Sixteen apartment complexes in DFW will soon be powered by the sun in what has been described as the nation’s largest multifamily solar panel installation project to date.
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Granite Redevelopment Properties has partnered with The Solar Co. to install the 15-megawatt, 40,000-panel system at Class-B and C properties in Dallas and Tarrant counties, according to a release. More than half of the properties also have solar carports, or parking spots with solar panel roofs.
The project, once completed in July, is expected to offset energy costs for more than 3,600 units, per the release. Tim Gillean, president of Granite Redevelopment, said the move adds millions of dollars to the overall value of his company’s portfolio.
“When we ran the numbers for overall project returns, we were sold and wanted to go all in,” he said in a statement. “Not only is it a responsible decision from an environmental standpoint, it also makes tremendous financial sense.”
Granite is among a community of developers that has made large-scale commitments to renewable energy in recent months. In late March, Dallas-based Trammell Crow announced that it would partner with Altus Power to add solar panels, battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations to 35M SF of industrial assets in its pipeline.
“Our partnership with Altus Power will greatly accelerate the integration of clean energy into our properties and we expect it to meaningfully reduce our carbon footprint,” Trammell Crow CEO Mike Lafitte said in a statement. “This partnership is directly responsive to our capital partners and occupier clients who expect us to deliver sustainably built real estate.”
CRE significantly impacts the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, existing buildings account for nearly 40% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and 76% of electrical use worldwide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says decarbonization of buildings is critical to achieving the goal set forth in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement of limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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