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How much will my business save by installing solar?

By installing solar and offsetting electricity costs from the central grid, C&I property owners can reduce electricity costs by 75% on average.

The cost of solar energy deployment has decreased by over 70% in the past decade, making it the cheapest form of electricity in history.

By installing solar and offsetting electricity costs from the central grid, C&I property owners can reduce electricity costs by 75% on average. For an average C&I building owner with a $2,000 monthly electric bill, this equates to a new bill of roughly $500.

The short answer: significantly. The longer answer depends on two things — how much you currently pay for electricity, and how you choose to finance the system.

The cost of solar has fallen more than 70% over the past decade, making it the cheapest form of electricity generation in history. For commercial and industrial building owners, installing solar can reduce electricity costs by an average of 75%. For a building with a $10,000 monthly electric bill, that's roughly $7,500 in monthly savings.

Your current electricity cost is the biggest lever. Solar works by displacing grid electricity with power your system generates on-site. The more expensive your grid electricity, the more each kilowatt-hour of solar production is worth. Buildings in high-cost utility territories (California, New York, Massachusetts, for example) tend to see the strongest returns.

How you finance the system matters too. There are three main paths:

  • All-cash purchase: You pay for the system upfront and own it outright. Higher lifetime savings since there's no financing cost, but requires capital. Payback periods typically range from 5 to 15 years, after which your electricity is essentially free for the remaining life of the system (typically 25–30 years).

  • Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): A third party owns the system and you pay for the electricity it produces at a pre-agreed rate. No upfront cost, immediate savings, but lower lifetime returns than a cash purchase.

  • Lease: Similar to a PPA in structure, but you pay a fixed monthly amount rather than a per-kWh rate.

One thing to note: even a 100% offset system won't eliminate your utility bill entirely. Most utilities charge fixed monthly customer fees regardless of how much grid electricity you use.