Crow Holdings Forays Into Renewable Energy, Plans To Add Solar Panels To Properties Nationwide

Dec 18, 2023

After developing 68M SF of industrial real estate nationwide, Crow Holdings will begin installing solar panels for the first time at its new and existing properties.

Crow Holdings Renewables will start by entitling and developing small to midsized projects averaging between 5 and 25 megawatts, according to a news release. Potential sites for new development are being pursued in California, Maryland and Illinois, and executives plan to move into more markets later this year.

The business line will be co-led by Senior Managing Director Laurence Pelosi and Managing Director Tim Marvich, who has a 17-year background in renewable energy development. Riean Norman will join the team as vice president focused on pre-development activities in California and the Northeast.

"The country's energy transition and renewables have demonstrably expanded opportunities in recent years, through federal and state support, improving technologies, declining costs and customer engagement," Crow Holdings CEO Michael Levy said in a statement. "We are seeing material growth across the sector that we expect to continue for the foreseeable future, and we are excited to launch Crow Holdings Renewables at such a critical time."

The company also intends to add panels and battery storage capabilities to millions of square feet of existing rooftops in California, New Jersey, Illinois and Texas. The move is expected to bring down the cost of energy for both residential and commercial consumers.

Thus far, no facilities in the Crow Holdings portfolio feature solar installations, a company spokesperson confirmed.

"We’ve had tremendous interest from our partners and industrial tenants in providing lower-cost energy," Pelosi said in a statement. "We have an opportunity to help meet the energy needs of hundreds of businesses and thousands of residential customers across the country."

Many of the nation's largest industrial developers are pursuing renewable energy solutions on-site, yet CBRE estimates only about 5% of the market for commercial solar installations has been developed in the U.S.

There were more than 3,100 potential sites for rooftop solar installations at the end of 2022, which could produce up to 11.7 terawatts of electricity — enough energy to replace 0.3% of the country's 2021 total energy usage, per CBRE.