Coach and QB reunite to add solar to the Seneca County Law Enforcement Center.
By Frank Andorka, Editorial Director
When Mike Johnson was 11 years old, he played quarterback, and Jack Stenberg was his coach. Though memories have become fuzzy, Stenberg says young Johnson could always score. Now, as the president of Spear Point Energy, a Colorado-based solar firm, Johnson has scored again for his former coach. He installed a ground-mounted solar array next to the Seneca County Law Enforcement Center in Romulus, N.Y., where Stenberg is Sheriff.
When Mike Johnson was 11 years old, he played quarterback, and Jack Stenberg was his coach. Though memories have become fuzzy, Stenberg says young Johnson could always score.
Now, as the president of Spear Point Energy a Colorado-based solar firm, Johnson has scored again for his former coach. He installed a ground-mounted solar array next to the Seneca County Law Enforcement Center in Romulus, N.Y., where Stenberg is Sheriff.
Stenberg knew he could count on Johnson to deliver the project on time and on budget.
“When Mike came home to visit his family, we talked about doing some sort of energy project together,” Stenberg says. “There wasn’t much money for this kind of project at the time. We said we’d revisit it.
“Six months later, Mike called me and said, ‘New York has some money available — want to talk projects again?’” he says. “It was perfect timing.”
The money, which came from the NY-Sun Competitive Photovoltaic Program (administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)), came with a catch: Once the money was awarded in March, the clock started on the project. If it wasn’t completed in eight months, the money would disappear.
Johnson, whose Aspen-based company Spear Point Energy develops and finances projects around the country, says the short timeframe is not unusual and can be frustrating. But with his roots in the town (his family owns the local construction company that built the law enforcement’s center) and the sheriff’s full-throated support, the process went more smoothly than he could have imagined.
“We had two months to get the project approved,” Johnson says. “Having someone as trusted as Jack involved, along with my own ties to the community, pushed this project through on a fast track that wouldn’t happen just anywhere.”
The town supervisors approved the project after two meetings, and the combination of quarterback and coach mapped an ambitious game plan.
Hurry Up Offense
The money, which came from the NY-Sun Competitive Photovoltaic Program (administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)), came with a catch: Once the money was awarded in March, the clock started on the project. If it wasn’t completed in eight months, the money would disappear.
Typically, a project like this takes roughly six months to go through design, engineering, construction, permitting and interconnection, Johnson says. When you only have eight months to complete a project, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for error.
Fortunately, Johnson had a go-to partner that Spear Point has worked with for several years. So he picked up the phone and asked San Francisco-based Stellar Energy to join the team as the contractor responsible for putting the project in the ground.
The 845-kW ground-mounted solar array is on three acres of county-owned land adjacent the Seneca County Law Enforcement Center. The center houses the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office and the Division of Corrections (including a jail facility).
“The client required a team that could adhere to strict timelines and budgets,” says Michael Mittleman, president of Stellar Energy. “They also needed a company that had the professionalism and ability to complete the project with a minimal impact to their day-to-day operations. We were honored they had confidence in our ability to do the job.”
The lead designer worked nights and weekends to go from the conceptual design to a full permit-ready plan in 14 days, including engineering. Then the plans had to be modified three times, based on feedback from Johnson and Stenberg. Mittleman says the final request required a complete re-layout and stringing of the array — and it was done in four days.
Since Stellar is located 2,766 miles away from Romulus (a 40-hour drive), they subcontracted much of the work to local residents. Mittleman says Steller had between five to 25 people working on the job for the duration of the project. They were mostly local workers.
Stenberg says the boost to the local economy was one of the major project selling points for the board of supervisors.
“In a county of only 35,000 people, making sure we employed as many residents as possible to build the array was critical,” Stenberg says. “We wanted to do as much as we could locally because it’s part of the supervisors’ role to bring jobs here. They liked that aspect of the project.”
Mittleman says the permit to start construction was issued on Aug. 8, and the project was finished in 50 days — two days ahead of schedule.
“All-in-all, we produced an elegant design that met all the project’s electrical specifications, while being optimized to aid the construction team for an aggressive installation schedule,” Mittleman says. “We were honored and excited to be part of this installation.”
The Final Whistle
The Seneca County Law Enforcement Center officially flipped the switch on the project on Dec. 12. It will provide 80 to 82% of the power necessary to run the facility and will save the county $1 million over the 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA), which the county signed with Spear Point.
The Seneca County Law Enforcement Center officially flipped the switch on the project on Dec. 12. It will provide 80 to 82% of the power necessary to run the facility and will save the county $1 million over the 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA), which the county signed with Spear Point.
Would Johnson consider doing another project in New York, which many experts believe will eventual rival New Jersey in the number of solar installations?
“We’re definitely talking to other businesses in the area for whom there is interest,” Johnson says. “We’re keen to do more work here. New York has done a good job of positioning itself as the next big solar market, and we would like to take advantage of that.”
Being a rural county, Stenberg says the idea of being more independent of the grid appeals to residents.
“This project is going to provide significant energy savings to the county,” Stenberg says. “But one of the most interesting parts of this project was the fact that we won’t be as dependent on the grid.”
While he enjoys working on all the solar projects Spear Point has overseen, this one had special meaning to Johnson.
“This is my home county,” Johnson says. “It’s a small, tight-knit community that came together to support this project. It’s something I really wanted to make it happen, and I’m proud to have been able to bring solar home.”
Project Suppliers
Contractor: Stellar Energy (Rohnert Park, Calif.)
Panels: Talesun
Inverters: Advanced Energy
Racking and Mounting: RBI Solar