Scaling solar adoption across 1,500+ industrial properties

The Project

A senior energy manager at a Fortune 500 company overseeing 1,500+ leased and owned industrial warehouses and distribution centers sought to accelerate on-site solar adoption to meet the company’s net zero goals by 2040.  Scaling solar across their portfolio presented challenges, including evaluating diverse properties among various owners, managing fragmented procurement processes, exchanging energy data in XLS site by site, and comparing developer bids in PDF —  all apples to oranges. Furthermore, their look-ahead energy demand was changing with new loads, like EV charging. They needed a streamlined, data-driven approach to deploy megawatts of rooftop solar while maximizing financial returns through energy savings or roof leases.

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The Result

Partnering with Lumen Energy, the company evaluated a batch of pilot properties across 5 states simultaneously. Lumen solicited 86 bids within 7 days, evaluating community solar, behind-the-meter PPAs, and hybrid configurations. Lumen revealed significant bid price variability, with some bids offering 2.5x higher returns than others. Detailed side-by-side comparisons of different term lengths (coterminous with the property lease, as well as longer terms reflecting property lease renewal) enabled the company to confidently evaluate and select the most lucrative configuration and developer for each site. This process not only unlocked new revenue streams but also set a repeatable foundation for scaling solar across their entire portfolio with efficiency and confidence.

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