SEIA Report: Corporate solar surges in US with more than 7,000MW of installed capacity

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Tech giant Apple now stands as the leading procurer of corporate solar in the US with nearly 400MW of total installed capacity. Image: SEIA

A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) speaks volumes about the level of commitment that corporate giants have made to embrace PV energy both in the present and moving forward. 

SEIA’s Solar Means Business 2018 Report tracked more than 7,000MW of installed solar capacity across 35,000 projects, up from 2,500MW and 7,000 projects in the 2017 report.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Tech giant Apple now stands as the leading procurer of corporate solar in the US with nearly 400MW of total installed capacity.

Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA, said: “Top companies are increasingly investing in clean, reliable solar energy because it makes economic sense. During the Solar+ Decade, corporate solar investments will become even more significant as businesses use solar to fight climate change, create jobs and boost local economies. When global brands go solar, the rest of the world takes note, and this report puts the power of corporate solar investment on full display.”

While Apple leads the pack when it comes to installed generation capacity, nine total corporations have installed at least 100MW, with Apple, Amazon, Target and Walmart all installing over 200MW to date. 

Kara Hurst, director of sustainability at Amazon, said: “Playing a significant role in helping to reduce the sources of human-induced climate change is an important commitment for Amazon. Major investments in renewable energy are a critical step toward addressing our carbon footprint globally. We will continue to invest in these projects and look forward to additional investments this year and beyond.”

When it comes to on-site PV installations, the same three companies at the top of the 2017 report remain the following year in Target, Walmart and Prologis. 

John Leisen, vice president of property management at Target, said: “We are honoured to be recognized by SEIA for a third consecutive year for our solar development. Target is committed to sustainable operations and creating a healthier environment for our team members and guests with renewable energy.”

Matt Singleton, senior vice president of global energy at Prologis, added: “Prologis was among the first in the logistics real estate industry to invest in solar, and our future-focused approach to environmental, social and governance practices has put us on pace to surpass our goal of 200MW of solar capacity by 2020. We are honoured to be recognized for our efforts to deliver value to our customers and minimize our environmental impact through our renewable energy program.”

Both falling prices and more flexible financing and procurement systems have played a key role in the rapid growth of corporate solar adoption, with more than half of all corporate solar capacity in the US-installed since 2016. The 7,000MW of installed commercial solar today generates 10.7 million MWh of electricity on a yearly basis, enough to power 1.4 million homes.

The report added that each week 6.6 million people visit a Walmart store with on-site solar, Amazon’s solar installations offset the CO2 equivalent of more than 200 million miles of truck deliveries, while Apple’s solar installations generate enough electricity annually to charge more than 60 billion smartphones.

21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 7, 2025
Solar PV will account for almost 80% of the 4.6TW of new renewable power expected to be added by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
October 7, 2025
Doral Renewables has secured a PPA with an unnamed 'corporate buyer' for its 430MW Cold Creek solar-plus-storage project in Texas.
October 7, 2025
US independent power producer (IPP) Arevon has begun operations at two utility-scale solar projects in Indiana.
Premium
October 6, 2025
Talon PV aims to be the first US company to safely manufacture TOPCon cells at scale, backed by European technology and a crucial First Solar licensing deal.
October 6, 2025
US utility AES Corporation is reportedly in discussions to be acquired by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary of global asset owning giant BlackRock.
October 3, 2025
Renewables developer Madison Energy Infrastructure has bought the US distributed generation assets of NextEra Energy Resources.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK