Over 130 rooftops owned and operated by Public Storage will be topped with rooftop PV installed by Solar Landscape.
Solar Landscape announced it started construction on the first half of 133 rooftop solar projects hosted on self-storage facilities operated by Public Storage. The solar arrays together will combine for 87.5 MW of capacity and will feed a multi-state community solar program.
Community solar involves residential and commercial customers subscribing to a portion of a solar facility’s generation in exchange for utility bill credits. This self-storage rooftop solar partnership is focused on low- to moderate-income (LMI) customer bases.
The portfolio includes 21 projects adding 13.2 MW to the Illinois Power Agency’s solar program called Illinois Shines. The projects will contribute directly to the Community-Driven Community Solar tranche within Illinois Shines. These projects will serve approximately 1,500 households.
A further 57 projects will serve nearly 2,600 homes in Maryland, many of whom are LMI residents. This is the single largest portfolio of projects submitted to the Maryland Community Solar pilot program LMI category. The projects are estimated to save the residents a collective $1 million per year on energy bills.
Another 37 projects will be installed as community solar projects in New Jersey, one of the premier markets for community solar today. Together, the full portfolio of projects across states will cover more than 8 million square feet of Public Storage rooftops.
The projects further the storage giant’s goal of installing solar on 1,000 properties by 2025. This portfolio marks 13% progress towards that goal.
“We are providing affordable renewable energy for low- and moderate-income residents, reducing our collective carbon impact on the environment, and converting non-used rooftop area into socioeconomically productive space for our company,” said John Sambuco, president of asset management, Public Storage.
Solar Landscape employs more than 150 people and has more than 250 MW of solar projects built, with 150 MW operating and under construction.
