[Infographic] Solar means business: ranking America’s Top 20 corporate solar users

By Tomas H. Lucero

Sunlight is everywhere. It doesn’t pollute, it’s infinite (well, almost) and America has one of the largest infrastructures to capture sunlight in the world. During the last decade, both distributed generation and utility-scale generation have grown quickly. This expansion has made solar energy competitive. If supported, solar energy can help us tackle the issues of energy security and climate change.

Related Story: Where is the opportunity in a volatile energy market?

Solar energy is classified as “active” or “passive.” Active technology refers to electric or mechanical contraptions that draw on the sun to produce electricity or provide heating and cooling. Passive solar involves intelligent design of buildings to make the most of the sun’s ability to light, heat or cool.

Photovoltaic (PV): the technology generates electricity by turning solar radiation into direct electrical current. PV has succeeded in residential, non-residential, utility-scale and off-the-grid applications.

Related Story: Increase Your Luck On St. Patrick's Day Investing in Green Energy

Solar Thermal Electric (STE): It’s also known as concentrating solar power (CSP). The technology uses mirrors or lenses to a large area of sunlight into a concentrated beam. The beam heats a source, often water, producing steam that turns a turbine.

Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV): The technology also uses mirrors and lenses to concentrate sunlight. However, instead of using the sunlight to produce steam, the beam is aimed at high-efficiency PV cells.

Related Story: Vocation for Vets: How Renewable Energy is Stepping Up

Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC): The technology captures and stores solar energy for controlled use in homes, offices, pools, and so forth. Solar water heating is an example of SHC technology.

However, strong leadership is necessary to usher in a whole new era of energy use. Following is a list of the top corporations that are already putting solar energy to wide-scale use

Related Story: RockPile Energy is Changing the North Dakota Fracking Industry

http://www.pennenergy.com/content/dam/Pennenergy/online-articles/2014/10/solar-means-business-top-solar-users-in-the-us.jpg

Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter!

Read our latest edition - Business Review USA 

Share

Featured Articles

Hema Gokal: leading the Salesforce women's equality strategy

Always passionate about giving women a seat at the table, Hema Gokal is now spearheading Salesforce’s innovative new global female equality strategy

Top 10 cybersecurity specialists in the US

As cyber attacks grow in frequency and become increasingly sophisticated, Business Chief looks at the top 10 cybersecurity specialists in the US.

Silicon Valley Bank collapse: How did we get here?

US authorities have stepped in to protect all Silicon Valley Bank customers following the second-largest bank failure in the country's history

Top 10 best new leadership books by women to read in 2023

Leadership & Strategy

Eight of the best business leadership podcasts

Leadership & Strategy

CEO John Pagano, leading Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Global

Leadership & Strategy