Safari Energy Reaches 500th Commercial Solar Project
NEW YORK, March 11, 2021 – Leading solar developer Safari Energy announced that the company has developed or acquired its 500th commercial scale solar project. Spanning 24 states and Washington, D.C., Safari Energy’s projects have generated more than 618,000 megawatt-hours of electricity, or the equivalent of avoiding more than 437,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
“Countless business owners have recognized the value that solar can bring them, and Safari Energy has been honored to help deliver substantial returns for our customers, while creating a more sustainable energy future,” said David Heyman, CEO, Safari Energy. “Safari Energy’s phenomenal track record has been achieved by a fantastic team that reliably delivers results while streamlining the whole solar process for our clients,” he added.
Founded in 2008, Safari Energy’s first project was a small, three-kilowatt (kW) solar system installed at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. That project was quickly expanded with the addition of a 92 kW rooftop solar system and a 111 kW solar parking canopy system at the university. Over the following 10 years, Safari Energy would complete more than 200 commercial solar projects, including 40 with more than 1,000 kW (1 megawatt) capacity each.
“At Safari Energy, we’re extremely optimistic for the ‘solar decade’ to come, particularly with panel prices at historic lows, strong incentive programs in place and more than 145 gigawatts-worth of commercial rooftops available for solar development projects” – Kirk Edelman, Chief Commercial Officer, Safari Energy.
In 2018, Safari Energy was acquired by PPL Corporation, one of the largest companies in the U.S. utility sector. Soon thereafter, Safari Energy added the capability to purchase solar projects at all stages of development, from conception to operation. In the short time since then, Safari Energy has already acquired more than 100 solar projects ranging from under 100 kW to over 20 megawatts (MW) in states including California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and more.
The company’s 500th project, acquired recently, is a 2 MW solar system located at Chevron U.S.A. Inc.’s San Joaquin Valley Business Unit’s offices in Bakersfield, California.
Additional highlights of Safari Energy’s commercial solar portfolio include:
- 59 solar projects acquired in Massachusetts, including arrays at multifamily apartments, schools and universities, office buildings, a fire department, an ice rink and others.
- 60+ solar projects developed in New Jersey alone, including several at the state’s premier shopping destinations.
- One of Hawaii’s largest commercial solar projects, a 4 MW solar rooftop and parking deck system developed in Honolulu.
- 100+ solar projects developed in partnership with Extra Space Storage across 13 states.
- California’s largest retail center solar system, developed with rooftop and parking deck solar.
- 88 MW of distribution-scale solar projects acquired in Georgia.
- Installation of New York state’s largest commercial solar rooftop system.
“At Safari Energy, we’re extremely optimistic for the ‘solar decade’ to come, particularly with panel prices at historic lows, strong incentive programs in place and more than 145 gigawatts-worth of commercial rooftops available for solar development projects,” said Kirk Edelman, Chief Commercial Officer, Safari Energy. “Our success to date has been largely thanks to the industry-leading technological and financial solutions that we’re able to provide to our customers. We’ll continue to pursue superior commercial solar installations, while building our solar asset acquisition business and bringing new solutions like battery storage to an increasingly diverse group of customers.”
Safari Energy partners with a wide range of businesses on solar projects, from large landlords to owner-operators to solar developers. The company recently released a practical guide to solar for mid-scale companies available at: www.safarienergy.com/middle.
