The Denver-based corporation ProLogis has put together a Global Renewable Energy Group for overseeing the purchasing and development of new eco-friendly properties, the management of green installations, and providing management services for renewable energy initiatives, such as a strongly-driven mission to provide rooftop space for solar energy installations.

Jack Rizzo, chief sustainability officer for ProLogis, says “We expect to grow our portfolio significantly through the ongoing efforts of our Global Renewable Energy Group.”

The company has already entered into a partnership with Spain’s Recurrent Energy to coordinate a 4.8-megawatt (MW) solar project for installing panels across eight rooftops at ProLogis Park Alcala in Madrid, Spain and the ProLogis Park Sant Boi in Barcelona.

Arno Harris, Recurrent’s CEO, says “This is the first of many more to come for Recurrent Energy in Europe as well as an industry first that points the way towards the future of solar power.”

Drew Torbin, ProLogis director of global renewable energy, points out that “even with this new installation, we are only utilizing less than two percent of this available roof space, leaving a lot of room for us to grow this new business.” ProLogis already owns 450 million square feet of flat and unobstructed roof space globally.

He also says that his company’s large holdings of buildings with flat and unobstructed roof space make for “a unique host-site opportunity for utilities as well as private groups like Recurrent that invest in clean energy. With this space, we are able to solve one of the most basic issues involved in developing large-scale solar projects — the question of appropriate host sites — while also providing the construction management experience to get solar installations on the fast-track to completion.”