RFQ alert: Prologis seeks developers for 1 GW California industrial solar

Prologis, a commercial and industrial real estate owner, has sent out a request for quotes (RFQ) from installers for the development of 1 GW of solar systems across an industrial building portfolio of 116 California facilities at 36 locations. 

The RFQ process is for projects in the 100 kW to 400 kW range, while the logistics facility operator is looking for qualified installers for projects under a three-year timeframe in order to retain California net energy metering (NEM) 2.0 status.  

California’s utility commission in December voted to cut the export rate from $0.30 per kWh to $0.08 per kWh, effecting new solar residential and commercial projects installed on or after April 15, 2023. Customers who have systems installed and approved for grid interconnection before the effective date in April will be grandfathered in to NEM 2.0 rates.

Of the 116 new Prologis solar facilities, about 26 to 32 MW of new solar capacity is sited where interconnections are already submitted, according to Station A. 

The RFQ closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on May 15 by third-party marketplace Station A. Interested developers are encouraged to submit quotes via Station A, an online project submission database and software for clean energy buyers and developers. 

Based in San Francisco, Prologis has a $117.9 billion market capitalization. In 2022, the company committed to net zero emissions across its value chain by 2040. In addition to a goal of having 1 GW of California solar installations by 2025, the logistics company plans to also be carbon-neutral from a construction standpoint by 2025. 

In November 2022, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) in its Solar Means Business report ranked Prologis second in the U.S. among corporations deploying on-site solar generation. 

With over 1.2 billion square feet of warehouse and logistics space worldwide, Prologis had 378 MW of solar generation capacity across tis global operations, including 217 MW in the U.S. through September 2022.  

“With solar from Prologis roofs, our customers reduce their emissions in an economical way,” said Susan Uthayakumar, chief energy and sustainability officer, Prologis. “Communities also benefit from gaining access to renewable energy and improved grid resilience.” 

In a February pv magazine USA webinar with solar data, surveillance and drone specialist Zeitview, the service provider revealed four of its top 10 rated rooftop solar projects were owned by Prologis. In operations for 11 to 15 years, the California logistics properties range from 1.4 MW to 13.5 MW in power capacity and utilize crystalline modules. Zeitview issues a triple-letter asset rating after providing drone surveillance and monitoring solutions for utility and large commercial and industrial projects.  

Station A’s Clean Energy Marketplace has originated 19 MW of onsite renewable projects to date, representing $40 million of projects. The platform enables the collection of competitive project bids from contractors and EPCs in a transparent and digital format. 

San Francisco-based Station A is a technology start-up company formed in 2018 as a spin-off from NRG Energy. The company has about 20 employees and raised $4 million in seed funding in July 2020 from Southern Company, SE Ventures, Powerhouse Ventures and Howard Wenger, president of Nextracker.