In the first instance of its kind in commercial real estate history, Harris Stratex Networks, a wireless solutions company, has made the move of its offices (from San Jose to Santa Clara, California) contingent on being able to access “green” power.

Harris, a global provider of wireless solutions that facilitate 4G, next-generation fixed and mobile broadband networks, told DJM Capital Partners, Inc., a private equity real estate investment group, that it would not make the move to a 128,500-square-foot building in Santa Clara unless green power options were made available.

DJM, which focuses on under-utilized properties, obliged Harris by promising to add 144 solar panels to the Santa Clara location parking lot as part of its 10-year lease agreement. It was the only ‘deal sweetener’ Harris would accept, and may mark a trend for future commercial real estate transactions, as companies increasingly turn to clean, renewable solar energy not only to provide power but to shrink their environmental footprint and signify their commitment to cleaner energy resources.

DJM also plans to buy power to serve the new Harris facility from Silicon Valley Power, a Santa Clara electric utility offering customers the option to buy “green” power from sun and wind. Called Santa Clara Green Power, the program offers renewables at the some of the lowest rates in the nation.

The solar installation will reportedly be completed before Harris makes its move, providing the wireless solutions company not only with a very green profile but a location in the heart of the Golden Triangle in Silicon Valley where most of the innovation in electronics takes place. The building is located across from the Santa Clara Convention Center and Tech Mart, a meeting facility/hotel that has hosted numerous technology conferences during its short but illustrious career.

Upgrades to the Harris facility, in 2008, also position it to acquire LEED certification. The projected electrical output of the panels has not been mentioned, but given typical solar efficiencies and solar panel’s average size, it can be estimated to produce about 25 kilowatts, or about 44,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year (enough to power about four average American homes).

It clearly won’t supply all the electricity Harris uses, but it will reduce carbon emission by about 10.7 tons per year (by preventing an equivalent amount of fossil-fueled electricity generation), which is the same – according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – as taking 143 cars off the road, or planting 178 acres of trees.