Commercial, Distributed Generation, Solar  -  August 5, 2016

Westfield teams up on rooftop solar project at LA shopping center

Retail builder Westfield Corp. has partnered with Alta Energy to develop an 820-kW solar energy system for its Village at Westfield Topanga project in Los Angeles, according to an Aug. 3 news release.

The solar energy generated by the system is expected to support roughly 8% of the shopping center's electricity usage. With the addition of the solar project at Westfield Topanga, the developer's solar capacity in the U.S. will stretch to 3 MW across five locations.

Westfield currently derives 3.7% of its direct energy consumption from renewable sources, according to the news release.

"Long before construction of The Village at Westfield Topanga began, Alta Energy worked with us to establish the value of solar at this site and therefore maximize the project's effectiveness," Scott Hartman, Westfield's vice president of national operations, said in the release. "Alta Energy guided us quickly through the solar analytics, specifications, and vendor selection so we could focus on our core business.”

Further, when the Westfield Topanga solar project comes online in the fall, it will boost L.A.'s rooftop solar supply, which currently stands at nearly 190 MW.

"The solar system at The Village at Westfield Topanga is a significant renewable energy project in the Los Angeles area, moving the region away from dependence on fossil fuels and toward cleaner, more sustainable and renewable energy sources," said Marcie Edwards, general manager of the city's Department of Water and Power. "In the next decade, LADWP will completely transform its power supply to eliminate coal through a combination of increased energy efficiency and expanding renewable energy to 33% by 2020."

Alta Energy said in the news release that it will continue to partner with Westfield to consider additional solar projects, as market and policy conditions fluctuate. At the Westfield Topanga project, the company provided services including: evaluating Westfield’s properties for solar potential; securing incentives from sources including LADWP; selecting vendors to participate in the bid process; and advising Westfield in choosing a vendor.

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