Dasmen Residential, a leading investment and property management firm, has continued to progress in its project of “Going Green” at its Tucson, Arizona multi-family apartment complexes: Sedona Springs, Summit Ridge, and Sienna Ridge. For the past two and a half years, DASMEN has partnered with Solaris and Solar Gain to install solar panels reducing the cost of electricity and providing covered parking for its residents, all while benefiting the environment.
Based in Tucson, AZ, Solar Gain is a professional solar energy company and was brought on as the contractor. They facilitated all aspects of the project, including contract negotiation, evaluation and design, engineering, and installation.
DASMEN partnered with Solaris Energy, a leading solar investment firm based in Colorado. Solaris Energy’s team of professionals has been offering project financing, turn-key development, and asset management services for clients nationwide since 2008. Solaris invested close to $6 million to install the solar panels and structured the partnership using a PPA (Power Purchasing Agreement), where DASMEN purchases the solar-generated power from Solaris at a discounted rate. The installation of the solar panels will bring hundreds of thousands annually in electric savings for the sites.
In addition to the financial and environmental benefits, the lot coverings offer shade from the strong Arizona sun to several hundred of the residents’ cars, providing a sought-after amenity in Tucson. The panels also present a visibly sleek look to the properties in the daytime, while brightening the parking lights at night through the included LED lighting.
“We are constantly looking for ways to positively impact the environment. This was a great opportunity to further our Green initiative,” says Sean Landsberg, the Vice President of Operations. “This is a multi-faceted project where we are not only helping the environment, but we are significantly impacting our bottom line, and further demonstrating DASMEN’s goal and slogan of providing a better living experience for our residents.”
Building upon the success of this project, DASMEN has continued to explore other environmentally friendly initiatives, such as a water conservation program which has yielded a water consumption reduction of nearly 45%. “This not only helps us lower our expenses,” added Mr. Landsberg, “but helps us do our part in drought prevention.” He also mentioned that the next item they are working on in their environmentally friendly campaign is to potentially install electric car chargers on each of their properties in Tucson.
