Solar Energy for Businesses and Farms
Solar energy is a cost-effective way to reduce energy cost, achieve your sustainability
goals and attract new customers.
Installing solar panels at your business or farm fixes your electricity costs over the life of the system, and protects your business from energy inflation.
With tax credits and other incentives, a commercial solar system will pay for itself in 5-10 years! Since the robust solar panel equipment will last 30 years or more, your business will have more than 20 years of free electricity.
There are financing opportunities available to fund eligible energy saving projects for businesses or farms, which includes solar energy. One opportunity is the Property Assess Clean Energy (PACE) loan where approved solar energy projects receive 100% refinancing at competitive rates. The PACE loan is repaid as a property tax assessment over 10 years.
PACE overcomes the challenges that have hindered adoption of energy improvement projects in our nation’s buildings by eliminating up-front solar energy costs and by providing low-cost, long-term financing up-front costs, and by providing low-cost, long-term financing.
Roger and Susan of Squash Blossom Farm were Solar Connection’s first customers. Despite having no agricultural experience between the two of them, Roger and Susan decided to not just buy a farm—their dream of 25 years—but to transition it to permaculture.
They considered leveraging wind power because of their location on a hill, but solar won in the end because of its low maintenance and the convenience of their barn’s south-facing roof.
“It is an integral part of the story of our farm because we’re trying to be a permaculture farm, and a key part of that is resource conservation. I think solar is probably the biggest impact we’ve had thus far.”
Denny Hamm has farmed in Chatfield, MN his whole life and was the first in his area to install solar panels after adding on to the farm’s structures in 2012.
“It’s nice to have a piece of equipment that never shuts down. It just starts itself up each morning. Most people don’t even know the panels are here unless they see an article in the paper or hear me talking about it. So it’s not like a windmill, which some people think are an eyesore.”
We offer free quotes on residential, agricultural, and commercial properties.