Commercial, Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Procurement, Commercial, Distributed Generation, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  April 14, 2016

Regency Centers completes solar installations at California shopping centers

Regency Centers, a owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored shopping centers, completed installations totaling more than 750 KW of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in California through a partnership with its retail partners and SoCore Energy. 

The combined installations include about 2,500 modules at Persimmon Place in Dublin, Calif., and East Washington Place in Petaluma, Calif., that are expected to produce more than 1,200,000 kWh of electricity per year, Regency Centers said in an April 13 news release. Tenants at those sites include HomeGoods, Nordstrom Rack, Target and Whole Foods Market. 

The financing structure used, Regency said, allows the involved parties to overcome some of the more challenging hurdles that typically prevent solar energy from use at landlord-tenant commercial properties.

"This is a win-win scenario for Regency, our retail partners that are participating in this unique offering, and the environment," Regency Centers Vice President of Sustainability Mark Peternell said in company news release. "We generate income from an unused portion of the shopping center roof, and the participating retailers save on their monthly electricity expenses." 

With Regency owning the solar system and the real estate, they are able to offer shorter power purchase agreement terms than more traditional solar developers. Also, since Regency maintains responsibility for both maintenance of the solar system and the roof, there is an inherent alignment of incentives to keep both functioning optimally.

For Nordstrom, the project offers an opportunity for the company to learn about the benefits of solar energy, the company's Vice President of facilities and energy John Pedrini said in the release. 

"Nordstrom is always looking for opportunities to minimized the impact our business has on the environment, and to reduce our contribution to climate change," he said. 

SoCore Energy, which was acquired by Edison International in 2013, folds into its newly launched energy-as-a-service subsidiary, Edison Energy. 

Share this valuable information with your colleagues using the buttons below: