SPG Solar (No. 93 on the 2014 Top 400 Solar Contractors List) started as an EPC in 2001 by building the first commercial grid-tied system in the United States at Blakes Autobody in Rohnert Park, Calif. The company, which has grown to 72 employees, lists a couple other firsts on its resume, too.In 2004, SPG Solar installed the arrays that made the Kentfield School District in Kentfield, Calif., the first to be powered completely by solar. In 2006, SPG built the first non-penetrating system on the side of a dam for the Sonoma County Water Agency.
Solar trackers designed and installed by SPG Solar combined with California SB 594 are the perfect combination to help alleviate Los Gatos Tomato’s energy costs. The farm has multiple wells that use a large amount of energy during the afternoon. Trackers also deliver the most energy at that time. Under SB 594, Los Gatos can aggregate multiple meters on contiguous parcels of land, which means energy from one solar installation can offset costs at multiple wells.
Also in 2006, the company launched the SunSeeker single-axis tracking system, installing the first unit at a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, Alza Corporation, in Mountain View, Calif. Solar tracking systems can greatly increase ROI on a project by increasing energy production when electric rates are most expensive – during the day.
But why did SPG Solar develop its own solar tracking system?
“To begin with, there was a clear need in the market,” says Dylan Dupre, vice president of EPC Sales at SPG Solar. But he says the advantages – if you have enough capital to develop, test and patent a system – are threefold.
The first advantage, Dupre says, is experience installing the system. Every SPG Solar installer is trained and certified to install the SunSeeker – and the company has installed more than 100 MW of that particular system.
The second advantage is cost. Rather than paying a markup on equipment from another company, SPG is able to source materials directly from component suppliers.
Third, the company stocks its own spare parts. “In terms of operations and maintenance, we’re able to service these systems quickly and reliably through our technology and training center in Sacramento,” Dupre says. “There is an advantage to not having to go back to a manufacturer to order parts because we are the manufacturer.”
The SunSeeker experienced success recently at Los Gatos Tomato Products, a tomato processing facility in Huron, Calif. In 2009, SPG Solar installed a 1.1-MW single-axis tracking system at the farm, which exceeded expectations by 7 to 8% yearly. Impressed with the system’s performance, Los Gatos just signed for an additional 3 MW of trackers, which will be installed under California SB 594, a net-metering aggregation program.
“SPG Solar provided a real service and has a proven track record. They came in on budget, stayed within the proposed time schedule and delivered more than expected,” says Stuart Woolf, owner of Los Gatos Tomato Products.
“This project is a total validation that solar is both an economical and sustainable solution for the farm’s energy needs,” Dupre says. SPW