- Largest Solar Installation by a Mall Owner in U.S. -
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Simon Property Group, Inc.
(NYSE: SPG), the country's largest owner, developer and manager of high
quality retail real estate, has just last month completed the largest solar
installation by a mall owner in the U.S. Simon Property Group entered into a
power purchase agreement with Element Markets, a Houston-based developer of
clean energy, for the output of a 173kW solar facility on the roof of The
Shops at Mission Viejo in Mission Viejo, California.
"This is an exciting project that will help us gain valuable experience
with solar installations," said George Caraghiaur, vice president of energy
services at Simon. "As the solar industry matures and technological
improvements continue to drive down the cost of installations, we expect that
solar renewable energy purchases will become a cost-effective component of our
sustainability strategy. We chose to partner with Element Markets as they are
a leader in the field of renewable energy and carbon management."
Construction on the solar facility began on December 3rd and was completed
in 20 days, on December 23rd. Melissa Palencia, the mall manager at The Shops
at Mission Viejo, was impressed with the installation and operation of the new
system.
"The installation started during our holiday season and there wasn't a
disruption to normal business for our tenants or customers," she said. "Now,"
Palencia continued, "even on a cloudy, rainy day, our solar panels provide us
with up to 130 kilowatts of savings."
"We are entering a new era for renewable power generation and we are very
pleased to partner with Simon to identify renewable opportunities across
Simon's portfolio," said Randall Lack, managing director of client services
for Element Markets. "With advances in technology and the national agenda for
non-fossil power generation, Simon is positioning itself in a leadership role
to economically participate in renewable generation."
About Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest public
U.S. real estate company. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company
which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium
Outlet Centers(R), The Mills(R), community/lifestyle centers and international
properties. It currently owns or has an interest in 386 properties comprising
263 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and
Asia. The Company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more
than 5,000 people worldwide. Simon Property Group, Inc. is publicly traded on
the NYSE under the symbol SPG. For further information, visit the Company's
website at www.simon.com.
About Element Markets
Element Markets is a renewable energy and greenhouse gasses solutions
company. Headquartered in Houston TX, with offices in California and New
York, the company develops, builds, owns and operates alternative energy
projects in North America. Element Markets is one of the leaders in managing
Greenhouse Gases, Emission Credits and Renewable Energy Credits for Fortune
500 companies. The company is ranked as the #1 Renewable Energy Credit and
Voluntary Emission Reduction marketing firm by Energy Risk magazine and was
recently voted best SO2 Emission trading company by Environmental Finance.
For further information, visit the Company's website at www.elementmarkets.com
or contact Randall Lack at (218) 207-7200.
SOURCE Simon Property Group, Inc.
CONTACT: Les Morris of Simon Property Group, +1-317-263-7711,
lmorris@simon.com/
Web site: http://www.simon.com
http://www.elementmarkets.com
