Major U.S. businesses are choosing solar at a rapid rate to power their operations, according to the latest »Solar Means Business 2017« report, published by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The organization tracks a variety of commercial solar installations, including the top 25 corporate solar users, many of whom are Fortune 500 companies. »America’s top brands are putting their faith in solar energy,« says SEIA. 2017 was the third largest year for installations by America’s top companies, with 325 MW installed (2 percent over 2016, and 43 percent over 2015). Growth was led primarily by falling costs and changes to incentive programs in key states.

For the second year in a row, the Target Corporation, second largest discount store retailer in the United States, took the top spot among U.S. companies and added more than 40 MW of solar capacity to their portfolio. Target is also leading the Top Ten companies with a cumulative installed PV capacity of about 204 MW, followed by Walmart (149.43 MW) and Prologis (120.72 MW). Apple installed 79.40 MW, followed by Kohl’s (51.49 MW), Costco (50.75 MW), General Growth Properties (50.21 MW), IKEA (44.85 MW), Macy’s (35.28 MW) and Amazon(33.60 MW).

According to SEIA, more than 4,000 companies have installed solar systems on their businesses, across nearly 7,400 locations and representing 2,562 MW of commercial solar projects in the U.S.