The US’s largest self-storage company is going to host solar panels on 133 of its storage buildings’ rooftops to power over 10,000 homes with affordable community solar power.

Self-storage and community solar

Glendale, California-based Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) is working with Asbury Park, New Jersey-headquartered commercial and industrial rooftop solar developer Solar Landscape on a big multi-state project that will see community solar installations on 8 million square feet of its self-storage buildings’ rooftops in Maryland, New Jersey, and Illinois.

The 87.5 megawatt (MW) clean energy portfolio will allow local community residents to subscribe to nearby solar installations on Public Storage’s rooftops. Subscribers will receive discounted electricity, and additional savings for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households will often be offered.

Community solar expands access to clean energy for those who are unable to install rooftop solar for reasons such as high costs, lack of roof control, or insufficient sunlight.

In Illinois, the Illinois Power Agency announced 21 Public Storage projects on July 27 as part of its Community-Driven Community Solar program. The projects, which will total 13.2 MW, will serve nearly 1,500 households. Public Storage plans to dedicate another 23 of its properties in Illinois to its community solar project.

Public Storage’s 57 low-income-focused community solar installations in Maryland will serve nearly 2,600 homes, many of them LMI families, making it the largest portfolio of projects from a single company in the Maryland Community Solar Pilot Program’s LMI subcategory. These projects will save Maryland residents nearly $1 million per year on their energy bills.

In New Jersey, Public Storage will put rooftop solar on 32 of its properties to power community solar programs.

These 133 solar projects represent 13% of Public Storage’s commitment to install solar on more than 1,000 of its 2,877 properties by 2025.

Electrek’s Take

This program is a win – put rooftop solar on ALL the big-box buildings and warehouses. Like landfill, it’s an ideal place to create clean energy.

Public Storage is doing that: It’s putting affordable clean energy for low- and moderate-income residents on its unused rooftop square footage. That reduces emissions, saves local residents money, and helps low-income families access clean energy while lowering their energy bills.

What’s more, as the EPA writes, “Minority, low-income, and indigenous populations frequently bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harms and adverse health outcomes” from having to live next to power plants that burn fossil fuels. That grave injustice needs to be eliminated with more projects like this one.

Read more: Why putting rooftop solar on all US warehouses is a no-brainer – in numbers

Photo: Public Storage

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