Energy Matters: Why C&I Solar Is the Smart Bet—Even After the Big Beautiful Bill

By Claire Broido Johnson, Co-Founder and President of Sunrock Distributed Technology

September 30, 2025

New financing fashions are empowering small and medium-sized enterprises and non-profits to undertake photo voltaic and storage options with no upfront prices. © Watthub

Again after I served below Secretary Chu on the Division of Power, we used to say power effectivity was the “low-hanging fruit”— and even “the fruit on the bottom”. Quick ahead 15 years, and the panorama has modified dramatically. AI, cryptocurrency, and information facilities are driving power demand by the roof, and we now settle for a projected 25% enhance¹ in U.S. electrical energy consumption by 2030.

On July 4 of this 12 months, the One Large Lovely Invoice Act (OBBBA) was handed, initiating a phased elimination of the photo voltaic Funding Tax Credit score (ITC). The ITC for residential photo voltaic tasks will finish on December 31, 2025, apart from people who start development earlier than July 4, 2026, or change into operational by December 31, 2027.

The ITC for industrial photo voltaic tasks will observe a separate phase-out schedule, with particulars to be finalized by the Division of Power later this 12 months. In the meantime, the federal response to grid congestion, transmission bottlenecks, and provide constraints is more and more leaning on fossil fuels—an ironic twist within the power transition.

But amid these challenges, a strong and underutilized resolution is hiding in plain sight: the rooftops of America’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and nonprofits. These buildings maintain huge untapped potential to decarbonize the grid, enhance resilience, and generate long-term native advantages.

Even higher, utilizing energy buy agreements (PPAs) permits these companies and organizations to obtain photo voltaic with no upfront prices, liberating up capital for his or her companies or non-profit work, whereas fixing an power fee for a 20+ 12 months time period.

To this point, the photo voltaic increase has targeted on residential and utility-scale markets. Promoting on to owners or growing large photo voltaic farms has made the headlines. However that’s altering. OBBBA is about to section out residential tax credit after 2025, and utility-scale tasks now face main uncertainty due to the 2027 placed-in-service deadlines.

As momentum shifts, SME (150 kW–5 MW) industrial and industrial (C&I) photo voltaic can lastly take heart stage.

Large Alternatives in Small and Medium-Sized C&I Photo voltaic

Actual property funding trusts, property house owners, and financiers who’ve been ready for the proper second—that is it. Firms like Sunrock Distributed Technology (Sunrock DG) are stepping in to serve SMEs and non-profit teams that traditionally couldn’t entry PPAs or photo voltaic leases resulting from credit score, dimension, or danger constraints. Right here’s why this second
is completely different:

Smarter Underwriting. Sunrock has developed proprietary underwriting instruments that consider whether or not a buyer will reliably pay a long-term mounted power invoice. That provides us confidence to assist tasks that have been beforehand deemed “too dangerous” or “too small.”
Readability on Tax Credit = sooner pace to market. The U.S. Authorities has now set clear timelines for the ITC phase-out (2027, except you start development or secure harbor earlier than July 2026). The paradox round “international entity of concern” (FEOC) and secure harboring guidelines is resolving. The message is evident: now could be the time to safe rooftops, queue for interconnection, and transfer shortly. Because the market settles, capital will adapt. EPCs will sharpen their pencils, financiers will compress margins, and we’ll all profit from lowered regulatory uncertainty.
Pace and Price Benefit. Photo voltaic stays the quickest and most cost-effective era useful resource to deploy, as proven 12 months after 12 months in Lazard’s Levelized Price of Power² studies. When brownouts and blackouts hit—and they’re going to—photo voltaic will have the ability to reply much more shortly than pure gasoline or nuclear tasks, which face lengthy allowing and development timelines. Utilities want quick options, and C&I photo voltaic delivers.
Photo voltaic + Storage = Grid Worth and Resiliency. One of many greatest winners within the OBBBA is power storage, which can profit from the complete ITC till 2032. Sunrock DG’s capability to finance photo voltaic + storage PPAs and leases eliminates
the priority of photo voltaic intermittency.
Storage enhances resilience and helps resolve congestion challenges—one thing grid operators are determined for, as highlighted within the NERC 2025 State of Reliability Report.³ Including capability (from photo voltaic+storage) in Texas, for instance, lowered rolling blackouts from 12% to 0.3% up to now this summer season, in keeping with the state’s grid operator, ERCOT.⁴
Utility charges are going sky excessive! No means round it—wish to lock in a hard and fast fee? Signal a PPA whilst you enhance your property worth with photo voltaic on
your roof.

Conclusion: Time to Double Down

C&I photo voltaic isn’t only a compelling decarbonization technique—it’s a enterprise alternative whose second has arrived. With sturdy coverage tailwinds, higher financing instruments, and maturing market circumstances, the rooftops of America’s industrial sector could be the keystone to accelerating our clear power future.

Let’s cease overlooking them.

Concerning the Writer
Claire Broido Johnson is the President of Sunrock Distributed Technology and a veteran local weather tech entrepreneur. A SunEdison Co-Founder and former DOE Advisor, she has 30 years of expertise scaling photo voltaic and clear power platforms, driving innovation in mission finance, and increasing entry to distributed power for numerous organizations.

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