In Part 1 of this report, we looked at how commercial real estate is beginning to place more and more value on the availability and security of power in terms of where they locate their businesses.

Here, in Part 2, we look at how on-site energy solutions are gaining momentum with commercial real estate businesses in meeting their power needs.

As noted in Part 1, according to a recent report by JLL Research, titled “Where Energy Meets Property,” energy availability and security are fast becoming defining factors in commercial real estate (CRE) decision-making, with critical implications for project viability, property values, and building performance. (JLL Research is a leading global commercial real estate services and investment management company.)

“Digital controls and distributed energy resources are emerging as practical system responses, allowing buildings to manage peaks, improve resilience, and reduce exposure to volatility,” said the report.

“Modern energy management platforms now integrate on-site generation, battery storage, building systems, and EV charging into a single control layer, allowing operators to manage peaks, shift load, and prioritize lower-cost and lower-carbon power by hour and location,” said the report.

Battery storage has become critical, with costs falling by 75 percent since 2015, from $448/kWh to $108/kWh in 2025. Strategically deployed storage can cover peak demand hours faster and at lower cost than traditional grid upgrades, while also firming intermittent renewable supply to support continuous, 24/7 operation.

“We predict that battery energy storage systems (BESS) will be the key to solving challenges with intermittent clean energy sources, while satisfying the needs for key sectors like industrial and data centers to have uninterrupted power,” said Josephine Tucker, JLL Head of Energy Advisory and Sustainability, Americas. “BESS is going to be a big game changer.”

Clean energy has accounted for over 90 percent of new power capacity added globally since 2020, with solar alone accounting for roughly two-thirds of total additions. “This shift is driven primarily by economics rather than policy alone, as declining costs, shorter development timelines, and modular deployment have made renewables the fastest way to add new capacity,” said the report.

Global annual energy transition investment reached a record $2.3 trillion in 2025, more than doubling compared to 2020, with commercial distributed energy resources expanding fivefold over the same period.

The research emphasized that buildings sit at the center of today’s power crunch, accounting for 30 percent of final energy consumption, while representing one of the most adaptable levers in the energy value chain.

“Energy is no longer a background operating cost; power availability, reliability and costs are increasingly shaping site selection, development feasibility and asset performance,” said Paulina Torres, Global Research Director for Sustainability at JLL. “As digital and decentralized capabilities expand, real estate is beginning to interact more directly with power system operations rather than simply consuming electricity, creating new opportunities for competitive advantage.”