Electrifying the Grid & Innovative Solar Applications with Chris Pawlik

Justin welcomes Chris Pawlik, Founder and CEO of Energy-Producing Retail Realty (EPR^2). Chris discusses the regulatory framework in California called net energy metering (NEM), which allows residential and commercial customers to generate solar power and feed it back into the grid. He also shares insights on the impact of NEM 3.0 on the commercial real estate industry, along with the concept of energy rights development as a potential solution for solar leases and rooftop leases after NEM 3.0.  He highlights how developing energy rights on behalf of property owners can help align the incentives for solar installation with the tenant's interest in reducing their cost of electricity. This approach can also positively impact the value of the property, while addressing concerns of climate change resiliency.

Highlights

• Chris Pawlik’s background and how he connected with Justin – 2:00
• Breaking down NEM 3.0 – 4:00
• Benefits of solar for industrial properties – 9:27
• Solar can increase NOI in the first month of generating power – 14:25
• Investing in solar is becoming more attractive from an ROI perspective – 17:55
• PPAs, PACE and solar leases – 20:15
• Development of energy rights for all types of property owners – 23:29
• The movement of EV trucks and charging hubs – 28:18
• Distributed generation of solar power, can help stretch the capacity of the current transmission and distribution grid – 35:10
• Super forecasters certification – 43:11

Episode Resources

Connect with Chris Pawlik

•   https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispawlik/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/epr-2/about/

Connect with Justin Smith

• https://smithcre.com/
• https://www.lee-associates.com/
• jbsmith@leeirvine.com
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinbsmith