Energy-as-a-service-provider Sunnova Energy said it is expanding its energy service offerings to the commercial solar market, targeting the industrial, agricultural, commercial real estate, non-profit, commercial, and public sectors.

The Houston-based company said its move was supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, which it said is expected to increase deployment of commercial solar projects by 20% over the next five years. 

Sunnova said that electricity usage can be one of the biggest and most unpredictable costs facing businesses. It said it sees a “significant growth opportunity” in the commercial solar market. It plans to market systems that offer protection against utility power outages with integrated battery storage, and the ability to reduce carbon emissions. 

The total addressable market is around 145GW and is roughly 5% penetrated, according to Wood Mackenzie. Sunnova said it would use its network of dealers to sell into the commercial solar market.

Sunnova said it would provide financing options for systems starting at 50kW in size. 

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In early September, Sunnova filed paperwork with California state regulators to develop a solar and storage-focused micro-utility. The proposal could pose a relatively small, but novel, challenge to the state’s incumbent investor-owned utilities. Sunnova Community Microgrids California, LLC would own and operate EaaS offerings in new communities, including energy generation, storage, and distribution infrastructure. The business unit would develop largely self-sustaining micro-utilities by equipping new home communities with solar and storage. 

Through the first six months of 2022, Sunnova said its revenue rose to $212.7 million. That was a $104.9 million increase from the same period in 2021. The company said the improvement was due in part to an increased number of solar energy systems in service and its April 2021 acquisition of SunStreet.

The company narrowed its loss for the first half to $30.3 million, down from a net loss of $90.3 million a year earlier. The company also added 17,300 customers in the second quarter, bringing its total customer count to 225,000 as of June 30.