Commercial solar for mid-size businesses in Sonora

For mid-size commercial systems of 20 to 150 kWp, the typical range is MXN 20 to 24 per watt installed, turnkey. An average 50 kWp system for a mid-size hotel or restaurant runs about MXN 1.1 to 1.4 million before VAT. The exact cost depends on the CFE rate you are on today (PDBT and GDBT are low-voltage commercial rates; GDMTO, the ordinary (non-time-of-use) medium-voltage rate; which one applies depends on your contracted demand), on the type of roof where it goes and on whether a parking canopy is included. After we analyze your bills, you get the exact figure with no obligation.

Typical payback for a mid-size commercial site runs from 3 to 5 years, depending on your current rate. Businesses on PDBT with heavy daytime consumption (gyms, restaurants, offices) tend toward the low end of the range. Hotels with significant night-time consumption and shopping centers with heavy air conditioning land at the high end. After payback, you still have 20+ years of generation at zero marginal cost. The project pays for itself out of the monthly savings: the loan payment is usually lower than the cut in your CFE bill from the first month.

Yes. Article 34, section XIII of the Mexican Income Tax Law (LISR) allows a 100% deduction of the amount invested in renewable generation equipment in the same fiscal year, provided the asset stays in operation for at least 5 years. It applies to companies and to sole proprietors. For a hotel, restaurant or gym set up as a company, the tax savings combined with the cut in your CFE bill typically shorten your real payback by 30 to 40%. We give you an itemized invoice that supports the deduction before SAT, Mexico's tax authority.

It does not have to. In a customer-facing business, closing for a day means lost revenue and lost customers. For hotels, restaurants, gyms and shopping centers we coordinate the work in phases, at off-peak hours or on night shifts, depending on the business. The final connection to the electrical panel typically needs a 2 to 4 hour window, scheduled around your operation. A typical 50 kWp commercial installation takes 5 to 8 business days with zero impact on your customers.

The system works the same way: it generates electricity that you consume first and, if there is a surplus and you are on net metering (CFE's bidirectional-metering program, which offsets kWh against kWh), the surplus goes to CFE. If CFE moves you to another rate (for example from PDBT to GDBT because your demand grew), the system keeps being credited, but the savings calculation changes. In the design we give you a sensitivity analysis under different rate scenarios. And if your consumption grows, the panels are modular: you can expand by adding modules to the same inverter or installing an additional one.

Yes, but the approach changes. Under CFE's net metering program, what you generate by day and do not use is credited to your account in kWh, and you draw those credits down when you consume at night. For hotels and businesses that run 24/7, this works well: the system is sized to cover total annual consumption, not just daytime use. If you are on the DAC rate (the high-consumption residential rate) or on GDMTH, CFE's time-of-use rate for medium-voltage customers with high demand, or if you want real night-time self-consumption, we evaluate a hybrid system with batteries. The conversation starts with your 12 bills.

Yes, and it is not empty marketing. Installed panels are a visible statement of real investment in sustainability, not a seal you bought. For hotels audited by international chains, restaurants with corporate ESG (environmental, social and governance) policies and shopping centers that lease to global brands, documented solar generation is becoming a requirement in some cases and a differentiator in all of them. We give you a monthly report of generation in kWh and tons of CO₂ avoided, ready for your sustainability report or your customer communications.