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Most solar installers have historically avoided multi-tenant properties unless a state offered a dedicated program for multi-family buildings, according to an analysis by Tim Montague, president of Clean Power Consulting Group, published by Solar Power World. Malls, warehouses and apartment complexes have earned a reputation for consuming time and stalling in the pipeline, and many contractors keep at least one shelved multi-tenant project they would prefer not to discuss.
That picture is shifting as more companies attack the complications from different angles, making the multi-tenant solar market worth a fresh look.
The first obstacle is the split incentive between the property owner who controls the roof and the tenants who pay the electricity bills. Owners typically cover only common-area electricity, while each tenant handles utility costs in its own space. Tenants, who would capture the largest savings from rooftop solar, have little influence over whether a shared-roof project is approved, and owners face weaker financial motivation to pursue one.
That disconnect matters more as power prices climb. The average U.S. commercial electricity rate rose nearly 5% between June 2025 and June 2026, increasing the value of onsite solar savings for tenants. Balcony solar, which lawmakers in more than two dozen states have introduced legislation to support, can serve an occasional apartment dweller with a sunny patio, but it barely reduces a building’s actual tenant load and leaves the split incentive unresolved.
The second obstacle is allocating and billing solar production as tenants move in and out. Varying lease terms and uneven tenant interest complicate splitting output across dozens of separately metered spaces. A solar system may run for decades while the tenant mix changes constantly, undermining long-term planning. Even when a landlord agrees to act as energy provider, someone must still issue bills, track rate changes and field tenant calls.
The core issues are not about equipment or installation, but about ownership, billing relationships and who remains available to answer the phone years later.
Because of these difficulties, few multi-tenant solar projects were developed for years. Some solar companies are now finding success with approaches that address different parts of the problem.
Allume Energy’s technology allows a single rooftop system to serve multiple individually metered apartments. The developer Catalyze uses an integrated model in which it finances, owns and operates the installation while the property owner earns rent without paying for or managing the project. King Energy takes a similar path but combines the property lease with tenant enrollment and billing. It rents roof or parking lot space from the owner, then finances, owns and operates the solar and battery system. The landlord collects rent without spending anything, while tenants may choose to buy solar power at roughly 10% below utility rates.
King Energy has also built a distinctive billing process. Rather than sending tenants a second, potentially confusing invoice, it merges utility and solar charges into one bill. Both line items appear so the discount is clear, and a small business owner could compare a prior year’s bill with the current one and see that only the logo and total have changed.
The company does not perform construction itself, partnering instead with regional EPCs. Individual projects can be as small as 100 kW when part of a larger portfolio, though the sweet spot is above 500 kW. King Energy does not aim to compete with EPCs for installation or operations and maintenance work; it seeks to serve as the financing and billing partner operating in the background, with services white-labeled or co-branded as needed.
Before reviving an old opportunity, several questions deserve consideration. A project merits another look when an engaged owner or REIT stands behind it and it sits within a portfolio of properties rather than a single building. Strong candidates also have roofs with substantial remaining life, reliable access to meter data and utility rules that support a workable billing model. Walking away still makes sense when ownership is murky, load data is unavailable, the roof needs replacement soon or no one on the team will manage billing and tenant turnover for the next two decades.
Multi-tenant solar still requires careful qualifying, and many projects will remain too tangled to pursue. Even so, shelved opportunities may deserve re-examination. The hardware was never the real problem; what matters is whether the property, the utility market and the install team can support a long-term structure for ownership, billing and tenant management. The right combination of players can make it work.
Tim Montague is president of Clean Power Consulting Group, host of the Clean Power Hour podcast and author of the forthcoming book Wired for Resilience: The Battery and Microgrid Playbook. He serves on the advisory board of Luminous Robotics.
Interactive table based on the Store Companies dataset for this report.
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