301 Moved Permanently

---

nginx

Solar Energy Management Builds 1.5 MW Rooftop Project For Florida Distributor

Tampa, Fla.-based Solar Energy Management has deployed a 1.5 MW rooftop solar array for Great Bay Distributors’ facility in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Solar Energy Management’s engineering and design team developed a galvanized racking and stanchion system that allows the roofer to tie the solar power rack stanchions into the bar choice of the flat thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof. This system would be fully sealed at each stanchion by the roofer. The steel rack systems were also designed for longer runs between penetrations.

Solar Energy Management devised rack movers with double-wide tires to allow for rapid movement of the heavy racks while distributing loads, thus preventing the tires from damaging the TPO roof and insulation.

The array features 4,590 Suniva 330 W solar panels and 51 SMA 24000 Tripower inverters. The project provides for 92% of Great Bay’s energy requirements at the 280,000 square-foot building. The return on investment is estimated at six years.

Scott McIntyre, CEO of Solar Energy Management, says engineering was key to the success of the project in a state with no solar energy policy. In addition, he says, all of the components were manufactured in the U.S., including the locally sourced steel for the racking.

 

Stem Installs Grid-Connected Battery Storage System In Pilot With Hawaiian Electric

California-based Stem Inc. has installed a grid-connected, 36 kW, behind-the-meter battery storage system for Watanabe Floral in Honolulu.

The installation is part of a $1.2 million pilot program supported by Energy Excelerator, a collaboration between the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, Stem and Hawaiian Electric Co.

Stem’s data analytics software incorporates weather pattern information, past usage data and rate information to predict when electric use will peak. The system responds to spikes in electricity use, drawing on stored power to reduce costs for customers. Customers also receive access to Stem’s software system that provides real-time visualization of energy use.

Stem’s analytics will also begin to include data from Hawaiian Electric’s current renewable forecasting and monitoring project.

“The Stem system helps us to monitor our solar panels and electrical demand load seamlessly to reduce our energy costs,” says Leon Dodson, chief financial officer of Watanabe Floral. “We are thrilled that Hawaiian Electric is making this technology available to our business.”

When the combined Stem fleet of storage systems is installed, utility grid operators will be able to use the stored electricity for added stability during times of solar generation variability and peak demand.

“We see energy storage supported by intelligent software as an increasingly essential component of our business,” says Shelee Kimura, Hawaiian Electric vice president of corporate planning and business development. “Working with innovators like Stem, we will further modernize our system, integrate more renewables, and create a more stable and efficient grid for the people of Hawaii.”

 

Aalborg CSP Begins Construction Of Integrated Energy System In Australia

Denmark-based Aalborg CSP has begun construction of a concentrated solar power energy system for Sundrop Farms greenhouses in Port Augusta, Australia.

Aalborg CSP is building its Integrated Energy System to heat the greenhouses, provide fresh water by desalinating seawater drawn from the nearby Spencer Gulf and periodically run a steam turbine to produce electricity. The solar field will consist of more than 23,000 heliostats supplied by California-based eSolar. The heliostats will be focused on a 116-meter-high tower.

The facility is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2016.

“The Integrated Energy System is the first of its kind in the world, and it changes the way we are thinking about energy today,” says Svante Bundgaard, CEO of Aalborg CSP. “It is an intelligent way to supply different energy outputs at the time the industrial facility would need it while providing significant cost and CO2 savings, as well.”

 

Tri-State Signs Contract For 25 MW Alta Luna Solar Project

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., a wholesale power supplier owned by 44 member electric cooperatives and public power districts, and D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments LLC (DESRI) have signed a 25-year contract to supply the utility with renewable energy from the planned 25 MW Alta Luna Solar Project, to be constructed in New Mexico.

The Alta Luna Solar Project is expected to consist of a single-axis tracking array of over 108,000 photovoltaic solar panels located on a 220-acre site in Luna County. The project was developed by Denver-based TurningPoint Energy and was subsequently sold to an affiliate of DESRI in partnership with Bright Plain Renewable Energy LLC, a San Francisco-based solar project developer, investor and operator.

The facility is expected to come online in December 2016. Tri-State will purchase the entire output of the solar farm over the life of the contract. Columbus Electric Cooperative, a Tri-State member system based in Deming, N.M., will provide the distribution service.