Shopping centres are planning alternative uses for their large building sites as the coronavirus pandemic continues and more people shop online. The Australian recently reported that shopping centres have well progressed plans to redevelop their sites, incorporating residential and office building developments.
About how shopping centre buildings are to be used now and in the future, The Australian reported: “They are instead offering mixed-use schemes as a way of getting through the pandemic and trying to reposition their assets for an expected switch back to local living as people avoid the CBDs. In one of the latest plays, listed shopping centre owner Vicinity Centres has lodged preccint-sized plans to overhaul its ageing centre in the Western Sydney suburb of Bankstown.”
Shopping centres looking at redevelopment are choosing not to execute standard rooftop solar PPAs because the typical length of term (10+ years) is too long and would constrain redevelopment. Terminating the PPA often requires paying out the full present value of the remaining contract, which can be more than the cost of the array.
Solpod offers a solar solution with planning cycles of less than five years, which is perfectly tailored for shopping centres. Solpod’s solar systems are easily relocatable, meaning Solpod can offer short term solar rentals, including a rolling one-year rental. This enables shopping centres to save on their power immediately but not have the constraints, risks and costs of a long term contract.
Solpod Rental enables shopping centres to:
- Benefit from flexible rental: Solpods solar systems can be leased, with short terms from one to five years. If circumstances change, the solar pods are removed and able to be used at an alternative site. Commercial shopping centres considering redevelopment can still access and benefit from solar in the immediate years to come.
- Save on electricity costs: Savings on energy rates may be 50% or more. Solpod Rental generates lower electricity pricing than the grid for many businesses across Australia.
- Meet and exceed sustainability goals: Solpod allows more businesses to access solar and reduce their carbon footprint. Solpods are also a sustainable product, being re-deployable after use. If there are building works, standard solar systems are usually scrapped due to cost and technical constraints. Shopping centres planning a redevelopment can be confident of meeting their sustainability goals with Solpod’s fully recyclable solar arrays.
Solpod is the world’s first redeployable rooftop solar solution. Solpod is a provider of solar to commercial and industrial rooftop sites, using multi-panel ‘pods’ that are efficient to install, remove and relocate. Solpod is game-changing for businesses who can now save on electricity costs and reduce their carbon footprint with Solpod’s short-term solar leasing. A long-term solar asset purchase is no longer necessary for business to benefit from solar.
One of Solpod’s first installations was in 2019 on Highpoint Shopping Centre in Maribyrnong. Highpoint Shopping Centre chose to install Solpod’s solar systems as part of a pilot program that included a $1 million grant from ARENA (The Australian Renewable Agency). See the following video that showcases Solpod’s re-deployable solar pods being installed at Highpoint Shopping Centre:
Solpod has now installed its innovative solar systems on 6 shopping centres. Solpod is hopeful that more shopping centres will choose to access rooftop solar through Solpod. Solpod better meets the needs of commercial sites and business with its flexible terms.
Solpod offers flexible and attractive terms to businesses:
- No minimum term rental when customers pay an install fee;
- Payback on install fees for customers, typically within 2 years;
- Savings on energy rates may be 50% or more;
- Flexible, easy to exit terms;
- Shorter terms than standard solar, at the same rates.
For further information provided by ARENA on Solpod’s approach to re-deployable solar: https://arena.gov.au/blog/solpods-relocatable-solar-system/
The Australian published the article “Shopping Centres On the Up” on July 6, 2020.