Sullivan Solar Power used 123 Kyocera Solar modules, the most locally sourced solar modules available to San Diego, and American-made SMA America inverters for the solar project.

St. Patrick Catholic Parish in North Park, California, recently declared energy independence with a 31-kWdc solar shade structure and roof-mounted solar system. Local firm Sullivan Solar Power designed and installed the arrays.

“St. Patrick Catholic Parish is taking a leadership role in the Diocese of San Diego by going solar and doing their part to help preserve our Earth,” said Daniel Sullivan, founder and president of Sullivan Solar Power.

At a speech in Rome last year, Pope Francis expressed the need for society to change its habits to avoid potentially catastrophic effects of global climate change.

“Each of us has a personal responsibility to care for creation,” Francis said. “Respect for nature also means recognizing that man himself is a fundamental part of it.”

Father Michael McFadden, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Parish, said he sees solar as a wise investment environmentally, financially and religiously.

“For me, it makes sense,” McFadden said. “We have to work together so that it is a viable planet. I believe that God is saying, ‘Please take care of it. It’s fragile.’”

The solar power installation for St. Patrick Catholic Parish is divided into two arrays. One is a shade structure in the parking lot connecting St. Patrick Catholic Parish and St. Patrick’s School, and the other is a roof-mounted system on the school.

McFadden is coordinating with Sullivan Solar Power to educate the kindergarten class and middle school students at St. Patrick’s School about solar power.

Sullivan Solar Power used 123 Kyocera Solar modules, the most locally sourced solar modules available to San Diego, and American-made SMA America inverters for the solar project.

Using local products for the project was very important to Sullivan Solar Power and St. Patrick Catholic Parish to avoid the environmental impact of shipping products across the globe.

“St. Patrick Catholic Parish is making an impact locally and will hopefully inspire other churches to go solar,” Sullivan said. “The Lord has blessed us with the resources we need to live a sustainable lifestyle.” SPW

 

Location:

North Park, California

Project Size:

31.2 kW

Modules:

Kyocera KD250GX-LFB2

Inverter:

SMA America SB9000TL 208V

Racking and Mounting:

Unirac rails and feet and ProSolar FastJack

Monitoring:

Locus Energy

Contractor and Developer:

Sullivan Solar Power

 

Solar Power World

Array Technologies employee Ben Theune explains the manufacturing process for the company’s patented universal module mounting clamps.

In 1985, Ron Corio began a move from automotive R&D into solar manufacturing. He was working on a new type of ignition system for automobile engines in Albuquerque when a solar startup, the Wattsun Corporation, asked for help designing a concentrator PV module. As a consultant, Corio worked in-depth on the module design including the cell metallization, receiver sheet, optics and manufacturing processes. He was offered a job with Wattsun in 1989.

Part of Corio’s work with Wattsun included the development of a dual-axis solar tracker for the module. Once a tracker and module system was ready for production, Wattsun lobbied for matching funding from the Department of Energy for a pilot production facility. Indications initially were positive, but two weeks before the award was to be made, government funding was cut.

“We were left to try to figure out where to go as a company,” Corio said. “We tried to sell the module to some Japanese companies. That didn’t work, so we decided to start selling the tracker to the remote-home market in order to keep the company alive.”

The remote-home market was small, Corio said, but it was the only market available at the time, along with water pumping for livestock and a few telecommunications projects.

A break came in 1992 when Home Power magazine published a review of the Wattsun two-axis PV tracker. In the days before the Internet, the magazine was the go-to source of information for the off-grid market. The Home Power test tracker was the third tracker the company sold.

“The Wattsun is the most effective PV tracker I have ever seen,” wrote reviewer Richard Perez. “Its performance is reliable and precise. I have never been excited enough by a PV tracker to install one in our system.”

In 1992, Corio raised $55,000 from people he knew who were “solar friendly,” and bought-out the Wattsun Corporation. The company was in debt $39,000, so that left Corio with $16,000 to operate the business.

“There were a lot of times I thought, ‘What am I doing?’” Corio said. “But I will say I was always a true believer in solar energy. I believed that it was ludicrous to just burn fossil fuels—a finite thing. That’s what kept me going, my belief in solar and being around like-minded people.”

Every year, Array Technologies Inc. (ATI) grew a little. It started out with three employees, and by 2003, there were about 10. The company sold a lot of residential trackers—over 20,000 of them across the world, to locations including Fiji and Canada. Corio even sold trackers to Steve Fossett for an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in a helium balloon outfitted with solar panels to power on-board electronics. He also sold 36 trackers designed to look like sunflowers to Robin Williams for his ranch in Napa Valley.

Yet Corio had his eye on utility-scale solar, which was still in its infancy in the U.S. In 2001, ATI won its first utility-scale project, a 250-kW contract with BP Solar for a horizontal axis tracker. Soon after, the company sold 5.7 MW in South Korea followed by a 6-MW project in Spain.

Then in 2007, Corio was offered what he considers a landmark project, the Alamosa Solar Project in Colorado with SunEdison. It was to be the largest system in the U.S. at the time. The newly designed tracker for the project would use linear actuators to move each row. But soon into the engineering, Corio knew there were problems, such as how many modules could be loaded onto a single actuator.

Corio was working late on the tracker design for Alamosa when he was struck with another idea­—an epiphany­—a linked tracker block using a worm gear at each row. He would link the rows together with a rotating driveline and universal joints to follow the terrain. The next day he filed a provisional patent. A week later, the design started to gel, and he called SunEdison. He set up a meeting with the Alamosa project engineer, the commander of construction and others to discuss the new system, not long before construction was set to begin.

“They were freaking out,” Corio said. “They were saying, ‘We’ve already got this permitted.’”

Corio convinced them, however, with diagrams, details and clear proof of his new design’s superiority.

“I knew it was our opportunity, so I put everything I had into it, and that’s how the DuraTrack was born,” Corio said. “If that project would have failed, Array Technologies would have failed.”

Corio was on-site during the commissioning. He said he remembers turning on the first motor, thinking about all of his calculations—whether the motors would lift the weight. Up until that point, his math hadn’t been tested and he was estimating the friction in the bearings and the efficiency of the gearing. It was not practical to test a large block of trackers in the shop, and the strict timeline didn’t allow for anything more than the most essential testing. But the array worked, and continues to work today.

Looking toward the future, Array Technologies is unveiling a new version of its single-axis solar tracker, the DuraTrack HZ v3. Corio said they have taken 25 years and 2.5 GW of manufacturing trackers and rolled that experience into the development of another differentiated tracker design.

“We call it engineered simplicity—it is truly a case of less is more,” Corio said. “The v3 tracker considers what’s most important to the owners, financiers, engineers and builders of the power plant and delivers it.” SPW

Solar Power World

DPW Solar’s precision CNC press forms Easy Feet mounting attachments for roof applications.

DPW Solar started with a 200-page business plan. Kevin Goodreau had spent a year writing it, and when the time came to announce his ambition, he invited a close colleague, Jeff Randall, over for dinner to share the news. The men were employees of Zomeworks, a solar engineering firm founded by Steve Baer in 1969. Randall was a vice president and Goodreau was the business manager.

When Goodreau shared his idea to start a solar integration and distribution company, Randall said he, too, was thinking about setting out on his own, although his inclination was toward manufacturing. It seemed to be serendipity.

“I said, ‘Well, I’m going to have to re-do the business plan,” Goodreau said. When the new plan was finished, the men put their 401(k)s on the line and started Direct Power and Water—later known as DPW Solar.

At first, the company focused on farms with water pumps powered by wind turbines. Goodreau estimated 10,000 such pumps stood in the southwest corner of New Mexico alone, and compared to solar, they were five times the cost to operate. The pair aimed to replace them all. The first product they sold was called the Sunbelt Pump, in a town called Tierra Amarillo. The pump used a DPW Solar two-panel top-of-pole mount.

When the business started, about 80% of sales came from distribution and installation. Much of the solar installation business came from survivalists who were protecting against the effects of Y2K. “One man spent $140,000 on a back-up system,” Goodreau said.

When the new millennium came and society didn’t collapse, the solar installation jobs decreased. However, the company secured a contract with an engineering firm and eventually won an overseas project to supply remote power systems to the Georgian army for surveillance and detection. Goodreau and Randall built plug-and-play systems that could be dropped by helicopter, meeting very strict specifications.

That chance contract, along with turnkey solar installations for remote homes that could not be serviced by the electric company, kept DPW in business until grid-connected power became a force. The company completed the first two grid-tied solar electric systems in the state in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories, also based in Albuquerque.

Another driving force was its employees.

“All the core people we hired were passionate about solar,” Goodreau said. “Michael Reed, who now works at Array Technologies, was one of the first. A lot of the others are still here.

“These people didn’t come to this industry because we were paying them huge money, but we did the best we could to take care of them,” he said.

By 2003, the grid-tied solar market was beginning to take off in California. DPW Solar started shipping racking to the state—especially its ballasted and rail systems. The business started to grow, and expenses in manufacturing were escalating.

“We had no inclination to sell the company,” Goodreau said. “We were getting offers all the time by fax, and we would just shred them.”

But then came Performed Line Products (PLP), an Ohio-based company that was interested in expanding into the renewable energy market. A visit to Albuquerque showed the company had a synergy with Randall and Goodreau and the capital the pair needed to take the business to the next level.

“DPW Solar is well-known in the solar industry for having a well-designed, robust product,” said John Markiewicz, general manager at DPW Solar and Performed Line Products. “PLP is known for the same in the power utility and telecommunications industries.”

Retaining its name, DPW Solar grew exponentially in the first five to six years after the acquisition, with the mounting business becoming the key driver. The trend continues today, albeit with a slower pace due to competition in the market. The business aims to differentiate itself with quality and reliability, while also being cost-conscious.

At Solar Power International 2014, the company introduced three new products.

“For us to be competitive going forward, we have to keep innovating and creating new products,” Randall said. “We are combining PLP and DPW engineering groups and people to make the next generation of products. As soon as we are done with one generation, we’re working on the next.”

One thing Randall said the company won’t do, despite market pressure, is sacrifice quality.

“We sell to customers who value an engineered and robust system,” Randall said. “To be competitive, we have to get more aggressive on our designs. Customers are looking closer at price, but we continue to sell on quality and durability.” SPW

Solar Power World

A Unirac employee inspects L-feet that have just come from a press.

Unirac was founded on Sept. 1, 1998, and incorporated a year later. But its origins go back almost two decades before formal incorporation. Unirac’s co-founder, John Liebendorfer, had been involved with promoting solar energy since the late ’70s, first with nonprofit groups such as the New Mexico Solar Energy Association.

In 1983, Liebendorfer worked as a licensed mechanical contractor and formed Energy Management Systems (EMS), installing solar water and space heating systems in the Albuquerque area.

At that time, equipment typically was attached to roofs with components provided by each manufacturer. The challenge of the day was to make the specific mounting components fit any roof situation. Liebendorfer had to modify components for a majority of installations. Under these conditions, he learned to appreciate components that were flexible and adaptable on the job, knowledge that later influenced Unirac designs.

In 1998, Liebendorfer briefly worked for another mounting manufacturer in Albuquerque where all the racks were custom-made for the job. It was an expensive and time-consuming process. Thinking back to his days working on the roof installing solar heating panels, Liebendorfer realized racking had to be more universal so they would fit any PV module. This would allow for mass production and cost savings. He soon started his own business venture.

On Sept. 1, 1998, Liebendorfer set up shop in his garage. Sixty days later, he had his first universal rack products to sell. U-11 and U-22 were pole racks compatible with any module, consisting of three or four interchangeable pieces.

When orders came to Liebendorfer by fax, he would run out to the garage, select the proper pieces to put in the box, drop it off at UPS and fax the shipping confirmation and invoice to the customer—all within a couple of hours. Over the next year, more racking products were developed based on customer feedback.

A year later, the market was growing astronomically, and Liebendorfer took on a full partner, Hal Newman. Newman took over marketing and financial responsibilities and Liebendorfer stayed focused on design and manufacturing.

Shortly thereafter, Y2K was approaching and people were worried about their lights going out. Also at that time, rolling electric blackouts were striking California. These circumstances drove demand for solar and Unirac was ready with the right product, in the right place, at the right time.

In the following years, Liebendorfer came to realize that he was the “inventor,” and he needed someone with the business acumen to take Unirac to the next level. In February 2006, he sold the company to Global Environment Fund, a venture capitalist group. The group used executives from various industries to grow the business, enlarging Unirac 10 times over a four-year period.

Hilti acquired Unirac in 2010. While Unirac had been primarily selling through distribution, Hilti knew more about direct sales. The exchange of knowledge helped Unirac expand into the commercial and utility markets.

Last year, Unirac celebrated its 15-year anniversary of providing PV mounting systems in North America, amassing 2.8 GW of experience since 1998.

In 2015, the company will focus on service and quality, enhancing current product lines and launching new innovations. In addition, Unirac’s online tool, U-Builder, will be getting an overhaul. SPW

Solar Power World

Solar SpeedRack has announced that it is offering a special introductory pricing on the SpeedMount system. The offer, in effect for a limited time, and is open to new customers with a minimum order of 100 rails.

“Customers can see rail prices as low as 10 cents per watt with this offer,” said Shane Shamloo, President and CEO. “This incentive offer is being made to encourage installers to try our system so that they can experience the speed and ease of use of the SpeedMount.”

The SpeedMount is a shared-rail system with integrated grounding and is UL 1703, UL 2703 and UL 467 certified.  The rails are fully adjustable to fit virtually all of the solar panels on the market and  are shipped to the customer pre-assembled with all the necessary hardware necessary to mount the rails to any stand-off chosen by the customer.

SpeedMount uses minimal material and is fast to install with all connections made with a single standard socket.

Solar SpeedRack also offers all the accessories required for installation of its system thus offering its customers a one-stop shopping experience.  This includes the Solar SpeedFoot, a floating foot which will further reduce the number of roof penetrations required for installation of the SpeedMount system.

“The overall cost with flashing and all roof attachments on can be as low as 13.5 cents per watt,” said Shamloo, “and with less than half of the roof penetrations of other systems overall project costs are further reduced.”

Additional information on these and are other products can be found at www.solarspeedrack.com.

Solar Power World

McGee Toyota, a family-owned Toyota dealership that has been serving the South Shore for more than 40 years, has installed a 101.4 kW solar renewable energy system on the roof of its Washington Street dealership in partnership with Solect Energy Development, a Solar Power World Top 400 Contractor. The 390-panel project is expected to cover 30 percent of the dealership’s electricity costs and highlights McGee’s overall commitment to helping the environment through the use of clean energy. The project uses ET Solar panels and Solectria inverters.

Owner Rob McGee had been looking for ways to make his business more environmentally friendly, and when McGee Toyota finished construction on its new building in 2013, McGee made sure the roof was optimized for solar. “I wasn’t sure when we were going to install a solar system, but it was never a question of if—it was always when,” McGee said. “We were in our old building for a long time, and when it was time for a new building, we wanted to be as green as possible. Solect was very thorough and very knowledgeable about every step of the process.”

McGee Toyota’s green initiatives also included the installation of LED lighting throughout the new showroom as well as the installation of an energy-efficient car washing system that reclaims, purifies and reuses water. These improvements, along with the solar installation, will help stabilize McGee Toyota’s operational expenditures caused by fluctuating energy costs.

In addition to the cost savings generated, McGee Toyota is also able to take advantage of state and federal financial and tax incentives, including SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Certificates), which solar system owners earn based on the amount of solar energy their system generates. SRECs are ultimately purchased by electrical utility providers in Massachusetts to help them meet their state-mandated goals of a percentage of power coming from renewable energy sources.

“McGee Toyota is part of a trend that continues to gather steam in Massachusetts: Businesses looking to trim and stabilize their energy costs while doing their part for the environment,” said Stephen Clairmont, Project Director at Solect. “Going forward, McGee Toyota will also have steady stream of revenue from SRECs over the life of the system.”

Solar Power World

Solar Power World is now accepting applications for the 2015 Top Solar Contractors list, the most-recognized list of solar contractors and developers in the United States and Canada.

Click here to apply for the 2015 Top Solar Contractors list. Read FAQs about the list here.

Companies are ranked according to the capacity of projects they installed, engineered or helped construct in the previous year. Each company is ranked multiple ways: by state or province, market and service.

Development, EPC, solar hot water, sloped-roof, construction, electrical and non-profit companies are encouraged to apply, as well as companies from all market segments, including utility, commercial, residential and off-grid.

Last year, the list included 400 solar companies representing the breadth of the solar installation industry.

The Solar Power World 2015 Top Solar Contractors List will appear online and in the publication’s July issue, which will be distributed and celebrated at Solar Power International in Anaheim, California, September 14 to 17.

The deadline for companies to apply for the 2015 Top Solar Contractors list is April 30. To apply, visit the Solar Power World website: http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/solar-power-contractors-application/

For more information, contact Steven Bushong at topcontractors@solarpowerworldonline.com.

Solar Power World

ABB will accompany Solar Impulse and its crew on the first round-the-world flight in a plane powered only by energy from the sun. The airplane is scheduled to take off from Abu Dhabi on March 9, 2015.

In 2014, ABB and Solar Impulse formed an innovation and technology alliance to advance a shared vision of reducing resource consumption and increasing the use of renewable energy.

“ABB is proud of its innovation and technology alliance with Solar Impulse, and to be accompanying the first round-the-world flight powered by the sun on its journey,” said ABB Chief Executive Officer Ulrich Spiesshofer. “ABB and Solar Impulse are passionate about pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation to achieve a better world.”

Three ABB engineers have been working with the Solar Impulse team, contributing expertise and experience. They have helped to improve power yields from the solar cells and enhance the charging electronics for the plane’s battery systems.

On the plane’s 35,000-kilometer route, pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg will take turns in the cockpit as the aircraft makes it way eastwards from Abu Dhabi, stopping in cities including Muscat, Oman; Ahmedabad and Varanasi in India; Mandalay in Myanmar; Chongqing and Nanjing in China; and Hawaii, Phoenix and New York in the United States, before crossing the Atlantic on its way back to Abu Dhabi, where it is expected to arrive in mid-2015.

The most challenging leg of the journey will be a non-stop flight of five days and nights across much of the Pacific Ocean from China to Hawaii. The plane, powered by 17,248 solar cells, will ascend to altitudes approaching 10,000 meters during the day while fully charging its batteries to stay aloft throughout the night.

ABB’s enthusiasm for Solar Impulse stems not merely from shared faith in innovation and technology but also from the company’s credo: “Power and productivity for a better world.” Solar Impulse’s vision mirrors ABB’s aspirations of helping boost operational efficiency, reduce resource use, enable sustainable transportation and increase penetration of clean, renewable energy.

As one of the world’s largest makers of transformers, electric motors and variable-speed drives, ABB and its products play a significant role in increasing power efficiency. For example, the installed base of ABB drives saved more than 445 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2014, equal to the annual consumption of about 110 million European households.

As the world’s second-largest supplier of solar inverters and one of the largest suppliers to the wind-power industry, ABB is a leader in integrating renewables efficiently and reliably into power grids. ABB is helping to build the most-comprehensive electric vehicle fast-charging network in Europe and is supplying key equipment for the world’s largest network of fast chargers for electric cars in China.

“When we speak of clean technologies for the world, it is not a dream, it is real. ABB is bringing them on to the market, and has already saved the energy equivalent of millions of households,” said Piccard, the Swiss aviation pioneer who was part of the first team to circle the earth in a balloon in 1999.

Borschberg sees “technology changing much faster than we could ever have imagined.

Since 2010, Piccard, Solar Impulse’s chairman, and Borschberg, its chief executive officer, have combined to set eight international aviation records including for duration, altitude and distance flown as they crossed Europe, North Africa and the United States in a prototype plane powered only by energy from the sun.

Solar Power World

JA Solar Holdings Co., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-performance solar power products, has announced that it has completed the development of its new 1500V PV module, inaugurating the product’s global launch in February, 2015.

The product was featured at the PV Expo in Japan on February 25 and was met with an overwhelming reception. The new module will also be featured in several upcoming exhibitions, including the Ecobuild conference to be held in London in early March, and the SNEC PV Power Expo to be held in China at the end of April.

The current IEC industry standard for maximum system voltage is 1000V of system voltage bias. The JA 1500V PV module has proven its performance under the IEC standard for 1500V of system voltage bias, passing the stringent PID test under its standard conditions for 1500V systems. Tested and certified by TÜV, this performance is a testament to the high quality of this new product.

“Raising the maximum system voltage to 1500V means a potential increase of up to 50% in string length, reducing costs on the system side,” said Yong Liu, Chief Technology Officer of JA Solar. “It is an inevitable trend that 1500V systems would begin to be installed on a global scale. Our new 1500V PV module is further testament to JA’s competitive advantage as a leader in industrial PV technology.”

Solar Power World

Sam Walsh has been with GCube Insurance Services for over five years and is the Senior Underwriter for solar risks in North America.

Once seen as novel or risky, solar energy is now a secure, standardized investment class with reliable equipment and long-term utility power purchase agreements (PPAs) in place lasting 20 years or more. Gone are the days when PV investment was treated as high risk/high reward and these projects now commonly attract the interest of large banks, insurance companies and pension funds. The pool of lenders and investors in the North American solar market has grown significantly in the past five years.

In this industry climate, it has never been more important for solar developers and operators to ensure their assets are adequately covered against financial and operational risk. The lender is in the driver’s seat and the lender does not want risk. Thus, no matter how attractive a deal may be, insurance is a must to ensure the bankability of a project and guarantee that all-important project finance.

Neither bank nor equity investor wants to take on more risk than is absolutely necessary. From the insurer’s perspective, this is commonly exhibited in requests for waivers of subrogation or non-vitiation wording, or in specific demands related to the unique situation of a project, such as the limits of windstorm coverage a project along the Gulf Coast might need to buy. Likewise, the growing role of lenders’ consultants has exemplified that insurance is more than a mere checkbox for investors and driven demand for more comprehensive coverage.

This elevated demand, in combination with the expansion of the market, has, in turn, fuelled the evolution of the solar insurance products designed to safeguard the sector.

As the market has matured, there’s been a growing focus on covering values that go beyond the normal replacement cost of a project—most notably the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Lenders look to the worst-case scenario, and, in the event that a project suffers a total constructive loss, the United States government could be entitled to claw back the ITC incentive that was granted for the project.

GCube, for example, has met this demand by offering Stipulated Loss Value coverage, whereby the insured declares the full amount at risk in the event of a total loss, including not just the equipment values but also components that were taken into account at the outset to make the project financially viable—such as the ITC.

Furthermore, the explosive growth in distributed solar generation and residential portfolios has changed the way we need to structure our policies, with a focus on bringing about administrative ease. A single 50-MW project in the desert is simple enough to underwrite, but issuing a policy for 1,000 separate 50-kW installations presents an altogether greater challenge.

For clients whose portfolios consist of large aggregations of small solar projects, we now look to streamline the insurance process by putting together a single policy. This can afford the insured greater flexibility, both by making it easier to add new projects and by helping them manage costs by spreading risk more effectively within their portfolio.

In short, the insurance market continues to evolve with the industry and is well positioned to support the ongoing growth of the solar sector, providing an open dialogue is maintained between all parties involved.

For solar installers, it’s crucial that all of the details are ironed out early on in the development of a project. Make sure to keep your insurance broker up to speed with the requirements that your lenders are imposing on you. Brokers and the markets they work with can help make you aware of the costs and difficulties those requirements will incur, and they can even help push back on lender requests that are commercially untenable. It’s far from ideal to find out the day before a project closes that a request cannot be met or that the cost is not viable.

Insurers can offer much more than bankability—such as finding innovative ways to simultaneously cover thousands of projects aggregated under a single owner or covering the lucrative incentives that make renewable energy investment attractive. But, at the end of the day, insurance is also a basic requirement for lenders. Without the right insurance, there’s no project finance, and without finance, there’s no project.

By: Sam Walsh, GCube Insurance Services

Solar Power World

Live webinar is Wednesday, March 25 at 2:00 PM EDT. 

Most focus on solar generation is placed on the solar cells themselves, but attention should equally be paid to those components “behind the scenes.” Quality backsheets provide voltage protection and maintenance prevention and are equally as important as the glass covering the cells. Join us in a special 1-hour presentation from Dunmore on the importance of backsheets and what you should consider when choosing your panels.

In this webinar attendees will learn:
-Why is a backsheet important?
-Who covers the cost of module failure?
-What types of modules/backsheets are most appropriate in different installations?

Register for this webinar here. 

Solar Power World

Standard Solar, Inc., a leader in the full-service development, construction, integration, financing and installation of solar electric systems, today announced it will design and install a 3.6 Megawatt (MW) solar system for the Town of Stafford, Conn. The project will feature three arrays: two located at Stafford Middle School (1.3MW each) and a 954 kW array at the Town’s landfill. Comprised of 11,780 panels, the virtual net-metered system will offset all of the school’s electrical usage and most of the Town’s other municipal buildings. ClicktoTweet

The Town of Stafford is taking an innovative financing approach to this solar project by foregoing traditional financing solutions such as a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and instead securing a Tax Exempt Lease Purchase (TELP) which will enable them to purchase and own the system outright. Utilizing this method, the Town will not take advantage of the tax credit, or depreciation; however, new Virtual Net Metering policies in the state of Connecticut, a long term ZREC (Zero Emission Energy Credit) contract, and high cost of electricity make ownership advantageous for the Town.

“The Town has recognized the value of energy independence and formulated a plan to get the Town to a net zero energy goal. Over the years we have been implementing this plan and are finally seeing it realized. This large 3.6 MW solar system, along with our geothermal project, was the last part of that vision,” said Town First Selectman Richard Shuck. “While we looked at financing through a PPA, we analyzed various financing options and decided that it was in the Town’s best interest to own the system rather than paying a third party for the power and the financing. In November, a town meeting was held and the tax payers overwhelmingly voted yes to proceed with this project. I believe the Town should feel very accomplished as we have taken our energy cost destiny into our own hands.”

With an expected annual output of more than 4.6 million kilowatt hours per year, the new solar system is projected to save the Town $4,316,126 over 15 years and $12,270,830 over 25 years. This project complements the Town’s other energy savings efforts, including the installation of a high efficiency geothermal heat pump system which will replace oil burning boilers in the four largest buildings in town. While this increases electrical usage, the usage will be offset by the solar arrays. With all of their energy projects implemented, the Town is expected to save more than $24 million over 25 years as it completes the execution of its energy plan.

“More and more, municipalities are embracing the power and savings of solar. The Town of Stafford, Conn. is demonstrating extraordinary leadership with its overall sustainability efforts and innovative approach to financing its new solar project,” said Tony Clifford, CEO, Standard Solar. “This is a significant project for us and marks increased leadership in the Northeast for the Company. We are honored that our 3.6MW solar project be the capstone in the Town’s net zero energy goal.”

Expected to break ground in April and be complete in early 2016, the system’s C02 reduction is equivalent to planting 2,650 acres of trees or removing the emissions of 670 passenger vehicles.

Standard Solar was selected through a competitive Request for Proposal process led by the Town’s Energy Advisory Committee, Town Engineer Dennis C. Milanovich, PE and the Town’s counsel, Paul Michaud, Murtha Cullina LLP.

Solar Power World

SolarEdge, a global specialist in PV inverters, power optimizers, and module-level monitoring services, announced today that its DC optimized inverters are fully compliant with Hawaiian Electric Companies’ (HECO) updated list of Qualified Equipment that Meets Transient Overvoltage and/or Ride‐Through Specifications. In this list, the Hawaiian utility specifies certain inverters that meet new guidelines for grid interaction.

“As a state with high solar PV penetration, Hawaii is leading the way in the development of solutions for PV-to-grid interaction, taking solar power one step closer to being a mainstream solution for electricity generation,” said Lior Handelsman, Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy for SolarEdge. “SolarEdge worked closely with HECO to address Hawaii’s challenges and to meet the specific requirements of its PV market.”

Effective as of February 9, all new permits for solar installations must meet expanded frequency and voltage ride-through (FVRT) and new ultra-fast transient over-voltage (TrOV-2) requirements. SolarEdge inverters are currently available with full FVRT, eliminating the need for installers to update them at a later date. To date, as per HECO’s published list, other inverter suppliers may only meet an interim FVRT, which will require a field upgrade by the end of September 2015 to be fully compliant.

“As more states follow in Hawaii’s footsteps and implement regulations that require improved PV-to-grid interaction, we expect to see an increased demand for technologies that offer these benefits,” said Peter Mathews, General Manager SolarEdge North America. “The SolarEdge DC optimized inverter is a fully compliant and listed solution that meets HECO’s latest requirements. These systems are available today in Hawaii.”

Solar Power World

Greensmith, a provider of grid-scale energy storage software and solutions, announced that over one-third of all energy storage capacity installed in the U.S. in 2014 was deployed by Greensmith and is managed using the company’s fourth generation software platform.

The result is based on the inaugural U.S. Energy Storage Monitor from GTM Research and Energy Storage Association (ESA), which reports that 61.9 megawatts of energy storage came online in the U.S. in 2014. Greensmith’s advanced software platform was used to integrate grid-scale and behind-the-meter energy storage systems, five in total, including the single largest battery-based power system deployed globally in 2014, providing 24×7 frequency regulation services in the PJM wholesale market.

GEMS4, Greensmith’s latest software platform, was used to integrate and manage all five energy storage systems, totaling 23 megawatts. The platform also integrated four new battery technologies including lithium-ion, flow and aqueous-ion – bringing the company’s total to twelve battery types integrated since inception.

“We are pleased with yet another key milestone for the company, as the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report confirms the significant growth taking place in the energy storage market – so the timing couldn’t be better,” said John Jung, CEO of Greensmith. “And a growing number of power producers, developers and utilities are relying on Greensmith to meet their energy storage technology needs, as reflected in our pipeline currently exceeding 500 megawatts. There is no substitute for a track record of success when it comes to deploying any grid-scale technology so our customers value our experience delivering 45 systems across the country as well as internationally. It’s gratifying to see that Greensmith is becoming an indispensable, strategic partner of choice for the design, integration, and software control of advanced energy storage.”

The GEMS software platform manages the complete life cycle of energy storage systems. The technology-agnostic platform integrates all storage system components including batteries and inverters, manages storage assets to optimize battery performance, and provides connectivity with utility SCADA systems. GEMS offers modules for various applications such as frequency regulation, ramp rate control, and renewables smoothing. In its fourth generation of development over six years, GEMS offers advanced algorithms, such as string balancing and loss mitigation, to maximize “battery-dollars.”

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The precision of a variety of individual meteorological transducers has been combined in a single all-in-one device, the new WS510-UMB smart weather sensor by Lufft. This is the latest model in the compact weather station series which was designed especially for PV plants. Kipp & Zonen developed a special version of the low-maintenance CMP10 pyranometer to integrate into the station and provide solar radiation measurements to ISO 9060:1990 Secondary Standard.

In the monitoring of large, utility-scale, photovoltaic (PV) plants, or for the assessment of potential solar power sites, the maximum energy that can be generated is what counts. Of course this depends in the first place on the locally dominant solar radiation (global horizontal irradiance, GHI). But, other meteorological parameters such as air temperature, wind and rainfall influence the yield and efficiency of the PV modules (Performance Ratio).

Lufft now offers the WS510-UMB as the perfect package to monitor solar radiation, wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity and air pressure all in one convenient unit; and an external rain sensor can be connected. This weather sensor meets the high demands of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) through the CMP10 secondary standard pyranometer, a ventilated radiation shield for air temperature and humidity measurements, and the inertia- and maintenance-free measurement of wind speed and direction using the ultrasonic principle.

The housing of our CMP10 was slightly adapted to fit Lufft’s compact weather station and to maintain the specifications and benefits. A pre-production series was made and these were extensively tested in our climate chambers. The final model of the Lufft CMP10 proved to have the same specifications as our standard version. The electrical connection to the rest of the Lufft weather station is now made through the bottom of the CMP10 and, like the standard CMP10, this connection has a hermetic seal. This means that the Lufft version also only needs the internal desiccant to be changed every 10 years.

Udo Kronmüller, the solar expert at Lufft, says “So far, the Second Class thermopile pyranometer CMP3 by Kipp & Zonen has been installed in the WS family. In the new WS510-UMB compact weather sensor a Secondary Standard CMP10 pyranometer by Kipp & Zonen is integrated for the first time, which works extremely precisely, with low-maintenance and high durability.”

The WS510-UMB has an RS-485 interface with various open communication protocols (e.g. Modbus). This makes it easy connect with most available monitoring systems on the market. The sensor is simply installed with only one cable; this means measurably less time in installation and maintenance as well as significantly reduced costs. All the measurement values are communicated via a single configurable digital interface to a data logger or SCADA system.

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REC Solar, a national provider of comprehensive commercial solar and energy solutions, and HICAPS, a SDVOSB (Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business) full service Construction Management firm, today announced they will build two solar electric systems at U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical Centers in Salem, Virginia and Las Vegas, Nevada. In total, these systems comprise nearly 7 MW of solar generation capacity across rooftops, carports and ground-mounted arrays.

“The VA has gone above and beyond to meet their sustainability goals by developing a strong portfolio of renewable energy projects,” said John Handy, Federal Business Development Manager at REC Solar. “Our goal is to ensure smooth construction of solar systems, quickly and affordably, so the VA can maintain focus on their core mission of veteran care without interruption.”

REC Solar will serve as the engineering, procurement and solar system contractor for these systems, while HICAPS acts as the prime general contractor responsible for site civil construction and overall management and implementation of the projects. These arrays bring REC Solar’s total installations with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs up to 21, and HICAPS’ installed projects up to $25 million.

The 5 MW system at the VA Las Vegas Medical Center will span carport and ground-mount structures, including a 200 kW structure that provides shade for water tanks. HICAPS and REC Solar will work with the VA to ensure that no parking spaces are blocked during the construction process, which is expected to be completed in December 2015.

For the VA Salem Medical Center, HICAPS and REC Solar installed 1.8 MW of solar capacity. After successful completion of a 1.6 MW array in 2013, the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs selected HICAPS and REC Solar to construct an additional 200 kW system. By utilizing a ballasted mounting system that avoids ground penetrations, the companies were able to locate the system on a brownfield next to the medical center.

“Over the past several years, we’ve partnered with REC Solar to design high-quality, custom systems on facilities with challenging site characteristics, including the Salem VA Medical Center and Las Vegas VA Medical Center,” said Chris Roth, HICAPS’ Project Manager. “We’re proud to bring the VA Medical Centers a cost-effective way to reduce expenses and improve their environmental impact.”

The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs is under an executive order to implement sustainable programs that minimize the environmental impact of operations. Solar energy systems have been a large component of the VA’s strategy to meet this executive order.

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 Suniva announced it is powering the solar photovoltaic system on The Millennium Building in Washington, D.C. – the first of its kind inside the District. The PV system will help improve the district’s environmental footprint and reduce the building’s operating costs.

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Nestled in the verdant Valle de Guadalupe winemaking region and with an eye on sustainability, El Cielo Winery in Baja California now offsets approximately 75 percent of its energy needs with a new Kyocera solar installation. El Cielo, which translates as “The Sky,” has installed 220 high-reliability Kyocera 245-watt solar modules for a 53.9-kW system as part of its mission to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The rooftop and carport system will produce approximately 91,000 kWh annually, saving the winery $1,000-$1,200 a month in electricity costs and enhancing its bottom line.

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Canadian Solar Inc. will introduce the company’s all-black solar module product line into the Americas market, covering both the North and South American continents. The new product line includes both an all-black CS6K-M monocrystalline module and an all-black CS6K-P module, both of which feature improved, aesthetically pleasing black polycrystalline technology. This all-black module line is specifically targeted for consumers in the residential market.

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Applauding a record-breaking year, GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) today released the U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review report, the definitive source of installation data, forecasting and policy analysis for the U.S. solar market. Newly installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity for year reached a record 6,201 megawatts (MW), growing 30% over 2013’s total. An additional 767 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) came on-line in the same period.

Solar accounted for 32% of the nation’s new generating capacity in 2014, beating out both wind energy and coal for the second year in a row. Only natural gas constituted a greater share of new generating capacity.

In 2014, for the first time in history, each of the three major U.S. market segments – utility, commercial and residential – installed more than a gigawatt (GW) of PV.

The U.S. utility-scale segment broke the GW mark in 2011 and has since grown by nearly 1 GW annually.  In 2014, 3.9 GW of utility-scale PV projects came on-line with another 14 GW of projects currently under contract.

The commercial segment in the U.S. also first installed more than 1 GW in 2011 but has not shared the same success as the utility-scale segment. In 2014, the commercial segment installed just over 1 GW, down 6% from 2013. The report notes, “Many factors have contributed to this trend, ranging from tight economics to difficulty financing small commercial installations.” But GTM Research expects 2015 to be a bounce-back year for the commercial segment, highlighted by a resurgence in California.

The U.S. residential segment’s 1.2 GW in 2014 marks its first time surpassing 1 GW. Residential continues to be the fastest-growing market segment in the U.S., with 2014 marking three consecutive years of greater than 50% annual growth.

“Without question, the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has helped to fuel our industry’s remarkable growth. Today the U.S. solar industry has more employees than tech giants Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter combined,” said Rhone Resch, SEIA president and CEO.  “Since the ITC was passed in 2006, more than 150,000 solar jobs have been created in America, and $66 billion has been invested in solar installations nationwide.  We now have 20 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar capacity – enough to power 4 million U.S. homes – and we’re helping to reduce harmful carbon emissions by 20 million metric tons a year.  By any measurement, the ITC has been a huge success for both our economy and environment.”

GTM Research forecasts the U.S. PV market to grow 31% in 2015. The utility segment is expected to account for 59% of the forecasted 8.1 GW of PV.

“Solar PV was a $13.4 billion market in the U.S. in 2014, up from just $3 billion in 2009,” said Shayle Kann, Senior Vice President at GTM Research. “And this growth should continue throughout 2015 thanks to falling solar costs, business model innovation, an attractive political and regulatory environment and increased availability of low-cost capital.”

Additional key findings:

• The U.S. installed 6,201 MW of solar PV in 2014, up 30% over 2013, making 2014 the largest year ever in terms of PV installations.
• Solar provided roughly 1/3 of all new electric generating capacity in the U.S. in 2014.
• More than 1/3 of all cumulative operating PV capacity in the U.S. came on-line in 2014.
• By the end of 2014, 20 states eclipsed the 100 MW mark for cumulative operating solar PV installations, and California alone is home to 8.7 GW.
• For the first time ever, more than half a gigawatt of residential solar installations came on line without any state incentive in 2014.
• Growth remains driven primarily by the utility solar PV market, which installed 1.5 GW in Q4 2014, the largest quarterly total ever for any market segment.
• PV installations are forecast to reach 8.1 GW in 2015, up 59% over 2014.
• 2014 was the largest year ever for concentrating solar power, with 767 MW brought on-line. Notable project completions include the 392 MW Ivanpah project. Genesis Solar project’s second phase of 125 MW and Abengoa’s Mojave Solar (250 MW), which achieved commercial operation in December 2014.
• All solar projects completed in 2014 represent $17.8 billion in investment ($13.4 billion in PV and $4.4 billion in CSP).
• As of the end of 2014, cumulative operating PV in the U.S. totaled 18.3 GW and cumulative operating CSP totaled 1.7 GW

SEIA

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