Follow U.S. Investment Immigration and U.S. News: Automakers and high-tech companies Apple and Intel are among the notable new additions to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) list of commercial photovoltaic customers.
The annual "Solar Means Business" report, published in partnership with the advocacy group Vote Solar, ranks U.S. companies based on the installed capacity at their respective facilities. Walmart continues to top the list with 89.4MW of solar energy installed, nearly double that of its closest competitor, food giant Costco (47MW).
Regarding the SEIA 2013 Solar Means Business top 25, SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch stated: "The company ranking is moving toward clean, affordable solar energy, acting as a 'Who's Who' of successful American companies. These iconic brands are leading the way, and their efforts are cutting our nation's dangerous dependence on foreign energy. They are also helping to create thousands of American jobs, boosting the U.S. economy, and improving our environment."
Apple's new 40MW solar installation at its North Carolina data center places it fourth on the list, closely following the third-place department store Kohl's (44.7MW). Tech giant Intel broke into this year's ranking with 6.87MW.
Internet giant Google is absent from the ranking. Despite its investments in photovoltaic power plants and several power purchase agreements (PPAs) to provide green electricity from wind and solar, its own solar power installations are minimal.
Facebook invests heavily in clean energy data centers in Sweden, but solar energy plays a very minor role in its U.S. operations.
Automakers have also recently improved their performance in the rankings.
General Motors was the only company in the sector to make last year's list, with an installed capacity of 5.6MW. In 2013, the company increased this figure to 6.7MW, ranking 21st.
Volkswagen is the top-ranked automaker with 9.6MW, while Toyota also appears on the list with 4.4MW. Rob Threlkeld, Manager of Renewable Energy at General Motors, stated: "Solar energy has already played an important role in supporting our corporate goal of deploying 125MW of renewable energy by 2020."
Retailers continue to dominate the ranking, with Macy's, Safeway, Target, Walgreens, and IKEA all appearing on the list.