Finding Certainty in an Uncertain Time: Financing Models for Commercial and Industrial Solar and Storage

 Insights from Solaris CEO Nick Perugini

Recent rapid-fire government announcements about the future of energy production in the U.S. have many in the solar and renewables industry feeling uncertain about what’s to come.

“I wish I had a crystal ball,” says Nick Perugini, Solaris Energy CEO and Co-Owner. “There are indications that some of the tax credit adders from the Inflation Reduction Act may be impacted or disappear. Tariffs will increase costs on some equipment and materials. Grants may become harder to secure. The bottom line, in my opinion, is that right now may be as good as it gets in the Commercial and Industrial (C&I) space for the foreseeable future. Therefore, we should act swiftly and close business now because the future is unpredictable.”

Regardless of any ambivalence in the political or business sector, the need is clear: Developing solar solutions is critical to our renewable energy and climate-smart future. The positive economic and environmental impacts of deployment in the commercial and industrial solar and storage segment are massive. As Perugini explains, C&I is an underserved and difficult — yet plentiful — segment of the solar and storage industries. While large-scale utility projects and the gross volume of residential installation are more often celebrated and highlighted, C&I customers consume more than one-third of U.S. electricity.

In monitoring the industry’s future, Nick asserts that the right solar financing model offers solid ground to stand on — no matter what happens.

“Many businesses are uncertain about the future and find it challenging to plan, yet surely they know they’ll continue to get electric bills, and those are on the rise,” says Nick. “Different financing models offer solutions to lock in solar electricity rates for years. In that fact, there is certainty.”

In this Q&A, Nick shares why now is a smart time to get into solar development and financing — a topic he’ll discuss on a keynote panel at the Wood MacKenzie Solar & Energy Storage Summit in Denver, April 23-25.

Solaris: How do you see the C&I landscape impacting the future of solar financial models, including state policies and incentives?

Nick: This goes both ways — the C&I market impacts the models, and the model requirements impact the market. For example, meaningful energy cost savings of 10% to 25% remain the primary reason CCI customers go solar, so the fundamental models and financing structures simply need to achieve this. That is the market driving the model.

Meanwhile, financing models have ever-increasing costs for insurance, legal services, permitting, and credit hurdles — thereby limiting the viability of some markets. That’s the model driving the market negatively. A positive example of the model driving the market has been the continued growth and awareness of C&I Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Community Solar subscriptions making it free and easy for customers to save with solar. Solaris endeavors to balance the two through an efficient process, collaboration, and, honestly, and by pushing back on the banks, lawyers, and insurance where we can, when needed.

How is Solaris Energy preparing for the expected changes within the CCI solar and storage landscape?

Solaris preempts negative expectations with preparation, adaptation, and diversification. The past few years have been positive, and our pipeline looks healthy through 2026. We stay prepared by scrutinizing our budgets to safeguard against the unpredictable. 

We adapt by regularly updating our form-of agreements to address and properly manage risk of change for all parties. And we’re diversifying by growing our Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and Asset Management portfolio. That said, we should act swiftly and close business now because the future is uncertain.

What potential does CCI have to balance an equitable distribution for solar energy? How does this relate to the mission of Solaris?

I believe our growth into more C&I subscribed community solar offers equitability to very small businesses who would never be able to utilize third-party financed solar on their own. This alone truly fosters our mission to provide clean, affordable electricity for all, and in this case, the underserved within the business community. In the future, I hope we can help every municipality, school, hospital, business, and nonprofit. If something prevents us from financing solar or storage installed on their property, then they could simply subscribe to one of the community solar projects we helped develop.

A handful of recent community solar projects in Maine achieve exactly what I just described. They have and will provide material energy savings for small local businesses for a long time. I can’t wait to get to Maine again to eat in their restaurants, explore their shops, and visit their properties — maybe this summer, when the next three installations under construction are finished!

Get in touch: Stay in the loop about future solar investment opportunities and the work we are doing with our partners.