Black Bear Energy's Real Estate Solar Leaderboards Surpass 1 GW Milestone

EOY 2025 Report Tracks 65+ Owners, 2,197 Projects Across U.S.

• ‍The real estate industry has crossed 1 gigawatt of installed onsite solar capacity deployed in the US.
• Community solar has greatly evolved and is now a profit center.
• Real estate owners stand to unlock significant financial value.

‍

BOULDER, CO (April 28, 2026) – Black Bear Energy, a Legence company, recently released its 2025 Real Estate Solar Leaderboards, and the data confirms a historic milestone: the real estate industry has crossed 1 gigawatt of installed onsite solar capacity.  When the inaugural Leaderboards launched in 2023, the top five real estate companies—Prologis, Lineage, Blackstone, Brookfield Properties Retail, and Hartz Mountain—had collectively deployed around half a gigawatt of solar, with all other companies adding just another 127 MW. Just three years later, that capacity has nearly doubled. The 2025 report tracks 1.08 GWdc across 2,157 energized projects from 65+ owners and managers, underscoring the sector’s growing adoption of solar energy for both revenue generation and power reliability.

A New Leaderboard, New Leaders

The 2023 Solar Leaderboards Top 5 real estate companies—Prologis, Lineage, Blackstone, Brookfield Properties Retail, and Hartz Mountain—each had at least 50 MWdc of deployed solar. By the end of 2025, Prologis solidified its status as the industrial solar leader with a commanding 310.9 MWdc portfolio.

However, the most surprising development in the 2025 report has been the rise of Public Storage, claiming the #3 spot with 111.0 MWdc. Energizing 97.5 MW of solar within the last three years, Public Storage has single-handedly established a new Self Storage category that now rivals the Retail sector in solar scale. The company has deployed 1,120 projects through a mix of self-funded initiatives and third-party-owned leases for community solar markets, showcasing its commitment to rolling out solar at scale to generate new portfolio value.

Cold Storage REIT (name withheld), Blackstone, and Brookfield Properties round out the Top 5, with 108.2 MWdc, 93.3 MWdc, and 59.1 MWdc, respectively.

The 2025 Solar Leaderboards also spotlights top solar deployers across asset types — recognizing that meaningful benchmarking requires comparing companies within their own peer group. A multifamily owner like Avalon Bay Communities faces fundamentally different rooftop constraints and deal structures than an industrial REIT like Prologis. By segmenting leaders by asset type, the Leaderboards surface who is truly excelling within their category:

• Industrial: Prologis (272 projects, 309.4 MW)
• Retail: Brookfield Properties (62 projects, 53.5 MW)
• Self-Storage: Public Storage (1,120 projects, 110 MW)
• Multifamily: Avalon Bay Communities (69 projects, 11.87 MW)
• Office: Kilroy (14 projects, 6.2 MW)

Community Solar Became a Major Driver

Community solar has also evolved dramatically, growing from a niche policy experiment in 2023 to a mainstream, industrial-scale deployment tool. The growth and impact of community solar have been largely driven by state programs designed to encourage adoption and scale. By close of 2025, community solar accounted for 233.8 MWdc—over 21% of all tracked capacity—while significantly expanding clean energy access to lower- and middle-income households. Real estate owners have played a pivotal role in enabling these projects, bridging the gap between solar innovation and community impact. Large industrial rooftops, historically underutilized due to low on-site tenant load and split incentives, are uniquely suited for community solar. This approach allows owners to maximize rooftop capacity without managing on-site energy users, collect predictable roof rent, and, in states with favorable programs, scale this model across their entire portfolio.

The Gap Is Still Enormous — and That's the Opportunity

While there has been significant progress over the past two years, the solar industry still holds tremendous opportunity for real estate owners. According to a 2023 Morgan Stanley report, over 326 GWdc of untapped solar capacity remains—approximately 288x the capacity currently tracked by Black Bear Energy. Closing this gap will require a shift in mindset among real estate owners, recognizing solar as a significant revenue-generating asset for increased portfolio value.

“The leaders in this industry have shifted from focusing on managing risks to viewing solar as a profit center,” said Victoria Stulgis, President at Black Bear Energy. “The progress over the last three years—more than 1,263 projects energized by 30 real estate companies, totaling 371.9 MWdc—proves that both first movers and fast followers are scaling their programs successfully. However, half of the solar deployed is concentrated among the Top 5 companies, highlighting the vast untapped potential within the sector.”

While the larger companies currently dominate the Solar Leaderboards, smaller players are also making impressive strides in leveraging solar. Groups like STAG Industrial, with nearly 44 MW deployed, LBA, with 33 MW—two-thirds of which was deployed within the last three years—and BGO, with 45 MW, roughly half of it energized within the past three years, may appear modest compared to industry giants like Blackstone and Prologis. However, when you consider the size of their portfolios, these companies are punching well above their weight.

“It’s important to remember the Leaderboards are always going to be a lagging indicator, since we only showcase energized projects. These deals can take 3-6 years to energize, but we know there is significant volume coming down the pipeline, and we’re excited to see how the Leaderboards change over time.” said Victoria Stulgis.

With hundreds of megawatts currently under construction or in development, the question is no longer whether the sector will grow, but how the remaining real estate owners can be mobilized to capitalize on solar’s vast value potential for their portfolios. To do so, real estate owners need three things:

1. Internal alignment and intentional goal setting from the top down. Solar must be treated as a profit center, not a sustainability checkbox, with leadership-level targets to match.
2. Process and technology. Streamlined workflows and software solutions to manage approvals, track progress, and mitigate risk turn one-off projects into repeatable programs.
3. Expertise. Whether in-house or through external owner's representatives, owners need the market knowledge, legal resources, and project management capacity to execute at scale.

Real estate owners who build these pillars stand to unlock significant financial value in the rapidly evolving energy transition.

To download the full report, click here.

‍

The Solar Leaderboard compiles data on U.S.-based projects facilitated by Black Bear Energy, along with information voluntarily submitted by real estate owners and managers and supplemented by third-party sources, including the SIEA Solar Means Business Report, for projects energized on or before December 31, 2025. The dataset reflects the most comprehensive information available to Black Bear Energy at the time of publication, incorporating a wide range of project-level data and sources. Black Bear continues to collect data through its partner network for future Solar Leaderboards. Companies interested in being included in the next publication are encouraged to contact info@blackbearenergy.com

‍

‍