- High Street Logistics completed 2 MW of community solar generation across its two-building, 204,000-square-foot industrial property in Bridgewater, New Jersey.
- The projects will generate about 2.4 million kWh annually, enough to power roughly 230 U.S. homes while avoiding more than 1,600 metric tons of carbon emissions.
- SolarKal has advised High Street on solar strategy since 2021, with more than 10 projects completed or in development across the firm’s national industrial portfolio.
High Street Logistics Properties has completed community solar projects at 3-5 Finderne Avenue in Bridgewater, New Jersey, bringing 2 MW of solar capacity online at the industrial owner’s two-building, 204,000-square-foot property, according to a release from the firm and its solar advisor, SolarKal.
The projects, announced September 15, mark the latest milestone in a five-year partnership between the two companies to expand solar across High Street’s national industrial portfolio.
Get Smarter about what matters in CRE
Stay ahead of trends in commercial real estate with CRE Daily – the free newsletter delivering everything you need to start your day in just 5-minutes
A Five-Year Partnership
SolarKal has worked with High Street since 2021 to evaluate and advance solar opportunities across its holdings, with more than 10 projects now completed or in various stages of development. SolarKal advises High Street from initial feasibility and market evaluation through developer selection and project management.
“Getting to full operation at 3-5 Finderne Ave, Bridgewater, NJ took patience and coordination, and that’s exactly the kind of work we’re built for,” said Neil Sharma, SolarKal’s chief commercial officer. “Our job as High Street’s advisor is to stay close to every stage of the process so their team doesn’t have to.”
SolarKal, which is marking its 10th anniversary, bills itself as the leading commercial solar advisor in the U.S. The firm runs a proprietary marketplace of pre-vetted solar providers, aiming to give commercial real estate owners competitive pricing, unbiased guidance and turnkey project management rather than requiring in-house solar expertise.
The Details
The Bridgewater projects are enrolled in New Jersey’s Community Solar Energy Program, which extends access to clean energy for low- and moderate-income households that can’t install solar on their own homes, letting residents benefit from locally generated power and utility bill savings.
SolarKal estimates the installations will generate about 2.4 million kWh of clean electricity annually, enough to power roughly 230 U.S. homes for a year while avoiding more than 1,600 metric tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of taking nearly 350 gasoline-powered cars off the road.
Zooming Out
The project adds High Street to a growing list of industrial owners treating rooftop solar as a core part of portfolio strategy rather than a one-off sustainability add-on, following similar moves by other major logistics landlords.
High Street’s solar pipeline continues to grow beyond New Jersey: two additional projects totaling 6 MW are now under construction in Illinois through that state’s Community-Driven Community Solar initiative, part of the firm’s broader push toward net zero by 2050.
Why It Matters
“Bringing these two projects online marks an important step in our broader portfolio solar strategy,” said James Redland, High Street’s managing director. “Each successful project builds confidence in what can be achieved across the portfolio, and we’re pleased to see these sites now delivering clean energy to the Bridgewater community.”
For industrial owners, rooftop solar increasingly functions as a revenue line as much as a sustainability commitment: High Street said the Bridgewater projects will generate long-term rooftop lease revenue that boosts the properties’ net operating income, a dynamic that’s also fueling growth in clean-energy financing tools built for commercial property owners.
What’s Next
The 20-acre Finderne Avenue property has been part of Bridgewater’s industrial landscape for more than 80 years, with roots dating to the 1940s and the Singer Company’s Diehl manufacturing operations.
Its rooftops are now generating power for the surrounding community as High Street looks to replicate the model across more of its national portfolio. Founded in 2002, High Street has built a vertically integrated platform spanning core-plus, value-add and development strategies, and has purchased and developed roughly 74 million square feet of industrial and logistics space across 543 buildings nationwide, giving it a large base of rooftops to keep evaluating for solar.
