Path-Q Solar

How should a business compare installing solar at its current facility with delaying the project if its electricity use may move to another location?

Answer

Compare the project under both occupancy scenarios, giving substantial weight to whether the solar system can continue serving the business after relocation. Installing now may provide earlier energy savings, but delaying may avoid investing in a site whose future electricity use will decline or end.

Key points

  • Model current-site savings, remaining time at the facility, installation cost, financing cost, maintenance, and expected production.
  • Assess whether the system could be transferred, sold with the property, relocated, or connected to another business facility.
  • Include the value of any unused generation, contract termination costs, removal costs, and the effect of a future move on financing or ownership obligations.
  • Use scenario analysis rather than relying on a single forecast of relocation timing.

What it depends on

  • Expected date and probability of relocation
  • Electricity use at the current and possible future locations
  • Ownership or lease terms for the property
  • System transfer, removal, financing, and interconnection provisions
  • Installation cost, expected production, and avoided electricity cost

Risks and trade-offs

  • Delaying may preserve flexibility but could defer savings and expose the business to future cost or supply changes.
  • Installing now may produce savings before relocation but can become less valuable if the business leaves early.
  • Moving equipment may be technically possible but can involve removal, reinstallation, permitting, warranty, and performance risks.

Information you may need

  • A realistic relocation timeline with probability ranges
  • Current and projected electricity bills or load profiles for each relevant site
  • Written terms for equipment ownership, financing, transfer, and removal
  • A site-specific proposal showing production, costs, and assumptions

Your next step

What to do next

Ask the installer or financial adviser to prepare side-by-side cases for installing now, delaying, and relocating or transferring the system, using at least two relocation scenarios.

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