Write A Business Plan
a. Create an overview of your company covering your mission statement, industry and a snapshot of your operations. Discuss the need that your business serves, and any industry trends that support the viability of establishing a solar farm, in addition to your companys name, address and geographic reach.
b. Describe your companys form of organization, its location and its competitive advantages. State the purpose of the business plan in this section in concrete terms: include the exact amount of funding or any other response the plan is intended to solicit from the reader.
c. Write an overview of your products and services. Describe the amount of electricity that will be generated by your solar farm, and detail your plans for the future expansion of your services. Compare the electricity produced by your business with traditional utilities and other alternative energy providers in terms of price, reliability and scalability.
d. Craft a marketing analysis section. Analyze your competitors and target customers in this section. Your primary competitors are likely to be large-scale alternative energy suppliers, such as other solar farms, wind turbine farms and large hydroelectric utilities.
g. Discuss possible sources of funding, including bank loans, stock offerings, and government grants. Grants are likely to play a large role in the initial funding of an alternative energy company.
What Is A Solar Farm Costs Land Needs & More
Solar power is grabbing the attention of farmers and landowners across the country.
After all, solar is being hailed as the new cash crop, offering far superior returns than traditional items like corn or soybeans. .
So, if you own a large piece of land should you be looking to harvest solar power on your property? And if yes, how should you go about starting one?
This blog will tell you what you need to know about solar farms. Well tell you what exactly constitutes a solar farm, how much they cost, and how you would go about starting one.
What Are The Different Types Of Solar Farms
There are two main types of solar farms: utility-scale and community solar.
Heres what you should know about each of them and how they differ.
Utility-scale solar farm
Utility-scale solar farms refer to massive areas of land where solar panels stretch beyond the horizon.
These installations consist of hundreds of thousands of solar panels that absorb energy from the sun, generate an electric current, and distribute that power on high-voltage power lines.
The electricity then travels along those power lines to the electricity grid and eventually finds its way to your home.
Community-scale solar farm
These solar farms are small-scale solar facilities that generate around 5 MW of electricity for a local community of homes and businesses.
Whoever participates in the program shares the power.
Residents may see a reduction in the electricity bill depending on the number of residents and the amount of power produced.
Heres how a community-scale farm works.
First, solar panels are installed in a large, open area of the neighborhood that receives maximum exposure to sunlight.
Next, solar energy is fed into the larger electricity grid for the region.
Finally, individuals who joined the solar program see their energy bill adjusted for the amount of energy generated in relation to the size of their home.
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Protect Your Intellectual Property With Trademark Copyrights Patents
If you are considering starting your own solar farm business, then you should consider filing for intellectual property protection. Filing for copyright protection for your firm is not only limited to your companys logo and other documents, and but also protecting, of course, the name of your business.
If you want to file for intellectual property protection and also register your trademark in the United States, then you are expected to begin the process by filing an application with the USPTO. The final approval of your trademark is subjected to the review of attorneys as required by USPTO.
Through Starting The Business Have You Learned Anything Particularly Helpful Or Advantageous
The number one thing Ive learned while starting and running multiple businesses is that you have to be ready to adapt. Sometimes your marketing just stops working, or the economy changes. Better to be lean and mean, and ready to pivot, when and if things change.
Early on, our direct mail campaign was killing it. However, soon our production started to slow down because we didnt have the ability to do appointments beyond a certain driving radius. The eventual solution was to develop solar phone sales and to open our own call center. We adapted by making a pivot and were able to move forward.
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Job Roles And Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer CEO:
- Increases managements effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers communicating values, strategies, and objectives assigning accountabilities planning, monitoring, and appraising job results developing incentives developing a climate for offering information and opinions providing educational opportunities.
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- Creates, communicates, and implements the organizations vision, mission, and overall direction i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organizations strategy.
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
Head, Technical Services:
Human Resources and Admin Manager
- Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
- Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
- Carries out staff induction for new team members
- Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
- Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
- Oversees the smooth running of the daily office and factory activities.
Sales and Marketing Manager
Accountant / Cashier:
Solar Panel Installation, Repair and Maintenance Engineers and Technicians
Client Service Executive
Develop Strategies To Boost Brand Awareness And Create A Corporate Identity
Below are the platforms you can leverage on to promote and advertise your new solar start-up
- Place adverts on both print and electronic media platforms.
- Sponsor relevant community and renewable energy based events / programs.
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et to promote our service.
- Install solar powered digital Bill Boards on strategic locations around your target market.
- Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods.
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas.
- Contact corporate organizations by calling them up and informing them of the services offered by your solar farm.
- List your solar farm business in local directories / yellow pages.
- Advertise your solar farming company on our official website and employ strategies that help pull traffic to the site
- Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our company logo et al.
23. Create a Suppliers/Distributors Network
When looking at starting a solar farm, there are three main parts of the supply and distribution chain developers, EPCs, and Subcontractors.
24. Tips for Running a Solar Farm Successfully
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How Do You Sell Solar Energy Back To The Grid
How to Sell Electricity Back to the Grid
Example : How Much Money Does A 1 Mw Solar Farm Make
Here is an explanation of how solar farms generate revenue:
A 1 MW solar farm is considered a Utility Solar Farm because of its size.
Utility Solar Farms sell their power on the wholesale electricity market by entering into Purchase-Power Agreements for their generation.
The national average says that there are four peak sun hours per day which means that a 1 MW solar farm would make 1,460 MWh per year .
In 2019, solar power was traded for an average of $27.40 per MWh, according to the LevelTen Energys P25 Index.
So to calculate the revenue on a 1 MW solar farm, you would take the MWh per year and multiply it by the trading price: 1,460 MWh per year x $27.40 = $40,000/year.
The calculations show that a 1 MW solar farm can earn an average of $40,000 per year.
Of course this is just an example, and you will want to factor in the actual price of solar power production in your area and the going rate for solar generation in the wholesale market – which will vary the numbers, but this gives you an idea of how revenue is calculated.
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Whats A Good Price For My Solar Installation
For larger arrays, there will likely be significant discrepancies between quotes from various contractors, so it will be important to get a few bids from different companies. Solar Power World compiles a list of top solar developers each year that can be a helpful starting point.
If youre in the early stages of considering a residential solar installation, rather than a solar farm, our Solar Calculator can offer a free estimate for what the array might cost, when you could break even on the investment and how much it could save you over time. For those interested in the community solar options in their state, check out our network of Community Solar Providers.
What Is A Solar Farm
A solar farm refers to land where there are multiple ground-mounted solar tracking towers. This can be a working farm or other kinds of unimproved or open land.
A solar farm is a photovoltaic power station, essentially a big decentralized solar array that supplies electricity to a power grid. Most massive arrays are owned by utilities. These farms include ground-mounted solar arrays. They are so large they can easily supply power to several households.
The concept of a solar farm can be associated with a residential community-sized solar farm and also large utility-scale solar.
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Describe The Process Of Launching The Business
After testing out our marketing campaign and locking up a finance partner, we were ready to launch,
In the beginning, we didnt have a team of solar sales reps, it was just me setting appointments and then sending out one of my former loan officers to pitch the program. We set appointments, answered the phones, sold systems, and processed paperwork with just two people.
Targeting Orange County, the direct mail campaign and sales script worked so well that we were immediately setting 3-5 sales appointments per day, and we had to bring in a couple of seasoned veteran solar sales reps to handle the volume. With closing ratios averaging between 24-40%, our production started to grow very quickly.
Since we started on a shoestring budget, we waited until we actually had production, before starting to hire staff. As we grew, we quickly had to scramble and hire more appointment setters, permit runners, operations personnel, and installation crews. We havent taken any venture capital or investment money, everything has been self-funded.
Most Profitable Solar Energy Business Ideas
Do you want to start a business in the renewable energy sector? Find here a list of the most profitable and trending solar energy business ideas for your ready reference.
Sunlight is an important source of renewable energy. Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics , or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Anyone can use solar cells to generate electricity from sunlight.
Nowadays, the demand for solar arrangements as an alternate source of energy is growing very fast. Basically, the demand for different types of solar products is increasing in countries like Japan, China, India, Germany, Italy, UK.
This increasing popularity is creating a huge potential for entrepreneurs for starting a solar business. Generally, you can start both the product and service-based business in the solar industry. However, you can also offer a product or service to a specific niche instead of attracting a huge audience.
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#step : Sales And Marketing
After establishing your business, its time to market your business and generate sales!
Anyone can start a business nowadays without even knowing anything about business!
But, if you do marketing for your business effectively and smartly, then no one will stop you in achieving success.
There are multiple ways by which you can market your business! You can hire salespersons who will visit local places and spread awareness about Solar systems and your business.
You can do traditional ads marketing like Newspaper ads, Radio Ads and more
But, one of the most effective and low cost marketing methods is Digital Marketing!
You can promote your business through Digital Marketing in the lowest budget possible and get unbelievable results!
Is There A Return On Solar Farm Investments
The upfront costs needed to invest in solar farms are enormous. Any investments made in solar farms should be made cautiously and after some detailed financial planning. Starting a solar farm often requires a minimum investment of $1 million.
The positive, however, is the return on investment can often be worth it as recurring revenue will pay dividends for many years. Unlike domestic rooftop solar panels, a solar farm is able to not only power your household and business appliances, the solar power generated will be used by someone else as well.
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Solar Farm Legal Documents
In addition to the necessary permitting, youll also need to apply for a business license, certificate of incorporation, and other business-related documents. If you intend to lease land for your solar farm, youll also need a lease agreement. Finally, if you intend to apply for loans or other financial assistance, youll need to create an involved business plan and provide other documentation to achieve funding.
Start A Solar Panel Business By Following These 10 Steps:
You have found the perfect business idea, and now you are ready to take the next step. There is more to starting a business than just registering it with the state. We have put together this simple guide to starting your solar panel business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.
Check out our How to Start a Business page.
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How Does A Solar Farm Business Work
Utilizing unused land, usually perceived as farmland, and plenty of solar panels, a solar farm transforms solar power into electricity. The produced energy is transmitted again into the electric grid. The local electricity firm pays the owner for the produced energy.
The underlying standards are identical to a solar panel operation set up on the homeowners rooftop the only difference is that this one is for a broader scope. To generate and sell power to the local utility and earn money, a solar farm employs a vast piece of land.
How Do You Remove Solar Panels
Believe it or not, one of most tedious part of the whole solar panel process is removal.
If youre deciding to start a solar farm, then youll want to put solar panel removal in the contact with the solar company.
That way, youve already determined who is responsible for the removal of the panels and the cost of the removal at the end of their life.
Covering the dismantling costs early in the contract will protect the landowner from any additional costs that may be associated with the removal process.
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What Happens During A Typical Day At A Solar Farm Business
After setup, a solar farm requires little work on your part. The utility company to which you lease the land will require full access to the property through a dedicated access road so its employees and construction crews may enter on an as-needed basis. Your role involves ensuring the land remains mowed and clean of debris. You also must maintain the fencing around your property to prevent wild animals and trespassers from entering.
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Solar Farm
Assuming you already have the land to build a solar farm on, the installation cost typically ranges between $.82 to $1.36/watt – according to the SEIAs average national cost figures in 2020.
Solar farms are 50% cheaper to build and operate than rooftop solar systems, which cost an average of $2.84 per watt – compared to $.82 to $1.36/watt
The larger the solar farm, the lower your installation cost is going to be.
Utilities are also turning to solar farms when adding new power generation capacity because prices tend to be more competitive than almost any other energy source.
Solar farmers are able to save on installation and operating costs of these larger scale solar farms and are therefore able to be more competitive than other energy sources, making them highly desirable to those looking for more cost effective energy sources.
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Solar Panels & Solar Cells
Before we begin to explain the overarching process of the solar farm, let us first define the nuances of solar panels, a.k.a. Photovoltaic panels since theyre the most crucial and necessary component in capturing and harnessing the power of the sun.
As with any electrical circuit, solar cells create electricity by generating a flow of electrons, but how does it begin?
Simply put, a solar cell is made up of four layers, with the two outmost layers being conductive plates from which the electrons will flow to the power source.
However, its from the two innermost layers where most of the solar-electrical magic happens.
The two innermost layers of a solar panel are two different types of silicon one which has been positively charged , and one which has been negatively charged .
Its with these two layers of silicon that the particles of light react.
When the sun shines on a solar cell , it knocks an electron out from the layer of negatively charged silicon.
Then, due to the inherent charges with the two layers of silicon, the newly removed electron is forced to the outer conductive plate.
From the outer conductive plate, the electron then flows to the connecting wires and then further on to its destination in the form of direct current.
While one cell might only generate up to 0.5V, if you string multiple cells up together in one panel, the energy output will increase accordingly.
For example, 12 solar cells together will be enough to charge your phone directly.
