Solar Rooftop System Atop MD Retail Asset Begins Operations

By Anca Gagiuc

Francis Scott Key Mall

The 2-megawatt solar rooftop system New York-based developer Safari Energy installed atop Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Md., has begun commercial operation. The project is Safari Energy’s eighth in the state, boosting its total capacity in Maryland to nearly 10 megawatts.

Safari Energy, recently acquired by PPL Corp., handled the site analysis, engineering design, financial, tax and legal structuring, incentive capture, permitting, construction management and interconnection approval. The installation is now in the asset management phase, with Safari managing the site’s operations and maintenance services.  

Francis Scott Key Mall

The 755,000-square-foot Class A retail asset owned by PREIT is located one hour from both Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, offering more than 70 specialty retailers. The property also marks Safari’s fifth installation with PREIT.

“We partnered with Safari Energy on our first rooftop solar project at Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey, and we are pleased to continue building on this partnership with five installations now complete. Safari Energy has helped us realize significant economic value and environmental benefits from previously unused roof space from Massachusetts to Maryland, enhancing our sustainability efforts,” Joseph Coradino, CEO of PREIT, said in a prepared statement.

Images courtesy of Safari Energy