Lumen helps building owners install on-site clean energy systems. Today, that includes solar, batteries and EV charging. Think of us as a building owner’s representative, backed by a powerful software platform.

We make it easy to evaluate the financial and environmental potential of each property in your portfolio, across a menu of financing types. Then, we help you get the priority projects done by running a competitive bidding process in our marketplace of experienced solar developers and Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) firms.

It is free for building owners to get bids, and Lumen is paid only when our customers and partners get to a successful outcome.

Evaluate: Lumen starts by assessing your entire portfolio, using our proprietary software platform to pinpoint the sites with the highest potential for net operating income (NOI) from solar, battery storage, and EV charging. Our goal is to help you focus on the most valuable opportunities first.

Qualify: For each prioritized site, Lumen validates technical and financial feasibility. This stage includes checking roof condition, utility rate structures, local incentives, and more, all aligned with your internal goals and investment criteria.

Transact: Lumen runs a transparent, competitive bid process with top-tier developers and EPCs. The team standardizes and compares bids across pricing, term lengths, and contract structures (e.g. Cash Purchase, PPA, or Lease), helping you select the right partner for the job.

Deploy: Once you select a winning developer or EPC, you move forward with them directly to contracting and construction. Lumen remains a partner throughout deployment to ensure alignment and successful project execution.

Lumen supports four primary financing options that give you the flexibility to match your clean energy goals for each property: Rooftop Leasing, Power Purchase Agreements, Cash Purchase and Loan Financing.

With Rooftop Leasing (Community Solar), the building owner pays $0 CapEx for installation. In this model, you lease unused space on your property to a third-party solar developer. This is typically roof space, though sometimes might include carport and other ground space. Here, the developer installs and operates a system that exports clean energy to off-site subscribers - typically local residents or small businesses. In exchange for the space, the developer pays the property owner steady, long-term lease income over 15–25 years. Building owners can also subscribe their tenant or house loads to the system for energy savings.

A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is another $0 CapEx option that enables building owners to benefit from on-site energy savings. A third-party developer finances, installs, and maintains the system, selling the energy produced back to the building at a fixed rate - lower than existing utility rates - providing immediate savings. This model is ideal when owners or tenants want to directly benefit from solar energy, particularly in markets where community solar isn't available.

For building owners with an appetite to invest their own CapEx, a Cash Purchase offers the greatest control and potential return. In this model, building owners invest their own capital to install and maintain the system, and in turn retain all benefits, including on-site energy savings, tax incentives, and environmental credits. A Cash Purchase involves more building owner responsibility in exchange for full autonomy in owning and operating the energy asset.

‍Loan Financing enables building owners to fully own an on-site solar system by using debt to cover up to 100% of installation costs, making it a strong option for those with solid credit and a long-term investment outlook. Like with a Cash Purchase, owners retain all financial and environment benefits in exchange for the responsibility of owning and maintaining the energy system.

Lumen is agnostic to how you choose to finance your projects and will work with you to figure out which strategy aligns with your goals. In any financing case, adding new income from solar, batteries, or EV chargers will increase your property’s asset value.

‍Learn more about Lumen's financing options here.

With Rooftop Leasing, building owners can generate passive income by leasing unused areas of their roofs to a third-party developer, without worrying about buying the energy produced by the solar asset. Markets like Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois have robust and growing Community Solar (and similar) programs that enable this model. Ideal candidates are properties in these geographies with large, unobstructed roofs that can fit sizable solar arrays (typically >1MW DC). Rooftop leasing also helps avoid tenant complexity, as the energy produced is sent to the grid, rather than to building occupants.

Solar works across a wide range of assets. Lumen has supported projects at Industrial, Warehouse, Retail, Office, Multifamily and other property types. As a rule of thumb, the following property attributes are ideal for on-site solar:
Large, unobstructed roofsOwner-occupied or single-tenant buildingsProperties with high utility costs (for PPA, Cash Purchase and Loan financing only)That said, there are utility-level incentives and policies that make solar pencil across almost any property type, depending on where the property is located. Lumen’s platform supports all property types and incorporates these nuances to give you a clear picture of where it makes sense to deploy solar today.