Commercial Solar NYC & Long Island

Increase profitability. Reduce operating costs. Limit emissions.

Power Your Bottom Line

Commercial Solar Panels for Your Business

Maximize the financial return on your custom-built solar system. Investing in custom-built commercial solar panels allows businesses to significantly cut energy costs and benefit from tax incentives while tailoring their renewable energy solutions to meet specific operational needs. By leveraging government rebates, selling back excess power through net metering, and enhancing their corporate responsibility profile, companies can improve their bottom line and brand image. Proper selection of technology, coupled with expert installation and maintenance, can ensure that the solar system delivers maximum financial returns over its lifetime.

Your Custom Solution

Solar Business Models

Monetize your property + earn

EARN INCOME

Install a custom solar system to host a large scale community solar array and monetize your rooftop or land. You’ll collect a site fee as you contribute to the regional economy and support healthier communities.

Earn rent from your roof, land, or parking lot
A third-party financial company will pay upfront, over time, or a combination of the two, then sell the energy through a community solar program or remote net metering partnership.
Invest and sell energy to others
Fund your project through a loan, lease, or direct cash purchase, then sell the energy off-site using community solar.

SAVE ON UTILITY COSTS

Install a custom solar system to meet your business’s energy needs and maximize your utility savings. You’ll receive maximum utility savings and lower utility demand charges while capitalizing on NYS rebates and federal tax credits.

On-site installation on your building or property to directly reduce electric consumption.
Off-site installation on a remote property (either owned or leased) to remotely credit electric bill.

Cost + Savings

Project Funding Options for Businesses

Our in-house team of solar specialists will consider your unique financial and energy goals to provide the most economical plan possible. Whether you’re an owner-operator looking to reduce your own electric bill, a developer building a new project, or building/land owner seeking additional income, we’ll work with you to deliver the best possible solution for you. Our team of experts will customize a package to power your business and your bottom line, securing significant savings, building profit, and enabling long-term energy reductions.

Commercial solar businesses have distinct project funding options tailored to their industry, leveraging both public and private financial resources to support growth and sustainability. These include specialized solar loans with favorable terms that consider the future energy savings as a return on investment, federal and state tax credits that can offset initial costs, and dedicated solar renewable energy certificate (SREC) markets that create ongoing revenue streams.

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Solar Panels

Superior Technology

We partner with industry-leading manufacturers using the best panels on the market, enabling us to outfit your business with a technologically advanced solar system. From the day that your system goes live, you can have complete confidence in its performance, reliability, and value for years to come.

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Closeup photo of solar panels in an outdoor array

Battery Backup + Storage

Save or Earn

Make the most of your solar system with integrated battery storage. We design and install battery systems which allow buildings to reduce peak demand charges or increase profit.

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Electric Vehicles

Workplace Charging

You can differentiate your property and attract high-earning tenants with the addition of EV chargers to your facility. New York State offers several programs to provide discounts and incentives on EV workplace charging station installations.

Electric Vehicles + EV Charging

A gray Tesla Model S electric vehicle being charged at a home charging station

Our Work

15 Years of Clean Energy

kW Ground Mount System

Commercial Rooftop + Ground Mount System

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc

EmPower Solar completed a 600 kW roof-mounted system for Estée Lauder Corporation in December 2011. The system utilizes almost two thousand SunPower high-efficiency panels, allowing Estée Lauder to maximize the power output of the system given the amount of roof space on the building.

A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with California- based Tioga Energy, who is the owner and financier of the system, enabled Estée Lauder to be cash-positive from day one and see significant financial savings over the term of the PPA.

This system proved to be such a significant cost-saving asset for Estée Lauder that they chose to expand their system with the addition of a 1,457 kW ground mount installation and 12 EV charging stations in 2019.

Commercial Rooftop System

Riverhead Building Supply

EmPower Solar completed this 400 kW rooftop installation for Riverhead Building Supply in Calverton, New York. Unique to this project was the racking solution that EmPower Solar used to fasten each solar panel to the standing seam roof of the building.

EmPower Solar mechanically fastened each solar module to the seams of the roof using small clamps, eliminating the need to make any roof penetrations and the system to be installed without the use of rails, providing significant cost savings. While this mounting method requires absolute precision when implemented on such a large installation, EmPower Solar was able to complete the installation on time and on budget, and ultimately develop one of the largest flush-mounted contiguous solar arrays on Long Island.

Aerial view of a rooftop commercial solar installation on a warehouse

Commercial Ground Mount System

Sisters of St. Joseph

This 1MW ground-mounted fixed-array system, co-developed and installed with NextEra Energy Resources, LLC is located on approximately five acres owned by Sisters of St. Joseph. In accordance with the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Sustainable Land Ethic Statement, the land parcel, which was designated as degraded woodlands, was chosen to host the array. More than 50 trees were saved from the wooded area and were transplanted elsewhere on the property.

The system is the first on Long Island to take advantage of the new Community Distributed Generation (CDG) tariff. The community solar array provides community solar credits to the Sisters of St. Joseph to offset various electric bills on the property, as well as 63% of their current electricity needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my commercial property qualify for solar?

Your business’s energy needs, building/land size, rooftop material, and roof size all factor into determining if your property is suitable for solar. Contact us today and one of our solar experts can help you determine your property’s eligibility.

Where on my commercial property can I install solar?

Solar arrays can be installed on your building’s roof, on vacant land, or over parking structures. Regardless of where it is installed, your system can help you lower operating costs, increase revenue, meet local law requirements, and benefit from government rebates or tax credits.

My building’s roof is old or needs repairs. What can I do?

We can help arrange financing solutions if you require a new roofing system or repairs prior to a solar installation.

Will installing solar damage my roof?

Commercial solar arrays are installed using specialized racking methods, removing the need to penetrate your roof surface.

How can commercial solar help me meet my corporate sustainability goals?

Depending on installation size, you can earn income by partnering with large entities located in the 5 boroughs by installing both solar and battery storage systems, which provide carbon offset credits and local law 97 adherence. There are lease and ownership options available for this.

Are there state programs available to help me fund my commercial solar installation?

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) is a NYS program that allows you to monetize your property with solar, whether it’s the roof of a building or a plot of land, without out-of-pocket costs. With payment terms of up to 30 years, and no payment due until your system produces revenue, you gain greater profitability up front.

Are there federal tax incentives for commercial solar?

Owners of commercial solar arrays can benefit from the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), also known as the federal solar tax credit. The current ITC provides a 26% tax break on your federal taxes, is based on the total system cost, and can be used to directly offset federal tax liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis. If the owner is not able to benefit, we can help access 50% of the ITC or 12% savings. Another incentive is accelerated depreciation.