Warehouse Solar Case Studies in South Jersey: Real Project Math

South Jersey has more square feet of warehouse and distribution space per capita than almost any state in the country. The I-295, NJ Turnpike, and Route 130 corridors concentrate logistics facilities with optimal flat roofs — making South Jersey warehouses one of NJ’s strongest commercial solar markets. Here’s what a real LandAir warehouse project looks like end-to-end.

The Project: 425 kW Burlington County Distribution Center (2022)

A multi-tenant logistics REIT contracted LandAir for a 425 kW rooftop solar system on a 175,000 sq ft distribution center in Burlington County. The facility operates two shifts with high dock activity throughout the day. The roof is TPO single-ply, approximately 9 years old, with full GAF manufacturer warranty remaining.

Why Warehouses Work So Well

Three factors compound for warehouse solar economics:

• Large flat roofs — 100,000+ sq ft contiguous roof areas, mostly uncluttered by equipment
• Steady daytime load — lighting, dock equipment, HVAC overlap with solar production curve
• Long-tenor ownership — logistics REITs (Prologis, Lineage, etc.) have 15+ year horizons

The Project Math

• System: 425 kW DC rooftop, TPO ballasted attachment, 1,148 modules @ 370W each
• Production: ~510,000 kWh/year (1,200 kWh per kW per year typical NJ commercial)
• Usage offset: ~62% of facility annual electricity consumption
• Annual energy savings: ~$66,300 (at $0.13/kWh blended rate)
• NJ SuSI Year 1 credits: ~$45,900 (510 MWh × $90/MWh)
• Federal ITC (30%): $127,500 one-time
• MACRS + bonus depreciation: ~$76,000 in tax benefits through Year 5
• Simple payback: 5.2 years

The Triple-Net Lease Challenge

NJ warehouses are usually triple-net leased — meaning the tenant pays the electric bill but the landlord owns the roof. Three structures work:

1. Landlord installs capex, retains savings. Tenant retention play. Increasingly common as ESG-mandated tenants prefer green buildings.
2. Third-party PPA with CAM pass-through. A solar developer owns the system, the savings flow through Common Area Maintenance charges to tenants.
3. Tenant installs at their cost. Rare — only for long-tenor build-to-suit tenants with 15+ year leases.

For the Burlington County project, the landlord installed capex and retained savings, citing tenant retention value and Scope 3 ESG support for major logistics tenants.

What Took Time vs What Took No Time

• Feasibility: 2 weeks (drone roof, structural pre-check, load analysis, PSE&G pre-screen)
• Engineering: 4 weeks (PE-stamped design, AHJ permits, utility application)
• PSE&G Level 2 review: 11 weeks (with supplemental review for size)
• Permitting: 6 weeks parallel with utility review
• Construction: 8 weeks (zone-by-zone install, no operational disruption)
• PTO + SuSI: 2 weeks (utility witness test, NJBPU SuSI registration)

Total: 18-22 weeks from kickoff to permission to operate. Industry typical for NJ commercial solar.

What the Property Owner Said

From the facility operations director: “LandAir’s feasibility packet was the cleanest engineering document we’d received from a solar contractor. They identified the structural margin upfront, sequenced construction around our dock schedule, and the PSE&G interconnection moved as fast as anyone could’ve managed. The system has performed within 3% of model since commissioning.”

For more South Jersey warehouse solar context, visit our warehouses industry page.