The logistics real estate firm Prologis says that rooftop solar and storage installations on its buildings can now generate 500 megawatts (MW) of energy – a milestone that puts the company halfway to its goal of one gigawatt (GW) of solar supported by storage by 2025.
By comparison, 500 MW of power can support the energy needs of some 86,500 U.S. homes. According to Prologis, it reached that mark when it recently activated a one MW facility in Ontario, California. The company has been installing solar in its buildings since 2005, and has increased its rooftop solar generation 32% since September 30, 2022.
In 2022, Prologis announced a goal to achieve net zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2040. Along the way, the company has set interim goals to track its progress, which include achieving one GW of solar by 2025, supported by energy storage. And with its large global footprint, Prologis projects it could eventually add as much as six GW of solar and storage capacity to its portfolio over the long term.
"Solar plays a central role in our work to achieve net zero emissions,” Susan Uthayakumar, Prologis' chief energy and sustainability officer, said in a release. "Prologis has long invested in solar and increasing the amount of solar on the roofs of our buildings goes far to help us meet customer demand for cleaner energy while also contributing to the decarbonization of local grids.”
Some of Prologis’ solar generation feeds directly into local electrical grids, providing emissions-reduction and grid resilience benefits to local communities through the local utility. For example, in a partnership with the Clean Power Alliance (CPA) in California, Prologis will install solar panels on existing facilities and provide renewable energy to the CPA, which will serve disadvantaged communities by providing fixed-rate, clean energy to local neighborhoods. The company also has similar solar projects in Illinois, Washington State, New York, and New Jersey.
