Kimco Realty initiates five new solar projects

Jericho, NY Kimco Realty Corp., one of North America’s largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use assets, today announced that it has initiated five new solar projects. Four of the projects are installed at Kimco properties in the New York metropolitan region, including the company’s new headquarters on Long Island as well as Greenridge Plaza, Forest Avenue Shopping Center, and Richmond Shopping Center, all on Staten Island. The fifth is in Massachusetts at Festival at Hyannis Shopping Center. The projects will result in 3.7 MW of solar generating an estimated 4.64 million kWh annually, which is enough to power more than 600 homes per year.

The solar project at Kimco’s Jericho Atrium headquarters, on the site of its Jericho Commons Shopping Center, is part of Long Island’s Commercial Solar Feed-in Tariff program, and will supply clean energy to the local utility, PSEG Long Island. The Staten Island projects are part of the New York community solar program. These solar arrays will provide energy to community solar subscribers in the ConEdison utility area, giving residents the opportunity to purchase clean power.

“These new installations will double the size of rooftop solar within our portfolio while adding clean energy into the local power mix in the communities these properties serve,” said Conor Flynn, CEO of Kimco Realty. “We pioneered retail property rooftop solar with our first installation in 2009, and we continue to explore ways to responsibly expand this program that will benefit our shareholders and the communities in which we operate.”

All five projects were facilitated through Kimco’s partnership with Black Bear Energy and were developed beginning in 2020 by Green Street Power Partners.

Kimco’s solar program is just one of the ways it has worked to minimize the company’s environmental impact. As a result of Kimco’s continued efforts in this area, along with its leading-edge social impact and governance initiatives, the company was recently named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, where it is the only North American retail real estate owner listed. The DJSI World Index is comprised of corporate leaders in global sustainability, with companies listed on the Index representing the top 10 percent of the largest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index based on long-term economic and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Kimco has been the sole retail real estate owner listed on the DJSI North America Index for the last six years, and the company also is a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series, designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating strong ESG practices.