”
The “Solar Means Business” report also looks at the policies driving America's corporate adoption of solar. Many companies take advantage of the long-term benefit of the Depreciation Act. To improve their investment in renewable energy, businesses are calling for improvements in coordination procedures, a new public solar law, and easier tax credit financing.
Read more: A 100-MW solar farm just broke ground in Wisconsin
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