Energy, Utilities & Water  January 6, 2017

Namasté Solar completes solar-array project on historic warehouse

DENVER — Boulder-based Namasté Solar announced Friday that it has completed the installation of solar panels on the roof of the historic Colorado Trade Center in Denver.

The 700,000-square-foot building at 5151 Bannock St., near the intersection of Interstates 25 and 70, has been owned by private-equity firm Conscience Bay Co. since 2015.

The cost of the three-month project that was completed Dec. 16 is not being released.

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The industrial warehouse was built in 1922-23 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It has been home to notable tenants such as MillerCoors, Nestle Purina and Safeway. Current tenants include FreshPack Produce, Frozen Food Express, FreshPoint, Condit Exhibits and Colorado Doorways.

Namasté Solar handled the design and construction of the 316-kilowatt solar array that was attached to the building’s 60-foot high roof. More than 4,500 feet of conduit were used.

“This was a unique and exciting project for us, juxtaposing state-of-the-art technology on a building with such a rich history,” said Ben Griffin, co-owner and project development manager at Namasté Solar. “Our goal was to make the most efficient use of space, while preserving the historic integrity of the building.”

With this installation, Conscience Bay has installed more than 400 kilowatts of solar panels on its properties, which produce an estimated 487,250 kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

The clean-energy production provided from these solar panels is enough to power 36 homes for one year. Simultaneously, energy-efficiency investments in Conscience Bay’s properties to date have yielded an average of 13 percent reduction of energy cost-savings for their tenants and reduced their energy consumption by 15 percent, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 60 passenger vehicles.

“Part of our value-creation strategy is reducing consumption of natural resources. We make investments in our properties that are both good for the environment and earn a return for our investors,” said Ben Woolf, Conscience Bay’s director of commercial investments.

DENVER — Boulder-based Namasté Solar announced Friday that it has completed the installation of solar panels on the roof of the historic Colorado Trade Center in Denver.

The 700,000-square-foot building at 5151 Bannock St., near the intersection of Interstates 25 and 70, has been owned by private-equity firm Conscience Bay Co. since 2015.

The cost of the three-month project that was completed Dec. 16 is not being released.

The industrial warehouse was built in 1922-23 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It has been home to notable tenants such as MillerCoors, Nestle Purina and…

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