ICYMI: Solar Is Your New Tenant Livestream

As a developer on Long Island, it is important to always evolve and adapt to changes in policy and consumer trends. On Wednesday, July 7, 2021 Steven Dubb, Principal of The Beechwood Organization was interviewed by Seneca Cornelius, Commercial Solar Project Developer at EmPower Solar during a livestream titled “Solar Is Your New Tenant” to explore how adding solar to a project can help developers earn revenue, save on electric bills, and make units more attractive to potential buyers.

 

Geared toward real estate developers curious about the benefits of solar energy, the livestream covered a variety of topics, including advances in the solar industry, sustainable development practices and opportunities and challenges in expanding renewable energy projects locally. Dubb, a leading Long Island developer, shared his experience of investing in clean energy through EmPower Solar.

The Beechwood Organization always had a strong interest in clean energy, and used their Jericho, NY office as a pilot for deploying solar to save on their own PSEG LI bills. Once the system proved successful in reducing their electric bill, the organization began to explore other applications of solar, and became an earlier adopter of community distributed generation, or community solar. Beechwood hosts the first community solar project of its kind in the region, providing clean, affordable energy to homeowners throughout Beechwood Homes communities.

Cornelius and Dubb also examined resiliency and energy efficiency in design, and how they extend to the inclusion of solar. Beechwood builds resiliency features into its projects, particularly inspired by the devastating effects of Superstorm Sandy, while EmPower Solar integrates battery backup systems with its solar installations to ensure complete emergency preparedness while also serving as a source of profit outside of extreme weather events.

Since Beechwood’s first two solar projects have proven fruitful, they are continuing to explore expansion of their clean energy initiative. They are looking to install solar panels across 300,000 square feet of flat space, such as atop the roofs of apartment buildings like The Vanderbilt in Westbury and the shops at Country Pointe in Plainview, equating to 3-5 megawatts that will provide power to approximately 500 more homes.

As the fastest growing industry in the country, solar plays a critical role in our region’s state of economic development. Installing a solar array, plus battery back-up/storage, is the ideal way to capitalize on existing underutilized space, allowing for utility cost savings or for the generation of stable, recession-proof income that increases year over year.

Learn more about solar opportunities for your development including becoming a host site for community solar here.