Turning Your Roof Into A Revenue Stream Through Solar Leasing
Around the world, a new stream of relatively passive revenue is benefiting the Landlords of commercial buildings. Read about one method that is mutually symbiotic in benefiting both the environment, and the bottom line, as countries around the world continue to take efforts toward transitioning the consumer’s reliance on energy to new renewable sources.
While the solar energy movement continues to grow, governments, property owners and power providers are all seeking ways to access and leverage solar energy resources to their advantage. In order to produce electricity from the sun, there must be somewhere to install the panels where solar exposure is maximized. Originating in Europe and now expanding into North America, a policy was created called the Feed in Tariff (FIT) program, that is generally structured to pay a higher amount per kWh of power produced for solar (renewable) energy than for standard non-renewable energy. The primary benefit is encouraging homeowners and large commercial building owners to install solar panels on their roofs for personal consumption and sale. The secondary benefit affects building owners that don’t have the financial means or desire to install solar panels independently. A group of entrepreneurial and independent developers explored the feasibility of capitalizing on the higher FIT rates in their respective cities, thereby leasing underutilized rooftops on large commercial buildings from Landlords, while concurrently negotiating FIT contracts with power providers, and attracting investors to pay for the solar installations. This created a win-win-win situation, culminating in new lease revenue for the Landlord, greater FIT utility revenue for the solar lessee/financer, and ultimately a decrease in CO2 emissions. Building owners don’t have to get involved in marketing the power generated on their roofs, and the lease agreements frequently guarantee at least 20 years of dependable rental income. (Source)
How Could This Affect Alberta?
The City of Edmonton and Energy Efficiency Alberta have partnered up to encourage the installation of solar systems for the production of renewable energy. The City of Edmonton will chip in $0.15/watt towards the cost of the system, and Energy Efficiency Alberta will add in another $0.75/watt, together contributing roughly a third of the cost.
Alberta has yet to institute a Feed in Tariff program across the province, however it’s possibly only a matter of time as this system gains momentum around the world. Ontario instituted a Feed in Tarriff progam in 2006 (revised in 09/10) with staggering popularity, however mistakes in how the program pricing model was implemented caused the eventual wind down in 2016. In Alberta however, Banff is home to the first municipal Feed In Tariff program in Canada with, so far, positive results.
Below is a solar potential map that displays the kWh of solar energy that buildings around our City could generate, and the corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions that could be eliminated with installation. Regardless of FIT kickbacks one day, it’s clear that there is a staggering amount of solar potential in Edmonton, largely in our industrial parks as shown in the image below of Edmonton’s northwest, and something we should all consider in our developments.
Fun Fact: Edmonton gets about 2,300 hours of sun in the average year!
Interactive Solar Potential Map
Does your building have great solar potential? Check out the link via the button below.
As you’ve likely seen in my previous articles, I support the clean technologies and innovations that are coming out of our Canadian oil sands. I also support the eventual transition of our world onto more renewable sources of energy, such as the solar systems described above. The reality is that this transition will not happen overnight, so in the meantime, it’s important to champion the oil producers that are taking steps to proactively produce in the most environmentally supportive manners.