Simon Property Adds Largest Mall Solar Installation

New York City Simon Property Group has completed the largest solar installation by a mall owner in the United States, adding a 20,000-sq.-ft. rooftop solar installation at The Shops at Mission Viejo in Mission Viejo, California.

Simon entered into a power purchase agreement with Element Markets, a Houston-based developer of clean energy, for the output of the 173kW solar facility.

"This is an exciting project that will help us gain valuable experience with solar installations," said George Caraghiaur, VP, energy services, Simon Property Group. "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.”

Construction on the solar facility began on Dec. 3 and was completed in 20 days. Depending of the success of the installation, Simon hopes to use solar in more of its properties going forward.

“We are entering a new era for renewable power generation and we are very pleased to partner with Simon to identify renewable opportunities across Simon's portfolio," said Randall Lack, managing director of client services, Element Markets.