Malls Turn to Solar Energy for Efficiency
Mall owners, faced with increasing operating costs, are turning to renewable energy sources as a way to beat the high cost of living.
Two Southern California malls recently installed solar-power systems at their centers. The Shops at Mission Viejo in Orange County, Calif., recently completed the installation of a 173-kilowatt solar panel on the mall’s roof. Even on cloudy or rainy days, the new panels will save mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. at least 130 kilowatts of savings, said mall manager Melissa Palencia. Simon officials said the solar system is the largest to be installed at any shopping center in the country.
In December, Westfield USA completed the installation of solar panels above the ice rink at its University Town Center mall in La Jolla, Calif., in San Diego County. The 100-kilowatt solar panels provide about half of the power requirements for the common areas of the mall’s ice rink and food court. The power is generated by renewable photovoltaic cells (PV) and can reduce carbon emissions by about 250,000 pounds per year, which is like planting more than 30 acres of trees, said company officials.
Westfield’s system was developed with Woodland Hills, Calif.–based Resource Energy Systems and was installed by Novato, Calif.–based SPG Solar with modules produced by Sharp. The array will provide approximately 50 percent of the power requirements for the common areas of the mall’s ice rink and food court.
Simon’s system was provided by Houston-based Element Markets.
“As the solar industry matures and technological improvements continue to drive down the cost of installations, we expect that solar renewable-energy purchases will become a cost-effective component of our sustainability strategy,” said George Caraghiaur, vice president of energy services at Simon.
Aside from Simon and Westfield, Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty is planning to install solar-energy systems at shopping centers in California, Colorado, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. It is working with Beltsville, Md.–based SunEdison. Manufacturers such as American Apparel, Patagonia, Fessler USA, Tori Richard and Timberland have installed or are planning to install solar power within their operations. —Robert McAllister
