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Management. The firm has now agreed to lease some 1.3 million square feet of its own rooftop space across 15 buildings to Solar Landscape, which has secured approvals for 150 megawatts of capacity under the BPU program.
“It was a huge win and found revenue for us,” said David Weissman, a managing partner with Greek and head of its Greek Management Division. “And working with a
Prologis Inc. to pursue projects on more than 30 million square feet of the industrial giant’s buildings, showing growing interest from publicly traded companies and institutional players.
“In the pilot, we saw a lot of ‘Let’s do one building’ or ‘Let’s do a few and see how it goes,’” Keegan said. “And now we’re seeing more of ‘This worked — let’s do the portfolio.’”
Not every warehouse is a candidate for solar panels, Schlindwein said, noting that Greek has avoided buildings with older roofs or those that may need to be replaced
during the lease term of the solar installation. The firm has also
steered away from properties with manufacturing tenants or others that may require additional roof space, as well as new speculative buildings that don’t yet have a tenant in hand.
But adoption by Greek and other companies could be even more widespread as new buildings come online. The state now requires that developers make at least 40 percent of their rooftop solar-ready for
warehouses of at least 100,000 square feet, but Schlindwein said the firm has been ahead of the curve. Namely, the firm in recent years has designed its buildings so that the entire roof can support a solar array.
What’s more, community solar provides a potential benefit to
host municipalities that landlords can tout during the development process, provided the BPU accepts the application, thanks to the role of firms like Solar Landscape and other installers.
“That’s something that we’re doing a little bit different now — as we’re talking more about it up front, we’re planning it, we’re designing for it up front,” Schlindwein said.
It all figures to drive ongoing demand as the BPU continues to streamline the program. The agency has been noticeably faster in deciding on applications since the launch of the permanent framework, Keegan said, which is critical as it looks ahead to future years.
“Now the program is going to be more systematic, where every year there
is going to be a new solicitation,” he said. “That was the real change from pilot to permanent. It’s much more programmatic now.”
All the while, it’s a chance for commercial real estate owners to participate in the social benefits that state officials envisioned when they launched the Community Solar Energy Program. That figures to go a long
way with tenants that are conscious
of their own carbon footprint and of so-called ESG or environmental, social and governance goals.
“It’s an indirect benefit to them,” Weissman said. “The fact that they’re checking the boxes in terms of complying with ESG initiatives and so forth is a great marketing tool for them, and it really speaks to their commitment to ESG overall.”
That’s not to mention the program’s support of the low- and moderate- income households that are receiving clean energy at a discount.
“BPU set this program up and is leading the nation in LMI community solar,” Keegan said. “That’s a feather in their cap.” RE
David Weissman
capable partner who can drive it made a lot of sense to us.”
Solar Landscape has seen a host of other local and regional developers follow a similar
path after dipping their toe in the water during the pilot period, Keegan said, including The Sudler Cos.,
J.G. Petrucci Co. Inc., Endurance Real Estate Group and Treetop Development.
The firm is also partnering with
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