Technology firms are the dominant industry investing in solar as electricity demand soars to keep pace with data center growth.
With the rise in electricity demand and decrease in solar prices, U.S. companies are investing in record levels of solar and energy storage to power operations or offset use.
The Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) released the ninth annual Solar Means Business report, which notes that through Q1 2024, U.S. businesses have installed nearly 40 GW of onsite and off-site solar capacity. Total corporate storage use exceeds 1.8 GWh, and corporates have reported over 3 GWh of contracted battery storage expected to come online over the next 5 years.
The top five companies in terms of solar procurement are Meta, Amazon, Google, Apple, and Walmart. Meta retains its spot as the top corporate solar user with nearly 5.2 GW of capacity, while Google is the leading energy storage user with 936 MWh of installed battery capacity.
It’s notable that the top solar and storage investors are also those with data centers, which are driving electricity demand to record highs. Amazon, Meta and Google continue to add capacity with pipelines that, combined, are over ten time larger than the next company in the ranking. Amazon alone has 13.6 GW of solar procurements under contract, while Meta and Google each have nearly 6 GW under contract.
Amazon announced recently that it had met its goal set in 2019 to match all of the electricity consumed in its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2030. In many cases, Amazon does not have solar onsite but matches its electricity demand by investing in Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), documents that represent financial investment in off-site renewable energy capacity.
Meta is also investing in solar in other places. For example, the company is an investor in the Eleven Mile Solar Center near Phoenix, Arizona. The 300 MW solar farm and 300MW/1200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) have the capacity to produce enough energy to power businesses, homes, and Meta’s planned data center in Mesa, Arizona.
“Some of the largest industrial and data operations in the world continue turning to solar and storage as a reliable, low-cost way to power their operations,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “These industry giants are investing in solar through a diverse range of applications, including onsite and off-site installations, on carports, paired with storage, or even as an anchor tenant for a community solar project.”
For a ninth consecutive year, Target retains its position as the nation’s leading onsite corporate solar user. Prologis, Walmart, Amazon and Blackstone are also among the top five companies for onsite solar installations.
Major manufacturers like General Motors, Toyota and U.S. Steel are also among the top ten companies for new solar contracts.
Toyota recently signed a virtual power purchase agreement for power from the 815 MW Sequoia Solar project located about 150 miles west of Dallas, Texas, which, when complete, will be one of the largest photovoltaic power facilities in North America.
Battery energy storage
The Solar Means Business report for 2024 tracked the largest corporate users of battery energy storage for the first time. The report finds that Google, Apple, and Meta are also among the top 10 companies that are investing in storage. Again, these companies are turning to clean energy to power data centers, and now batteries for added resilience.
“Adding new solar energy to the grid is a critical aspect of our approach to ensuring our data centers are supported by clean and renewable energy,” said Carolyn Campbell, Head of Clean and Renewable Energy, East, at Meta. “We’re thrilled to rank number one for corporate solar procurement in SEIA’s report this year and we continue to find ways to grow the grid to benefit everyone and support our goal of matching our global operations with 100% clean and renewable energy.”
Major retailers including Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and Kohl’s have also embraced storage.
“We began our solar program more than 20 years ago,” said Erin Tyler, vice president of property management at Target Corporation. “Target’s long-term investments in clean energy continue to drive value for our guests, communities, and shareholders. Through our commitment to solar, we’re well on our way to achieving our corporate goal of sourcing 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.”
In the medical field companies like Kaiser Permanente are using batteries to power microgrids at medical centers to make them more resilient to power outages. The report forecasts that offsite and onsite energy storage will be a dominant trend in corporate renewable energy integration.
The long-term incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act were as reasons for corporations to expand renewable energy procurement. The companies also said that what would encourage increased clean energy investments would be interconnection reforms, new community solar legislation, and simpler tax credit monetization.
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