Selection of some of the 100 solar power projects that Safari Energy has developed for Extra Space Storage across 13 states nationwide.
Commercial solar developer Safari Energy sent word that it has completed 100 solar projects with Extra Space Storage, a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, and a member of the S&P 500. This is an example of a great partnership that can be developed between a solar developer and a corporation looking to go green and cut down on their energy costs. Spanning over a dozen states and more than 10 megawatts (MW) of capacity, the projects have to date produced more than 33 GWh of solar power, the equivalent of offsetting emissions from 5,000 cars driven each year.
“It has been an amazing journey for Safari Energy to work with Extra Space Storage for the past six years on solar projects across the country,” said John Lind, Managing Director, Business Development, Safari Energy. “Extra Space has been an ideal client for our turnkey solar portfolio approach, and we look forward to continuing to support Extra Space’s role as a steward of the environment,” he added.
Extra Space Storage, headquartered in Salt Lake City, owns and/or operates over 1,800 self-storage properties, which comprise approximately 1.3 million units and approximately 137.6 million square feet of rentable storage space offering customers conveniently located and secure storage units across the country, including boat storage, RV storage and business storage. The company is the second largest owner and/or operator of self-storage properties in the United States and is the largest self-storage management company in the United States.
In total, since 2008, Safari Energy has developed hundreds of commercial-scale solar projects that have generated approximately 300 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, or the equivalent of avoiding more than 200,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
“At Extra Space, we are committed to sustainability. Solar is a key piece of our sustainability initiatives, and we’re glad to work with great partners like Safari Energy,” said Joe Margolis, CEO of Extra Space Storage. “We’ve found solar projects — like the 100 we’ve installed with Safari — to be an easy decision for us, because it’s at the intersection of what is good for the environment, what is good for the community and what is good for our shareholders.”
Example
The largest of the 100 projects is a 531 kilowatt (kW) rooftop solar system located in Central Valley, New York, where the project team was able to leverage a net energy metering program providing electricity from the system to neighboring offtakers. On average, the solar projects that Safari Energy developed for Extra Space offset more than 80% of each site’s energy use, with approximately 20 sites offsetting more than 95% of their energy use.
Safari Energy’s sophisticated approach to financial structuring, coupled with extensive real estate expertise, has translated into attractive yields and savings for commercial and industrial clients spanning multiple industry sectors, including self-storage, retail, warehousing, public sector, business centers, medical offices and more. In addition to developing solar projects, as Safari Energy did for Extra Space Storage, the company also provides funding for solar projects developed by partners and clients throughout the project life-cycle.
— Solar Builder magazine
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