Lumen Energy partners with Nuveen Real Estate to pinpoint solar feasibility across 1,400+ properties
June 10, 2024
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Lumen Energy, a clean energy technology company, today announced the launch of a new partnership with Nuveen Real Estate, the $147 billion real estate investment manager of TIAA, to complete the firm’s first-ever U.S. portfolio-wide solar feasibility assessment.
This partnership with Nuveen Real Estate enhances the private real estate investment manager’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon in its real estate portfolio by 2040. As part of its pathway to net zero, Nuveen Real Estate set an interim milestone to analyze on-site solar feasibility across all of its U.S. buildings by 2025.
Lumen’s ability to evaluate the feasibility of deploying solar across any diverse property portfolio enhances Nuveen Real Estate’s opportunity to meet its U.S. commitment ahead of schedule. The comprehensive assessment, encompassing over 1,400 properties spanning 38 states, 81 utilities, and various property sectors, identified hundreds of buildings well-suited for solar. These properties not only have the potential to significantly reduce their carbon footprint, but also achieve this goal profitably. Nuveen Real Estate will leverage the feasibility analysis to uncover financial opportunities, while contributing to solar generation in the U.S. and providing occupiers with space that meets low-carbon expectations. This partnership builds on the firm’s long history of responsible investing and is a reaffirmation of its commitment to invest in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Peter Light, Co-Founder and CEO at Lumen Energy, said: “Nuveen is demonstrating for the commercial real estate industry how to embrace solar power strategically and profitably. Since the impact of solar and storage on both carbon emissions and economics varies widely by building, assessing portfolio-wide feasibility is an essential first step to bypass the inefficiencies of individual building evaluations and unlock millions of potential value. We’re honored to support Nuveen in taking immediate action and realizing the benefits of solar power across their portfolio today.”
Shawn Lese, Chief Investment Officer & Head of Funds Management Americas at Nuveen Real Estate, added: “Renewable energy is a key part of achieving net zero and ensuring our assets align with Nuveen’s Smart Sustainable Building Blueprint, which is why Lumen Energy’s efficient and comprehensive review of solar feasibility for our portfolio is a game-changer. Their software streamlines the feasibility and deployment timeframe, allowing our team to deliver buildings that meet our ‘tomorrow’s world’ philosophy. We’re thrilled to work with Lumen on this crucial program.”
Lumen Energy’s unique software platform solves many of the challenges that have hindered institutional adoption of on-site solar. Lumen’s technology integrates thousands of data points per building, including property, energy, technology, policy, and finance data, to automatically determine if solar is both feasible and economically accretive to the building. Lumen’s automated process allows companies to review cash flow models and rigorously evaluate financing options side-by-side. Should solar prove financially viable at a location, property owners can leverage Lumen’s marketplace to obtain actionable bids on every project, empowering asset management teams to seamlessly close on financing and execute installations anywhere that solar projects align with their asset or fund strategy.
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About Lumen Energy
Lumen Energy was founded to make it possible for millions of buildings to benefit from clean energy technologies that are both profitable and open society’s door to a sustainable future. The company empowers commercial building owners to generate new income from clean energy with confidence and ease across their entire portfolios.