Steve Argubrite, Van Nuys Prop Park
Steve Argubrite, co-owner of the Van Nuys Prop Park, talks about why he chose to use Current Energy to design, build, and manage his solar energy system. See the project →
Commercial solar · Sylmar, CA
Commercial Solar Installer for Los Angeles & Southern California
Rooftop, carport, ground-mount and battery systems designed around your actual utility bill, and built by our in-house crews.
- 6,569 panels · Van Nuys Airport
- 4.5M kWh/yr
- CSLB #1074466
- In-house crews · Sylmar
Get a free commercial assessment
Proof: Completed Commercial Projects
Van Nuys Airport
6,569 modules9 hangar roofs2 carports4.5M kWh/yr
One of the largest solar projects in Los Angeles: 6,569 modules across nine hangar roofs and two carports at Van Nuys Airport, producing 4.5 million kilowatt hours a year.
See the project
Chatsworth commercial building
100,000 sq ft3,000 rooftop modules324 carport modules8 EV stations
A Feed-in Tariff project on a 100,000 square-foot Chatsworth building: 3,000 rooftop modules, 324 more on two new carports, eight EV charging stations — and a new roof underneath the array at no cost to the owner.
See the project
Vitco Foods
123,000 sq ftSolar carports
A 123,000 square-foot perishable food distributor in Ontario with the load profile that makes the strongest case for solar: refrigeration that never switches off.
See the project~200 MWof solar designed since 2017
4.8★Google rating from 33 reviews
CSLB #1074466California licensed contractor
In-housedesign, permitting, install & service
Your Roof, Your Parking Lot and Your Utility Bill Are All Part of the Design
Commercial energy bills are rarely just about kilowatt-hours. Rate schedules, time-of-use periods and demand charges billed on your highest monthly peak all shape what a solar system can do for a building. So does your utility. LADWP, SCE, Burbank Water & Power and Glendale Water & Power each have their own rules for exports and interconnection.
That’s why we don’t size a system from square footage. We start with your bills. Twelve months of interval data is ideal, but one recent bill is enough to begin. From there we look at your structure, your electrical service and your site, and tell you plainly whether the property is a strong candidate, a marginal one, or one to revisit after a roof replacement.
City and project type change the rules. See commercial solar in Los Angeles, and read up on NEM 3.0 explained, SCE NEM 3 export rates and LADWP solar programs & rebates.
Commercial Solar Systems We Design and Build
Rooftop solar
Flat and low-slope roofs, checked for structure and roof age first.
Commercial roofing
Solar carports and canopies
Turn the parking lot into the power plant, with covered parking.
Commercial solar carports
Ground mount
Fixed arrays for open land, larger campuses and processing sites.
Book a site review
Battery storage
Shift solar into the expensive hours and trim demand peaks.
Battery storageAlso from Current Energy: EV charging · Commercial lighting · SGIP battery rebate
Solar Carports and Canopies for Commercial Parking Lots
When the roof is too small, shaded, crowded with equipment or near the end of its life, the parking lot is often the biggest open surface on the site. A solar carport puts the array on a steel canopy over your stalls. It produces power and gives tenants, staff and customers shaded parking out of the Valley heat.
When a carport makes sense
- The roof can’t carry an array, or has only a few years left
- You have more parking area than usable roof (retail centers, offices, distribution sites, multifamily)
- Covered parking is an amenity your tenants or customers value
- EV charging is on your roadmap, and conduit and capacity are cheaper to plan once
Design choices we walk you through
- Single-column (T) vs. two-column canopies. Open stalls vs. lighter structures.
- Span, height and tilt. Clearance over stalls, accessible spaces and fire lanes.
- Foundations and site work. Soil, drilled piers, trenching back to your switchgear, lighting and drainage under the canopy.
- Permitting. Carports go through structural plan check as well as electrical review, and utility rules vary by territory.
Solar carports we’ve built
Our crews built two new carports alongside a rooftop array at a commercial building in Chatsworth, with EV charging, and carports over the parking areas at Van Nuys Airport.
Read the full guide: Commercial solar carports in Southern California →
Commercial Solar for Every Kind of Property
Warehouses & industrial
Large flat roofs and steady daytime load. Structure and roof age drive the design.
Offices & medical
Predictable weekday load. Metering and lease structure decide who captures the benefit.
Retail & hospitality
Big parking lots make carports a strong fit, and storage can matter when load peaks after sunset.
Multifamily & HOAs
Common-area load, virtual net metering where available, and Title 24 requirements. Multifamily solar →
Schools
Public and school projects have their own review and procurement rules. Tell us about the site and we’ll tell you plainly whether it fits our scope.
Nonprofits & faith organizations
Ownership structures exist for organizations without federal tax liability. Ask us to compare them for your situation.
From Site Assessment to Long-Term Service: One Team
Assessment
We review your bills, rate schedule, roof or lot, and electrical service, then tell you if the site is a fit.
Design & engineering
Array layout, production modeling with stated assumptions, structural and electrical design, and a side-by-side look at ownership options.
Permitting & interconnection
Plan check with your city or county and the utility interconnection application, managed by us.
Installation
Built by Current Energy’s own crews, with commissioning and monitoring setup at handover.
Maintenance & monitoring
Production review and service after the system is on.
Our own crews, start to finish.
The people who design your system work alongside the crews who build and service it, so there’s one point of contact for the whole project.
Book a Site Review
Ways to Pay for Commercial Solar
Which options are open to you depends on your utility, your tax position and your site. We lay them out side by side so you can compare them with your CPA. We don’t steer you toward one.
- You own it
Cash purchase
You own the system and any tax benefits it qualifies for.
- You own it
Financed purchase / equipment loan
You own the system and spread the cost over time.
- Third party owns it
Lease
A third party owns the equipment and you make lease payments for its use.
- Third party owns it
Power purchase agreement (PPA) / prepaid PPA
A third party owns the system and you buy the power it produces. Common for nonprofits and organizations without tax appetite.
- Sell to LADWP
LADWP Feed-in Tariff (LADWP customers)
Sell the output to LADWP under a long-term contract instead of using it on site, subject to program capacity.
Current Energy is a licensed contractor, not a tax or legal adviser. Program availability changes; confirm anything that affects a decision with your CPA or tax counsel.
Federal tax credit
If you own the system, your project may qualify for an up to 30% federal tax credit (6% base; 30% if prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules are met; eligibility varies, consult a tax advisor). Federal deadlines now apply to when projects begin construction and are placed in service, so timing matters. Credit amounts and eligibility are set by federal law and IRS guidance, not by us; nothing here is a promise of any credit or outcome.
Talk to your CPA, and we’ll provide the project documentation they need. More: 2026 federal credit · expiring commercial incentives · solar property tax
Get a Free Commercial AssessmentBased in Sylmar. Building Across the Valley and Southern California.
Our office is at 15823 Monte St, Suite 101 in Sylmar, so San Fernando Valley commercial work is local for us. We work in LADWP, SCE, Burbank and Glendale territory every week, and the first thing we check on any site is the meter, because the utility changes the rules. See commercial solar in the San Fernando Valley.
Areas we serve: Sylmar, San Fernando, Granada Hills, Northridge, Chatsworth, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks (San Fernando Valley), Burbank & Glendale, Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, Ventura County and Orange County.
Recent Commercial Solar Projects
Rooftop · Van Nuys Airport
Rooftop · Chatsworth
Carport · Chatsworth
Warehouse
Institutional rooftopWarehouseCommercial Solar Questions
What does a free commercial assessment include?
We review your utility bills and rate schedule, look at your roof or parking lot and your electrical service, and tell you whether the site is a strong candidate. If it is, we follow up with a preliminary layout and a side-by-side look at ownership options. There’s no obligation.
How much does commercial solar cost?
It depends on the site more than the panels. Structure and attachment, the distance to your point of interconnection, your service capacity, roof condition and utility requirements all move the price. We price from a site-specific design, not a brochure number. More in our commercial solar cost guide.
Is a solar carport or a rooftop system better for my property?
If the roof has the space, structure and remaining life, a rooftop system avoids paying for a canopy. Carports earn their place when the roof can’t carry the array, when parking is your largest surface, or when you want covered parking and EV charging. We often design both and compare them.
Do you install battery storage for businesses?
Yes. Whether storage makes financial sense depends on your rate schedule, demand charges and export rules. We model it against your actual tariff, and if it doesn’t pencil we’ll say so. See battery storage.
Do I have to buy the system outright?
No. Cash purchase, financing, lease, PPA and, for LADWP customers, the Feed-in Tariff may be available, depending on your utility, tax position and site. We compare them side by side.
Does it matter if my building is on LADWP or SCE?
Yes. LADWP is a municipal utility with its own net metering and Feed-in Tariff rules. SCE customers fall under the state’s Net Billing Tariff. See LADWP vs. SCE solar.
How long does a commercial solar project take?
Timelines depend on system size, plan check with your city or county, and utility interconnection. Those steps often take longer than construction itself. We give you a dated schedule for your specific project during design.
Who installs and services the system?
Current Energy’s own crews, out of our Sylmar office. The same company that designs your system builds it and supports it afterward.
What our clients say
I have now signed on for two projects with Current Energy and am about to sign my third. Why? Because everything I was told, from construction timeline to the kWh productions, was spot on. This company is first-rate, professional, polite, and responsive.
Current Energy’s team was outstanding to work with. I highly recommend them for any solar installation.
I wholeheartedly recommend them for their outstanding service, attention to detail, and long-term commitment to customer satisfaction. They have exceeded our expectations, and we couldn't be happier with our decision to go solar. We're now doing our commercial building with them, and the service is as good as when they did our house!
Dean Vitakis, Vitco Foods
Dean Vitakis, the owner of Vitco Foods in Ontario, CA, talks about his experience with Current Energy. See the project →
Joseph, Chatsworth building owner
Joseph, Chatsworth building owner, discusses receiving a new $300,000.00 roof for his 100,000 sqft building for free. See the project →
Send Us a Bill. We’ll Send You a Straight Answer.
One recent utility bill is enough to start. We’ll tell you whether your site is a strong candidate, a marginal one, or one to revisit after a roof replacement.
Prefer to talk? Or use our contact page.