Solar Panels Go Live on Promenade

In continued efforts to lower energy costs, the has become the latest location in town to be outfitted with solar panels.

Kimco Realty, based in Long Island, owns the Promenade, and has made it its mission to take on sustainability initiatives among its 940 shopping centers in 44 states.

“As a company, we have been moving over the past two years to formalize an environmental sustainability program,” said Will Teichman, director of sustainability for Kimco. “The sustainability initiatives are for creating value for stakeholders in the community.”

“They are measures to improve the environmental outcomes of the property,” he added.

For Kimco, Teichman said, using solar energy is one of its biggest initiatives.

“We find it very rewarding and powerful for our stakeholders,” he said. “It is a win win for Kimco and the communities we are in.”

For tenants, Teichman said, it creates a lower cost for power.

“We are selling power at substantially lower costs than commercial rates, and that’s locked in for several years,” he said.

Teichman said the Bridgewater Promenade was one of six Kimco properties where solar panel systems were installed, and it was energized Dec. 17.

But despite the about 10 stores located in the Promenade, Teichman said, only two are being supplied with the solar power through the system—and much of that has to do with the technology of today.

“Both stores are large junior anchor tenants,” he said, but he declined to name the two.

Basically, Teichman said, the current limits to solar technology determine how much power can be produced and how much roof space is required. With supplying the power to two stores, he said, the company is optimizing the amount of space it has on the roof of the center.

“We have nearly optimized solar panels across the building where the tenants reside, and that’s as much power as we can get with the technology today,” he said. “The current technology can only convert a certain amount of power per square feet of area.”

“We try to put as many panels as possible, but we end up running out of roof space before we end up running out of tenant demand in terms of power,” he added.

Teichman said the system is sized to meet 60 to 80 percent of the total power needs of the tenants during peak hours, which basically means the middle of the day and the summer when energy use is at its highest.

“On the roof of the center, a significant portion is covered by panels, and they collect energy from the sun,” he said. “This is a cost effective and reliable way to get electricity for tenants.”

The power served to the two tenants, Teichman said, is equivalent to producing energy for about 50 homes.

To determine on which sites to install this solar project, Teichman said, the company uses several different criterions, such as the size of the tenants and the demands for energy.

“I can’t speak to the motivations of why a retailer might want to participate in this project, but a number of different national retailers have developed their own sustainability commitments and initiatives, and many have made this a priority,” he said. “We can’t develop the system unless we have a viable place to supply the energy, and it’s kind of a team effort to find a shopping center that meets all the demands while also having the customers to receive and utilize the power.”

Teichman said Kimco is offsetting the power expenses of the tenants, so basically the tenants will pay a discounted rate for every kilowatt of power they are receiving.

“And Kimco uses that income to pay for the cost of the system,” he said.

At this point, Teichman said, the projected life expectancy of the system is between 20 and 25 years, but that will also depend on changes in technology in the future.

“Solar panels are new in scope, and so we are going to have to see when we get to the 20- to 25-year horizon if there are any issues or if it can still function,” he said.

And for customers themselves, Teichman said, they should notice no change to the interior or exterior of the property.

The biggest difference will be seen for the tenants and the community as a whole, which will see less stress to the overall utility grid.

“The environmental benefits benefit the community as a whole because the presence of a system like this within the overall utility grid results in a lower demand for power as a whole, and a lower strain on the system,” he said. “A lot of utility infrastructure is stressed because of a high demand for power.”

“A system like this can help reduce the demand during peak times of the day and peak times of the year,” he added.