The US Commercial Rooftop Solar Market Is About To Explode, Federal Tax Credits Or Not

Solar power is the fastest way and least expensive way to add more electricity to the nation’s electricity grid, so it’s a mystery why federal policy makers are ignoring solar in favor of other, more cumbersome and expensive domestic energy resources. Nevertheless, US businesses continue to pursue new opportunities to get their hands on clean kilowatts, and a fresh round of activity is set to buzz in the area of commercial rooftop solar.

The Commercial Rooftop Solar Market Meets The Community Solar Movement

The commercial rooftop solar market is ripe for the picking, with vast swaths of broad, flat roofs ready-built for solar panels. However, the market faced some initial hurdles in the early 2000’s, as property owners were reluctant to deal with the cost of procurement as well as permitting, financing, and maintenance hassles.

New subscription-style pay-as-you-go financing models have relieved property owners of that burden. Virtual power plants, the distributed energy resource trend, and the booming community solar movement are three additional factors supporting the commercial rooftop solar movement.

The US solar installer Solar Landscape is a case in point. Headquartered in New Jersey, the firm launched in 2012 with a focus on both rooftop solar and community solar.

“We partner with the world’s largest real estate companies to develop, install, and operate solar projects on commercial and industrial rooftops,” Solar Landscape says of itself. “Through the groundbreaking community solar model, households in surrounding communities can subscribe to receive solar power at a guaranteed discount.”

Solar Landscape currently has 800 megawatts of rooftop solar under its belt, spread among 75 million square feet of leased rooftops. In 2024 alone, Solar Landscape leased 40 million square feet of commercial roof space in the US, indicating that the company is poised for rapid scaleup.

Indeed it is. The company states that it has relationships with 80 partners that collectively account for more than 2 billion square feet of commercial rooftops across the US.

500 More Commercial Rooftop Solar Power Plants For The USA

Despite the emergence of pay-as-you-go financing, SolarEdge notes that the market for large-scale commercial and industrial roofs remains untapped for the most part. Solar Landscape aims to wake it up with an assist from the well known global firm SolarEdge Technologies. A new partnership between the two companies was announced on July 30. The agreement covers a new round of more than 500 commercial rooftop solar projects spanning multiple states, with SolarEdge contributing its optimized energy management technology to the effort.

“The collaboration will focus on accelerating solar deployment across large-scale commercial and industrial rooftops,” the partners explain. “SolarEdge’s advanced technology enables efficient installations on a wide range of commercial rooftops, generating more power from the available space.”

If all goes according to plan, all 500+ projects will be completed during the course of this year into 2026, proving yet again that solar is the fastest way to add more capacity to the nation’s grid.

“Generating electricity on commercial rooftops and distributing it into the grid is America’s most shovel-ready energy option,” emphasized Solar Landscape co-founder and CEO Shaun Keegan in a press statement.

On its part, SolarEdge expects that its domestic manufacturing footprint in the US will make a major contribution to the revved-up timeline. “Our domestic manufacturing facilities have already created approximately 2,000 American jobs while ensuring a resilient supply chain for our partners,” noted Naama Ohana, who heads up the Commercial and Industrial Division at SolarEdge.

“This collaboration demonstrates how American innovation and manufacturing is helping to address the nation’s growing energy needs while strengthening local economies,” Ohana added.

US Presidents Come And Go …

As described by Solar Landscape, a typical rooftop solar lease clocks in at 20 years, well beyond the eight-year maximum allowed for any person to hold the title of US Commander-in-Chief.

With that extended timeline in hand, it’s not surprising that rooftop solar stakeholders are looking to expand their business despite the sour turn in federal policymaking this year. The current occupant of the White House is scheduled to hand the reins of federal energy policy over to a new administration on January 20, 2029, long before a typical solar lease runs out.

Besides, commercial ratepayers still want solar, federal policy or not. What’s not to like? The community solar angle provides property owners with a hassle-free way to earn new revenue and win Brownie points from local residents, if not for helping to save their planet then for helping to reduce their utility rates.

One good example is Solar Landscape’s collaboration with the investment firm Heitman Capital Management on a series of community solar projects on rooftops. Heitman SVP and Head of Global ESG Strategy Laura Craft sums up the benefits on the Solar Edge website:

“Community solar allowed us to check three boxes at once. It generates revenue through the rental of our entire roof — monetizing previously unused space — and it also allowed us to lower our carbon footprint for ourselves and the homes in the neighborhoods near our site.”

Solar Landscape, for one, continues to see a growth opportunity. In March of this year, the company noted that it is actively seeking to add about three dozen positions to its current workforce of 300.

The residential market also still holds promise. In the residential area, for example, the leading US firm Sunrun has just announced a new energy management partnership with Tesla Electricity (a branch of you-know-who) to support the growth of Sunrun’s rooftop solar business in Texas.

What, Exactly, Is The Problem With Rooftop Solar?

As for why the new “OBBA” federal tax bill is yanking away tax credits from both the wind and solar industries, the answer is easy. According to the new White House energy policy, wind and solar do not deserve taxpayer support because they are not reliable, “baseload” forms of power generation. Baseload refers to power plants that are always on, producing a predictable floor of electricity on a 24/7 basis regardless of the weather.

Of course, that argument was a sensible one in the 20th century, when wind and solar technologies were still in early stages and pumped hydropower was the only form of utility-scale energy storage in town.

Apparently, the White House hasn’t noticed that we’re in the 21st century now, so here’s a news flash: It’s the 21st century now. Efficient, reliable, utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are in widespread use. Virtual power plants and other 21st century “smart grid” technologies also help fill in weather-related gaps in both wind and solar power generation.

Photo (cropped): The combination of community solar benefits with commercial rooftop solar is motivating a fresh wave of commercial property owners to convert their buildings into renewable energy power plants (courtesy of Solar Landscape).