Extra Space Storage Inc., a publicly traded self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) and third-party management firm, recently surpassed 100 solar-panel projects with partner Safari Energy. The companies have installed panels on Extra Space facilities across 13 states. Together the systems have already produced more than 33 gigawatt hours of solar power, which is equal to offsetting emissions from 5,000 vehicles in a year, according to a press release.
The largest of the installations is a 531-kilowatt rooftop system in Central Valley, N.Y., which leverages a net-energy metering program to provide electricity to neighboring “off-takers.” On average, the panel systems offset more than 80 percent of each site’s energy use, with panels at approximately 20 sites offsetting more than 95 percent, the release stated.
The milestone was reached as the result of a long partnership between the two companies. In 2018, the collaboration surpassed 6.7 megawatts of capacity at 58 Extra Space properties across nine states. “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 or business development for Safari.
“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,” added Joe Margolis, CEO of Extra Space.
The REIT has a long history of investing in solar energy, including the addition of 2.7 megawatts of capacity in 2018 at 23 Extra Space locations in Colorado and Illinois, with partner Pivot Energy.
Safari specializes in solar-power deployment for large commercial customers. The company has completed more than 200 solar-energy projects since its founding in 2008. It’s part of the PPL Corp. group of companies.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates more than 1,817 self-storage properties nationwide and in Puerto Rico. The company’s properties comprise approximately 1.3 million units and 140 million square feet of rentable space.
