Commercial Solar Financing
There are many possible methods for financing your commercial solar project. Our network of solar financing companies provide many options to finance your solar investment. Besides building your solar project, we can help guide you through the various solar financing options and connect you to our financing partners.
Cash Payment:
If your business has the cash available, this may be the cheapest form of financing and certainly the easiest and fastest transaction. However, keeping your capital for growing your business while leveraging readily available solar financing options may be a great option for you.
Commercial Loan or Line of Credit (LOC):
Another simple form of financing is working with a commercial lender or using your business’ existing line of credit. A commercial lender may require your business to securitize the solar project with a lien-hold interest in your property. A standard commercial solar loan may also require a down payment.
Operating Lease:
In situations where a company has insufficient tax liability or doesn’t pay taxes, an operating lease can be a great option. For flow-through entities such as a limited liability company (LLC) or an S-Corporation (S-Corp), this would be an outstanding choice.
With an operating lease, the leasing company (lessor) owns the solar project for a defined term, typically 5 to 7 years. The lessor can then capture the 30% federal investment tax credit (ITC) and the 5-year accelerated depreciation. In turn, the host entity of the solar project (lessee) will pay a monthly lease cost to the lessor. This monthly lease cost is 100% tax deductible to the lessee. At the end of the lease, there exists a purchase option at the greater amount of fair market value (FMV) or 15% of the purchase price. At this point, the lessor can pay off or refinance the balance for another period (typically 18 months). This option is limited to projects with a $100,000 to $5,000,000 budget, for entities two years or older, and with annual revenues of $1,000,000 or higher.
Capital Lease:
One of the oldest forms of commercial solar financing is the basic lease. This option is an easy, low-cost form of financing with characteristics similar to a loan.
The capital lease does not require a down payment and allows the lessee to take the tax credit and accelerated depreciation. It offers a 100% tax-deductible and fixed monthly payment option to pay for the commercial solar project.
Solar Lease & Power Purchase Agreements (PPA):
A “PPA” or solar lease is a popular approach in areas of the US with high electricity rates or incentives. Although these are great mechanisms for financing solar without needing to put money down, they have been less common in Illinois and the Midwest. That is changing however, so contact us today to find out the latest availability of this commercial solar financing option in Central and Southern Illinois, or surrounding states.
Commercial PACE Financing:
In select areas such as Missouri, commercial Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is a great option for funding both solar and energy-efficiency retrofits on private property. Tick Tock Energy is conveniently located 90 minutes from St. Louis and services the Missouri market.
A PACE assessment ties the project’s investment debt to the property, instead of the property owner(s). The repayment obligation may transfer with property ownership depending on state legislation. Property owners can typically repay their energy improvement costs in between 10 to 20 years as an additional fee to the property tax bill.
Pre-Paid PPA for Non-Profits:
Many commercial buildings are owned or operated by non-profit entities that do not qualify for solar tax incentives since they are non-taxpayers. A new solar financing product for the non-profit sector which includes churches, schools, government buildings and others can help make a solar panel investment a reality. Call us today and find out more about this exciting option.