IRVINE, CA—The Irvine Co.'s new fleet of hybrid-electric buildings joins other advances in building sustainability, such the analytics of controlling building systems and the use of biodegradable soap in restrooms that's made from recycled materials, Rich Bluth, the firm's VP of energy management, tells GlobeSt.com. The company recently announced plans to become the world's first major real estate company to create a fleet of such buildings powered by state-of-the-art energy-storage systems from Tesla Energy. We spoke with Bluth about the concept and what it represents regarding sustainability in commercial real estate development.

GlobeSt.com: How did the idea for hybrid-electric buildings come about?

Bluth: The Irvine Co. was first approached by Susan Kennedy of Advanced MicroGrid Solutions in the very early stages of Southern California Edison's ground-breaking solicitation for battery-storage solutions. She presented the concept, and it resonated with us. We were intrigued by the opportunity to capitalize on the potential of being able to reduce overall electricity demand from our buildings, provide the platform for an entirely new grid resource (in the first phase alone, we will be saving enough energy to provide electricity to 10,000 homes) and achieve some significant savings.

GlobeSt.com: Does this represent the next phase of sustainability in commercial real estate development?

Bluth: We have been active in making ongoing investments in energy efficiency and other sustainability initiatives for many years. It is part of the Irvine Co.'s approach to bring value to our customers. One external measure of this is that we currently have California's largest portfolio of LEED- and ENERGY STAR-certified commercial office buildings. Battery storage offers an entirely new way to manage your electricity that creates value for our customers and benefits the electricity grid at the same time.

GlobeSt.com: What other advances in sustainability are you noticing?

Bluth: Advances in electricity metering and the analytics of controlling building systems are also evolving rapidly, helping building owners better understand the sources of their energy use and how to best manage it. The addition of battery-storage technology gives the building operator a new capability in being able to further optimize the overall nature of a building's energy usage. Beyond energy, we continue to look for more-sustainable ways to operate our buildings on all fronts, whether it's the newest controller technology for irrigation systems for water conservation, a biodegradable soap used in our restrooms sourced from recycled materials, or as a long-term owner and master planner, building mixed-use communities where people can live, work, shop and play in a walkable area.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about this initiative?

Bluth: The Irvine Co. has been a pioneer in sustainable development since the company's founding in 1864. We have continually sought ways of balancing community needs with those of the environment and see this breakthrough battery storage project as an extension of that philosophy. It serves our customers by optimizing energy usage, helping lower the cost of operation while at the same time helping our electricity grid by providing a valuable resource that will be used to dynamically balance energy supplies. This will become critically important as California moves towards 50% renewable energy by 2030, driving the need for complementary resources such as battery storage.