Plankton Energy
Myrtle Beach, SC — Plankton Energy has completed a 624-kilowatt (kW) rooftop solar installation at a retail outlet center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The behind-the-meter system sits on the center’s retail rooftops and is owned by the customer, delivering clean power directly to the property.
The project extends Plankton’s work with outlet center owners into the Carolinas and shows how a retail landlord can turn existing roof area into a long-term source of lower, more predictable energy costs.
The property owner owns the array outright. Because the system is connected behind the meter, every kilowatt-hour it generates is used on site and is one the center no longer buys from the utility. The result is a direct reduction in electricity expense for the life of the system.
Ownership also means the owner keeps 100% of the savings the array produces, with no third-party power payments. In a coastal market with long, sunny days and heavy summer cooling loads, solar production lines up well with the property’s peak demand, including during the busy tourist season.
Outlet centers are well suited to solar. Their large, flat, unshaded roofs can host significant capacity without taking up parking, landscaping or leasable space. In Myrtle Beach, the array spans the center’s buildings, putting otherwise idle roof area to work.
Because the panels sit above the stores, the installation is invisible to the shopping experience. Tenants and visitors see no change, while the property gains a lower-cost, cleaner energy supply and a stronger sustainability and ESG profile.
Myrtle Beach is one of several outlet centers in the same owner’s portfolio that Plankton has brought online, alongside Grand Rapids, MI, Savannah, GA and Nashville, TN. Working across a portfolio lets an owner apply a consistent design and delivery approach from site to site, which speeds up each new project.
For REITs and multi-site retail owners, this program is a practical model for scaling rooftop solar across an entire real estate portfolio, not just one building at a time.
As with all Plankton Energy projects, this installation was delivered as a fully managed, turnkey solution. Plankton handled system design, engineering, permitting, construction, interconnection and commissioning, so the owner had a single partner from start to finish.
With a focus on customized, capital-efficient solar models, Plankton helps commercial property owners turn rooftops and parking areas into energy assets that fit their financial objectives, whether the owner prefers to own the system or buy power under an agreement.
About Plankton Energy
Plankton Energy is a national turnkey solar developer specializing in custom renewable energy solutions for real estate owners, mission-driven institutions, and community stakeholders. Through its fully managed, zero-upfront-cost model, Plankton enables property owners to reduce operating expenses, increase sustainability performance, and support the transition to decentralized clean energy.
