There are many ways tech can pay off in CRE. You might better control power usage in a building or bring improved data analysis to investment strategies. Then again, you could take part in the energy industry and let someone put solar panels on your roofs to generate power.

That's what National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSA) — a self-storage REIT — just did with commercial and community solar developer Solar Landscape. The latter will put solar installments on the roofs of National Storage's buildings. That will mean about 8.5 million square feet in space and as estimated 100 megawatts at least of power capacity.

The deal is exclusive and gives Solar Landscape access to 1,000 NSAT properties in 42 states and Puerto Rico. The operator looks to provide power to homes and businesses at a discount through the community solar model. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the term refers to community solar as "any solar project or purchasing program, within a geographic area, in which the benefits flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups."