LOS ANGELES, CA - CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG) today announced a significant expansion of its solar energy services capabilities and an enhanced commitment to sustainable property ownership through the launch of CBRE Solar. CBRE Solar will provide services to the Company's clients, initially in the United States and Canada. Its service offering encompasses a broad range of solar energy solutions for clients, including solar power purchase agreements, roof leases, advisory services, project development services, project management services and solar project investment opportunities.
"As the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, we will play a leading role in the solar distributed generation market. CBRE Solar puts us in an ideal position to assist our corporate services and asset services clients in understanding and navigating the complexities of the solar market to efficiently maximize their real estate and achieve their sustainability and energy-cost reduction goals," said Mike Lafitte, president of the Americas for CB Richard Ellis.
"Given the unparalleled breadth and depth of our relationships, we are in a unique position to aggregate solar projects and achieve economies of scale in equipment, installation and financing costs for the benefit of our clients," said Dave Pogue, national director of sustainability at CB Richard Ellis.
CBRE Solar will work with Smart Energy Capital (SEC), a solar finance, development and advisory firm. The principals of SEC have a deep background and successful track record in structuring and arranging innovative financing solutions for solar related projects and developing renewable energy projects. They have managed a portfolio of over 300 megawatts of solar projects and raised in excess of $200 billion of innovative financings. They also bring extensive global relationships with leading solar equipment manufacturers, contractors, capital sources, power companies and utilities. Their background and resources will help CBRE deliver best-in-class solar energy solutions to its clients.
"We are thrilled to be a part of CB Richard Ellis' solar solution. Combining our finance and solar industry experience with CB Richard Ellis' world-class commercial real estate services platform will enable CBRE Solar to positively impact the growth of the market for distributed solar generation," said Rob Krugel, Managing Partner of SEC.
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world's largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2009 revenue). The Company has approximately 29,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. CB Richard Ellis has been named a BusinessWeek 50 "best in class" company for three years in a row.
Source: CB Richard Ellis