Designed to help businesses, organizations, municipalities, educational institutions and others navigate the often complicated solar financing landscape, Standard Solar released a free eBook, “Commercial Solar Financing – The Definitive Guide.”

According to GTM’s new report, Commercial Solar Consumer Finance Trends, third-party ownership in commercial solar has been increasing since 2015, driven primarily by the intense growth in community solar. Community solar accounted for almost 20% of commercial installations in 2017, 99% of which were third-party owned.

“In a complicated market where customized solar financing solutions are increasingly paramount, knowing all of your options is critical,” said Scott Wiater, Chief Executive Officer and President of Standard Solar. “Our eBook will give customers the knowledge they need to smartly and efficiently find the right commercial solar financing vehicle for their project.”

There are multiple factors for each commercial customer that influence the financing decision. For example, many commercial solar customers don’t own their property–about 45% of occupied commercial buildings in the United States are leased. For these commercial customers, third-party ownership avoids leaving the customer on the hook for any complications with the lease agreement. And even for a third-party owned system, access to the customer’s facilities must be arranged differently for each customer, making each commercial solar deal highly customized.

In “Commercial Solar Financing – The Definitive Guide,” Standard Solar’s experts present the complicated financing subject in terms everyone can understand, giving potential solar owners the information they need to evaluate their potential financing partner to make sure success is attainable. The book addresses such crucial questions as:

• Why financing in the commercial solar segment has lagged,
• The different vehicles companies can use to build financing packages (from PPAs, leasing, loans and beyond) and,
• Why in-house financing is quickly becoming the preferred commercial solar financing model.

With access to $300 million in low-cost project capital available from international energy giant Énergir, Standard Solar can easily remove financing barriers from projects allowing the project, and the savings that come with it, to flourish.