Clear answer
Clear answer, explained.
Where the landlord pays for common-area electricity, solar offsets that load directly. Where tenants pay separately, options include sizing solar to common-area load only, on-bill arrangements, or virtual net metering structures where applicable. We model the economics against your specific lease structure during the discovery process — most owners are surprised at how favourable the math is even on net-lease structures.
Key points
What this means in practice.
- Solar economics in a multi-tenant building depend on how electricity costs flow through the lease
- Where the landlord pays for common-area electricity, solar offsets that load directly
- Where tenants pay their own electricity, options include sizing to common-area load, on-bill arrangements, or virtual net metering
- Virtual net metering structures allow solar generation credits to be allocated across tenant meters where applicable
- Economics are modelled against the specific lease structure during the discovery process
- Most CRE owners are surprised at how favourable the math is even on net-lease structures
When this applies
Best-fit environments.
- You own a multi-tenant commercial building with net leases where tenants pay their own electricity
- You want to understand how solar can be structured to generate return for the landlord when tenants control their own electricity accounts
- You are evaluating solar for a mixed-use building with a combination of owner-occupied and tenanted spaces
- You want to understand virtual net metering and whether it applies to your specific building and utility
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