Extra Space Storage Community Solar Portfolio Recognized as Top U.S. “Project of the Year” by Solar Builder
Solar Landscape partnered with the national self-storage leader to win national honor second year in a row
Asbury Park, NJ – December 5, 2022 – Salt Lake City-based Extra Space Storage and Solar Landscape, the leading provider of community solar energy to disadvantaged communities, today announced they were awarded Solar Builder’s 2022 “Community Solar Project of the Year.”
The project was approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) in Year 2 of the state’s Community Solar Energy Pilot Program. More than half of the energy it generates will power low- to- moderate-income (LMI) households near the self-storage sites throughout the state.
“We’re proud to continue to lead the self-storage sector in sustainability and this community solar project is a great addition to our solar efforts,” said McKall Morris, Communications and Sustainability Manager for Extra Space Storage. “Community solar enables Extra Space to do good for the environment and for the community in the areas we serve, so we appreciate being recognized by Solar Builder as Community Solar Project of the Year.”
“What stood out to me about Solar Landscape’s Extra Space Storage project is how much of a no-brainer it is,” said Chris Crowell, editor of Solar Builder. “Generating solar energy on self-storage rooftops to benefit a nearby community is a great idea hiding in plain sight – but turning no-brainer ideas into actual projects takes a lot of brains, the right vision and mission between a solar company and a corporate entity and, crucially, a well-crafted policy that encourages this creativity to benefit the community. So, kudos to Solar Landscape, Extra Space Storage and the State of New Jersey for seeing this opportunity and getting it done.”
“Together with Extra Space, the Solar Landscape team is bringing thousands more people into the fight against climate change through community solar,” said Shaun Keegan, CEO of Solar Landscape. “New Jersey is a national leader in community solar, and this recognition reinforces that other states can replicate a program design that lowers energy costs for all residents and quickly brings projects online. No one should be prevented from accessing affordable solar energy for reasons like cost or lack of roof control. Community solar is the answer to those equity barriers.”
Extra Space’s New Jersey Community Solar Portfolio
Extra Space Storage’s in-state 6.5 MW community solar portfolio spans 800,000 square feet of rooftop and will power over 1,400 nearby homes, mostly low- and moderate-income families. The winning portfolio includes 10 of the national self-storage leader’s sites throughout New Jersey that are hosting community solar projects with Solar Landscape.
One of these sites in Neptune, NJ was the first community solar project completed within NJBPU’s approved Year 2 projects and is expected to be energized in December. Residents in neighborhoods near the projects can now sign up to receive the power generated on Extra Space Storage rooftops, allowing them to use lower-cost solar energy without installing panels. Residents who subscribe will receive a guaranteed discount of at least 21% once a project is activated.
Community Solar in New Jersey: A Clean Energy Success Story
This is the second year in a row that Solar Landscape has been recognized as the “Project of the Year” for one of its projects within New Jersey’s community solar program.
An estimated 3.3 million New Jerseyans – 36%[i]– rent their homes and are not eligible for residential rooftop solar. Other potential barriers to traditional solar include income or a shaded property. Community solar is a way for these New Jersey residents – many of whom are low- to moderate-income – to use solar energy for their home electricity needs for the first time.
New Jersey’s community solar program, which preserves the state’s precious open spaces and greenfields, optimizes large commercial rooftops to the benefit of nearby LMI residents. Only 4% of large (over 100,000 square feet) commercial rooftops in New Jersey are currently utilized for solar panels, representing millions of square feet of unused roof eligible for solar panels. This represents a massive opportunity to fill the extra space on commercial rooftops with solar panels and expand access to renewable energy for disadvantaged communities on the frontlines of climate change.
Solar panels are only one of the ways community solar energizes nearby neighborhoods. Solar Landscape has received national recognition for its inclusive outreach, philanthropy, workforce development, and education efforts to residents and schoolchildren to teach them about the many other community benefits of the program. The outreach is conducted through nonprofits, public schools, food banks, municipal governments, and other local organizations to spread awareness and adoption of New Jersey’s clean energy program.
Residents interested in learning more can visit www.SolarLandscape.com.
About Solar Landscape
Based in Asbury Park, Solar Landscape is a leading full-service developer, designer, installer, owner, and operator of community solar and solar energy solutions for the commercial/industrial, municipal, public school and non-profit marketplaces. The company employs more than 120 people and has more than 200 megawatts of solar energy projects completed or under construction. For more about Solar Landscape, visit www.solarlandscape.com or check us out on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.
About Extra Space Storage
Extra Space Storage Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a real estate investment trust, and a member of the S&P 500. As of March 31, 2022, the Company owned and/or operated 2,130 self-storage properties, which comprise approximately 1.5 million units and approximately 164.2 million square feet of rentable storage space. 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. The company has won several industry awards for their sustainability efforts. Learn more on ir.extraspace.com.
[i] U.S.Census Bureau QuickFacts: New Jersey
