MOOSE POWER about whether they want the landlord or partner model. Understandably, landlords are wary when they are being locked into a 20-year contract. Most are sophisticated real estate professionals and have to balance the benefits of a new income stream with the unknowns involved in a relatively new aspect of facility management. Where possible we provide them with the option of becoming a partner, but in most cases it makes more sense for them to avoid any performance-based risk and to simply take the solar installation on as an additional source of leasing revenue.� Either way, building owners and landlords are increasingly happy with the opportunity to transform a facility’s roof from a cost center into a profit generator. Traditionally the rooftop has been a lease agreement challenge, with landlords and tenants redrawing leases to try and pass its responsibility onto the other party. Rooftop solar arrays provide a clean, safe, profitable option that can also reduce the need for maintenance. This type of distributed generation also provides excellent benefits to the wider utilities market. Mr. McLorie explains that, taking Ontario as a specific example, the generation profile of solar generation compliments the province’s load profile. Peak generation occurs during the work day, coinciding with plant and processor operation times as well as air conditioning loads. Distributed generation acts much like conservation, and can reduce the need for costly system upgrades, becoming an important asset in a region where the grid is already decades old.
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