Promoting Solar PV on 

Leased Buildings Guide

Benefits, Barriers, and Strategies

October 2015
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Learn more at energy.gov/betterbuildingsalliance/renewables 

Acknowledgements 

This report was prepared by Navigant Consulting, Inc. under the guidance of Andrew Mitchell, Amy Jiron 

and Kristen Taddonio of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance program in collaboration 

with Olayinka Kolawole of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot program. We would like to thank the 

following contributors and reviewers.

 Tom Curso, MC Realty Group

 Michael Groppi, CBRE

 Deborah Cloutier, JDM Associates

 Joshua Richards, First Potomac

 Adam Siegel, Retail Industry Leaders Association

 Jim Coombes, SunPower

 Max Dworkin, SunEdison

 Ben Peters, SunEdison

 Daniel Hill, Cobalt Solar

 Dan Halloway, Cobalt Solar

 Alex Sarly, Solar City

Disclaimer 

This report should be viewed as a general guide to best practices and factors for consideration by end 

users who are planning or evaluating the installation of photovoltaics. A qualified professional engineer or 

firm should always be contracted to oversee any photovoltaic project. 

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States 

Government. Neither the United States Government, nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, 

nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, 

or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any 

information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately 

owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, 

trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, 

recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency, contractor, or subcontractor 

thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the 

United States Government or any agency thereof.
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Table of Contents 

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ i 

Disclaimer..................................................................................................................................................... i 

Contents.......................................................................................................................................................ii

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 1 

Benefits of Installing Solar on Leased Buildings .......................................................................................... 2 

Solar Benefits for Landlords ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 

Solar Benefits for Tenants.............................................................................................................................................................. 2 

Barriers to Installing Solar PV on Leased Buildings ..................................................................................... 3 

Split Incentive................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 

Short Payback Required................................................................................................................................................................. 3 

Timeframe Discrepancy Building Lease and Solar PV System Life .............................................................................................. 4 

Property Owner Creditworthiness................................................................................................................................................... 4 

Property Ownership Entity.............................................................................................................................................................. 4 

Strategies to Installing Solar on Leased Buildings ....................................................................................... 6 

Property Owner Owns PV System ................................................................................................................................................. 6 

Third Party Owns PV System......................................................................................................................................................... 8 

Next Steps................................................................................................................................................... 9 

Glossary .................................................................................................................................................... 10

References................................................................................................................................................ 11
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Introduction 

To promote adoption of photovoltaics and other advanced cost-effective energy conservation measures for 

commercial buildings, the Better Buildings Alliance (BBA) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot 

Initiative, are exploring strategies to support, expand, and streamline efforts to deploy solar photovoltaics 

(PV) on commercial buildings in the U.S. real estate market. Areas of key interest center on technical, 

economic, administrative, and legal barriers and opportunities to reduce costs of capital, lower operational 

risks, protect consumers, and increase efficient market activities. This guide outlines the benefits, barriers 

and strategies to installing solar on leased buildings. It incorporates information from solar industry 

interviews and project case studies.

The Better Building Alliance

The Better Buildings Alliance works to develop and deploy innovative, cost-effective, and energy-saving 

solutions for U.S. commercial buildings. The Better Building Alliance also seeks to promote adoption of 

advanced cost-effective technologies including photovoltaics. As of 2012, the Commercial Buildings 

Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) estimates that there were 5.6 million commercial buildings in the 

United States comprising 87 billion square feet of floor space, and representing an increase of 14% and

21%, in the number of commercial buildings and floor space, respectively since 2003.1

 

In September 2014, the Better Buildings Alliance Renewable Integration Project Team published the OnSite Commercial Solar PV Decision Guide for commercial buildings.2

 This team works with industry 

leading building owners and managers interested in integration of renewable technologies., Building on the 

work of the 2014 guide, this work is intended to serve as an additional resource to identify and address the 

specific solar PV benefits, barriers and solutions for leased commercial buildings. As such, these guides 

should be viewed as a complementary set of resources. 

Green Leasing

The concept of a green lease has been tested and discussed for years; and while there is no distinct 

definition as to what constitutes a green lease, it is considered an effective mechanism for resolving 

legal/ownership challenges in the leased building market.3

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), with support from the Department of Energy’s Better 

Buildings Alliance, has developed the Green Lease Leaders program to “move the field of green leasing 

forward by simultaneously setting standards for what constitutes a green lease and recognizing leaders in 

the green leasing field.” 4 The Green Lease Leader is a designation created to recognize companies or 

1 U.S. Energy Information Administration, A Look at the U.S. Commercial Building Stock: Results from EIA’s 2012 Commercial Buildings Energy 

Consumptions Survey, 

http://www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/reports/2012/buildstock/?src=%E2%80%B9%20Consumption%20%20%20Commercial%20Buildings

%20Energy%20Consumption%20Survey%20(CBECS)-b1. 

2 On-Site Commercial Solar PV Decision Guide. U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings, September 25, 2014. 

www4.eere.energy.gov/alliance/sites/default/files/uploaded-files/solar-decision-guide.pdf. 

3 The California Sustainability Alliance has defined green leasing “as the integration of energy and water efficiency, emissions reduction, waste 

minimization and other sustainability objectives throughout the entire commercial leasing process.” California Sustainability Alliance, Green Leases 

Toolkit, http://sustainca.org/green_leases_toolkit/what_green_leasing. 4 Green Lease Leaders, About the Program, http://www.greenleaselibrary.com/about.html. 
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brokerage teams that successfully implement green lease language into new or existing leases. This 

program has led to the creation of the Green Lease Library, which has been instrumental to providing

green leasing resources for tenants and landlords.5 Although some of the resources mention the 

importance of renewables, none of them explain the benefits, barriers and solutions to incorporating solar 

PV onto a leased building. 

Benefits of Installing Solar on Leased Buildings 

In many cases solar PV benefits both landlords and tenants. However, the division of the economic and 

environmental benefits depends on the structure of the lease. In general, for commercial buildings, 

reducing operating expenses through the installation of a PV system can provide a hedge against 

escalating energy prices. Buildings may see lower costs of capital and higher market value because of this 

reduced risk. Additionally, when looking at all the building’s revenue streams, solar helps to diversify 

revenue streams and can reduce the overall volatility of the property’s income.

Solar Benefits for Landlords

 Reduced utility electricity consumption leads to reduced operating costs, and reduced exposure to volatility of

energy prices

 Enhances marketability of the building

 Lowers occupancy costs which facilitates the ability to charge higher rent

 Improves tenant retention due to lower operating expenses 6

Tenant benefits are very similar to the landlord benefits, however, the distribution of benefits vary 

depending on building lease structure. 

Solar Benefits for Tenants

 Lowers electricity costs

 Stabilizes electricity costs

 Supports corporate sustainability goals

 Demonstrates environmental responsibility to employees and the community

5 Green Lease Library, http://www.greenleaselibrary.com/. 6 “The High Performance Portfolio: Energy Issues in Underwriting Properties.” BetterBricks, November 2007, 

http://www.betterbricks.com/graphics/assets/documents/BB_WinTactics_EnergyIssues_Final.pdf
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Barriers to Installing Solar PV on Leased Buildings 

Although there are a number of benefits associated with installing solar on commercial buildings, a 

common misconception is that the barriers outweigh the benefits. In most cases the opposite is true. 

Depending on the electricity rate and the federal and state incentives available, the economic, 

environmental and marketing benefits of solar often outweigh the barriers to project implementation. 

A number of factors impact the growth of the commercial solar market. The major obstacles are the lack of 

project standardization, high transaction costs, and leasing terms. 

 Unlike the residential sector, standardized legal documents are not widely utilized within the sector,

and standard sets of technical specifications, or processes to underwrite credit, do not exist.

 Even though projects within the utility-scale sector are not standardized, the system sizes are large

enough that even smaller utility contracts can support the higher transaction costs.

7

Within the

commercial real-estate market, owner-tenant facilities in particular have an added level of

complexity. In addition to understanding the terms of the lease and the site-specific characteristics

of the facility, obtaining early indication of the relationship between the tenant and the landlord is

crucial to project success.

8

The Split Incentive

Under most net leases energy costs are paid directly by the tenants. As a result, building owners are not 

driven to invest in energy efficiency measures or solar PV systems. Typically, the structure of the 

commercial lease requires building owners to bear the cost of building capital upgrades, while energy 

savings from the efficiency or PV technologies are passed through directly to the tenants.9 Solar firms 

interviewed expressed that this “split incentive” was a barrier for both motivated parties. 

Short Payback Requirements 

Although PV solar systems typically have favorable return on investment (ROI) over the life of operation, 

many commercial building owners or tenants require short payback periods for investments. Renewable 

energy projects often have longer paybacks than energy efficiency measures or other capital investments. 

The “short payback” requirement becomes a barrier to installing solar for many buildings, not just leased 

buildings. 

7 Greentechsolar, Why ‘Middle Market’ Commercial Solar Hasn’t Kept Pace With Other Sectors, February 10, 2015,

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/why-commercial-scale-solar-hasnt-kept-pace-with-other-sectors. 

8 Boswell, Peyton and Stofega, Joe, Commercial Rooftop Success: A Little Ballast and A Lot of Business Sense, 

http://www.solarindustrymag.com/issues/SI1501/FEAT_01_Commercial-Rooftop-Success-A-Little-Ballast-And-A-Lot-Of-Business-Sense.html

9 Rocky Mountain Institute, Built Environment: Tools and Resources, http://www.rmi.org/tools_and_resources#split_incentives
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Timeframe Discrepancy between Building Lease and 

Solar PV System Life 

Leading solar engineering, procurement, and construction 

(EPC) firms and building owners expressed that the length of 

the tenant lease prevents solar projects from proceeding on 

leased buildings. Thus, for solar projects where electricity is 

sold to tenants in the building, it is important to consider the 

term remaining on the tenant’s lease. In most cases, the 

longer the lease, the easier the system owner will find project

financing. Financing for PV systems often require a 15-20 

year term, and so the power sales contracts should try to

align with that contract term to minimize “power sales risk.” 

Since many solar projects use third-party financing, the 

revenue from the sale of power to tenants is expected to pay 

back the financiers. If the tenant lease is shorter than the 

power sales contract, the risk of disrupting the revenue 

stream increases, and may require the building owner to 

cover the payment to a third party PV system owner in the 

case of a PPA during building vacancies. 

Property Owner Creditworthiness

The solar developer providing the PPA will need assurance 

that the building owner is unlikely to default on the contract

leaving the developer without a buyer of electricity. Ideally, 

property owners would have investment-grade credit ratings 

to minimize the risk for default for the PPA providers. 

However, many properties are owned by limited liability 

corporations (LLC), so only a few property owners aside from 

the largest companies can offer that level of publicly rated 

investment quality. For the project to secure financing, the 

parent company of the LLC will often need to be on the 

agreement. 

Property Ownership Entity

The property ownership entity determines eligibility for the 30 

percent Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC). 10 The 

ITC has no value to a company without income tax liability 

and many LLCs that own leased buildings do not have the 

liability to monetize the tax credit. 

10 Department of Energy, Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC), http://energy.gov/savings/business-energy-investment-tax-credit-itc. 

The Tower Companies

Location: Washington DC

Portfolio Size: 23 kW DC

Energy Production: 37,500 kWh per year

Expected Payback: 5 years

Project Completion: December 2014

 The project aligns with the Tower

Companies goal of being an

environmental leader in the real estate

industry. This solar project is the first

private commercial multi-tenant office

building in the District of Columbia to

install PV. The office building is LEED

Gold Certified Existing Buildings:

Operations and Maintenance (“EBOM”)

and Energy Star certified with a current

score of 86.

 The system was installed through a cash

purchase using incentives such as

rebates from SREC sales, accelerated

depreciation and the 30% Federal tax

credit. 75% of the initial project cost will

be recovered in the first two years. The

building is on a gross lease with a base

amount of electricity included in the

annual lease price.

 The Tower Company suggests installing

a dashboard in the lobby to educate the

public and offer scheduled project tours

to landlords, tenants and others who wish

to pursue this type of energy saving and

successful investment.

Photo Credit: The Tower Companies
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Additionally, for property held by a joint venture, obtaining partner approval can add complexity to the 

project. Solar PPA companies want building owners to backstop and guarantee the agreement in order to

protect the Solar PPA company from building vacancy.

Strategies to Install PV on Leased 

Buildings

While many barriers to installing solar PV on leased 

buildings exist, companies are developing innovative 

solutions to address or overcome these challenges. 

When solar is installed on a leased commercial rooftop, 

either the building owner or a third party owns the solar PV 

system. In most cases, the building tenant never directly 

owns the solar PV system. Although lifetime savings are 

often greatest with landlord PV system ownership, installing 

a system through third party ownership can eliminate some 

of the barriers to installing solar on a leased building. Under 

either ownership structure, a number of installation 

strategies exist and determining the approach that best 

meets your project needs is important to implementing a 

successful project. 

Property Owner Owns PV System 

Property owners that have the capital available to invest in 

a solar array can reap substantial financial and reputational 

benefits under a direct ownership model. Under this 

structure, several options exist for recouping the cost of the 

solar PV system.

 Include Electricity in Lease

Under a gross lease, a building owner can structure the

agreement so that in addition to paying for building

property taxes, insurance and maintenance, the building owner is also responsible for operating

expenses, including utility bills. The lease can be structured to cover a certain amount of the annual

electricity consumption (kWh/year), or all electricity consumed under a specified building occupancy

density (# of people/ 1000 sq. ft.), as was the case for the retrofitted commercial office space project in

Sunnyvale, California. A property owner can then invest in a solar PV array and receive the full benefits

of the electricity cost savings. Reducing the owner’s share of operating expenses raises the property’s

net operating income and supports higher appraised property value. Additionally, unlike energy

efficiency measures, solar PV production is not dependent on tenant behavior.

Retrofitted Commercial Office Space

Location: Sunnyvale, California

Portfolio Size: 138 kW DC

Energy Production: 175,000 kWh per year

Expected Payback: Unknown, rolled into building 

retrofit cost

Project Completion: August 2014

 The retrofit building has an energy use

intensity (EUI) of 22.5 and was fully leased

before project completion. The 138 kW solar

PV system was installed by Cobalt Power

Systems Inc. and generates ~80% of the

energy consumed by the building. It was

installed as a cash purchase financed

through a bank loan which funded the entire

retrofit. The office space is leased out

through a gross lease that includes a fixed

amount of electricity each month and the

cost of the PV system is recouped through

increased rent.

Photo Credit: Sharp Development Company
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 Sell Electricity to Utility through

Feed-in Tariff (FIT)

If the building has a large roof,

ideally situated for a solar PV

installation but no electricity off

taker, the opportunity exists in

some markets to sell electricity

directly to the utility through a

Feed-in Tariff. In January 2015,

Prologis announced the

completion of four new solar

projects totaling 4.2 MW and

feeding directly into the Los

Angeles Department of Water and

Power electric grid as part of the

utility’s Feed-in Tariff program.

Prologis developed and built the

solar installation, which was then

acquired by a renewable energy

investment firm. Prologis has

developed more than 110 MW of

renewable energy across 25

million sq. ft. of real estate. 11 It is

important to evaluate whether the

local utility offers a FIT program

before structuring a project in this

way. If a FIT program does not

exist, building owners can also sell

electricity directly to the utility via a

negotiated PPA.

 Sell Electricity to Community

Members

Similar to selling electricity to the

utility through a FIT or PPA, in some

areas the building owner can make

an arrangement with the utility to

provide solar electricity for a

community solar program12. Under

11 Prologis Completes 4.2 Megawatt Solar Project with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Prologis_Completes_4_2_Megawatt_Solar_Project_with_Los_Angeles_Department_of_Water_and_Power_999.

html

12 U.S. Department of Energy, A Guide to Community Solar: Utility, Private, and Non-profit Project Development. 

BJ’s Wholesale Club

Location: MA, MD, NJ

Portfolio Size: 5.5 MW DC

Energy Offset: 23% of portfolio consumption

Expected Payback: Cash Positive

Project Completion: 2013 and 2014

 SolarCity and Direct Energy partnered to provide nearly 20 solar

PV installations for BJ’s Wholesale Club facilities in Massachusetts,

Maryland and New Jersey. Several locations also have solar

powered batter storage, further reducing energy costs through

demand charge savings.

 The installations were financed under a PPA in which BJ’s buys the

solar electricity produced by the solar arrays from SolarCity for an

agreed upon price over the term of the agreement. The solar

incentives, such as the Federal 30% Investment Tax Credit, were

monetized by SolarCity and are reflected in a lower PPA price.

Because the lower PPA price is less than current utility retail

electricity prices, BJ’s began saving money immediately and

SolarCity expects BJ’s to pay more than 10% below current utility

rates for solar electricity.

 The building landlord required that the solar contract needed to

either closely match the timeline of the building leases or include

terms to mitigate any impact a timeline mismatch might cause

 BJ’s recommends that other companies interested in solar PV that are

involved in a lease determine the potential long-term increase in

building equity. While there will always be some negotiation between

landlord and tenant regarding shared risks, having a building with

lower operating costs provides a competitive advantage to both

parties.

Photo Credit: SolarCity
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this type of agreement the PV system provides power 

and/or financial benefits to multiple community members

by allowing utility customers to buy into a pool of energy 

from the facility. Some states have also created virtual net 

metering (VNM) policies, whereby customers can buy 

shares of community solar projects and use the portion of 

the project output that they purchased to offset their 

energy usage. As of 2014, VNM was available in 11 

states (CA, CO, CT, IL, MN, MD, MA, MN, NH, RI, and 

VT) and the Washington DC. 13 

 Use Electricity to Serve Common Building Load

Multi-tenant buildings across the country have common

utility meters designated to common building loads,

including electricity uses like shared corridor cooling and

parking lot lighting. The property owner can invest in a

solar PV array and receive the full benefits of the

electricity cost savings by net metering the solar system

to the common electricity meter and reducing the

buildings operating expenses.

 Sell Electricity to Tenants

Under a net lease in which utility costs cannot be

incorporated into the lease, the building owner installs a

system on their building and sells electricity directly to

their tenants ($/kWh) through a landlord-tenant PPA.

Theoretically this strategy could work, however,

research did not indicate any projects that implement

this kind of arrangement.

Third Party Owns PV System

Third party PV system ownership is a very common way to 

install solar on leased buildings. Having a third party that owns a portfolio of projects own the system can

eliminate the short system payback requirement and introduces an entity that can definitely monetize the 

30 percent Federal Tax Credit. 

Sell Electricity to Building Tenant

Under this structure, the third party sells electricity directly to the building tenant at a fixed or escalating 

electricity rate for a predetermined period of time. The agreement is often structured to match the 

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/49930.pdf.

13 Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Virtual Net Metering, 2014, http://ilsr.org/virtual-net-metering/ 

SunEdison Portfolio

Location: 13 States

Portfolio Size: 50+ MW across 160+ 

locations

Expected Payback: Cash Positive

Project Completion: 2007 - Present

 SunEdison partnered with a multi-national

client who wanted to go solar on a portfolio

of stores across the country. Over the last

seven years, SunEdison has negotiated

with numerous landlords (Kimco, Simon

Properties, Prologis, Vernado, etc.) on their

client’s behalf, to install solar on over 160

sites.

 All PV systems have been installed on the

roof. The client purchases the electricity

from SunEdison through a PPA and all sites

are cash flow positive from day one. A

project requirement is that PPA prices beat

utility rates by 10% for all electricity the PV

displaces. At some sites, the PV meets 50-

60% of load.

 A couple of project development barriers

that are important to address upfront include

maintaining the roof warranty and insurance

requirements. SunEdison stressed the

importance of educating the property owner

about the benefits of solar so that they can

become comfortable with the installation

before construction begins.
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length of the building lease to eliminate the risk that the PV system wouldn’t have a power off taker. 

Two of the solar companies that were interviewed for this guide described the establishment of national 

account clients using this strategy. In all cases, the building owner was involved in the process and 

gave approval to install equipment on their building. The solar PPA rate was lower than the building 

tenant’s utility electricity rate, so the tenant saved money immediately. 

 Sell Electricity to Utility through Feed-in Tariff

Under this structure the solar project developer funds, constructs, owns and operates the solar array

and pays the property owner to use the space for the array. The property owner is ultimately renting out

their roof but doesn’t put any of their capital at risk and has no power purchase obligations. This

strategy enables solar PV development on properties that contain a desirable resource such as a large

rooftop area or open ground space, but cannot readily use solar energy on-site due to operational or

constructional limitations. This strategy can also apply to buildings that have a roof area large enough

to support solar production well in excess of an amount that could be used on-site. A property owner

that is interested in a PPA but not eligible due to limited creditworthiness may also find the lease

structure attractive as an alternative way to generate revenue.14

This strategy is very similar to the FIT strategy proposed in the “Property Owner Owns the PV System”

section of the report, however, in this case a third party owns the system.

Sell Electricity to Tenant - Leases Roof from Property Owner

Under a hybrid structure, from the property owner’s perspective they enter into a roof lease, and from

the tenant’s perspective they enter into a PPA for electricity. This structure often occurs when the

property owner controls the roof or ground space where the tenant wants to install their solar PV

system and the property owner wants to receive compensation in exchange for giving up that control.

Next Steps 

This is an evolving topic and the Better Buildings Alliance will continue address it. This guide will be 

updated periodically with new information. In addition, the Better Buildings Alliance will be collecting market 

data on the issues, publishing case studies and pursuing template lease language. Please check 

energy.gov/betterbuildingsalliance/renewables for updates

14 Binkley, Andrew. “The Real Estate Solar Investment Handbook: A Commercial Property Guide to Managing Risks and Maximizing Returns.” First 

edition. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.
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Glossary 

Community Solar: A solar installation that accepts capital from and provides output credit (kWh) and tax 

benefits to multiple investors. This can be an attractive option for many customers who want to go solar but do 

not have a good site for PV. 

Double Net Lease: Tenant pays rent plus property taxes and insurance.

Feed in Tariff (FIT): A FIT offers a guarantee of payments to renewable energy developers for the 

electricity they produce. Payments can be composed of electricity alone or of electricity bundled with 

renewable energy certificates. These payments are generally awarded as long-term contracts set over a 

period of 15-20 years.15

Green Lease: Integration of energy and water efficiency, emissions reduction, waste minimization and 

other sustainability objectives throughout the entire commercial leasing process. Green leasing dictates 

that building performance become transparent to all parties involved in the lease transaction. 16 

Gross Lease: A type of commercial lease where the landlord pays for the building's property taxes, 

insurance and maintenance. A gross lease can be modified in a number of ways to best meet the needs of 

a particular building's tenants. A gross lease may or may not require the tenant to pay utility bills. 

Single Net Lease: Tenant pays rent plus property taxes.

Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): Financial arrangement in which a third-party developer owns, 

operates, and maintains the photovoltaic system, and a host customer agrees to site the system on its roof 

or elsewhere on its property and purchases the system's electric output from the solar services provider for

a predetermined period. 17

Triple Net Lease: A lease agreement that designates the tenant as being solely responsible for all of the 

costs relating to the asset being leased in addition to the rent fee applied under the lease. The structure of 

this type of lease requires the lessee to pay for net real estate taxes on the leased asset, net building 

insurance, net common area maintenance and all building operating expenses. 

15 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Feed-In Tariffs, 

http://www.nrel.gov/tech_deployment/state_local_governments/basics_tariffs.html

16 California Sustainability Alliance, What Is Green Leasing? http://sustainca.org/green_leases_toolkit/what_green_leasing. 17 United States Environmental Protection Agency, Solar Power Purchase Agreements, 

http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/buygp/solarpower.htm
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References 

Binkley, Andrew. “The Real Estate Solar Investment Handbook: A Commercial Property Guide to 

Managing Risks and Maximizing Returns.” First edition. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.

Better Buildings Alliance Solution Center, http://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/

California Sustainability Alliance, What Is Green Leasing?, 

http://sustainca.org/green_leases_toolkit/what_green_leasing. 

Department of Energy, Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC), http://energy.gov/savings/businessenergy-investment-tax-credit-itc. 

Green Lease Leaders, About the Program, http://www.greenleaselibrary.com/about.html. 

Green Lease Library, http://www.greenleaselibrary.com/. 

Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Virtual Net Metering, 2014, http://ilsr.org/virtual-net-metering/

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Feed-In Tariffs, 

http://www.nrel.gov/tech_deployment/state_local_governments/basics_tariffs.html

On-Site Commercial Solar PV Decision Guide. U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings, September 25, 

2014. www4.eere.energy.gov/alliance/sites/default/files/uploaded-files/solar-decision-guide.pdf. 

Prologis Completes 4.2 Megawatt Solar Project with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 

http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Prologis_Completes_4_2_Megawatt_Solar_Project_with_Los_Angel

es_Department_of_Water_and_Power_999.html 

“The High Performance Portfolio: Energy Issues in Underwriting Properties.” BetterBricks, November 2007, 

http://www.betterbricks.com/graphics/assets/documents/BB_WinTactics_EnergyIssues_Final.pdf. 

United States Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, A Guide to Community 

Solar: Utility, Private, and Non-profit Project Development. http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/49930.pdf. 

United States Environmental Protection Agency, Solar Power Purchase Agreements, 

http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/buygp/solarpower.htm
Learn more at energy.gov/betterbuildingsalliance/renewables