301 Moved Permanently

---

nginx

Ra Power & Light Completes 270 kW Commercial Array For Aethercomm

Laguna Beach, Calif.-based Ra Power & Light has completed a 270 kW commercial rooftop solar installation for defense contractor Aethercomm’s facility in Carlsbad, Calif.

Ra Power & Light developed the photovoltaic project and provided engineering, procurement and construction services at the customer site. The project posed a number of challenges due to the nature of the customer’s business and its financial requirements.

As a provider of radio-frequency electronics for various military applications, Aethercomm operates under security restrictions imposed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). From a project-management perspective, the customer site was a challenge unto itself.

“It’s a DOD-regulated facility,” says Michael Campbell, CEO of Ra Power & Light. “You have to have a U.S. passport to enter that building.”

In order to meet those constraints, Ra Power & Light constructed an independent scaffolding system near the facility’s loading dock to provide safe and secure access to the roof of the building. Campbell says his company provided a 40-foot cargo container to secure tools and materials so they would not have to be brought back and forth to the site through checkpoints. Portable lavatories and wash stations were also provided.

The flat roof supported a SunLink Precision-Modular RMS ballasted mounting system on which Canadian Solar Cs6X 305 modules were installed. The array also features Fronius Symo inverters.

An interesting aspect of the project was that Ra Power & Light commissioned aerial photography of the work site at weekly intervals so the client could see the progress of the work. Campbell says the photos drove all of the ambiguity out of the project’s status without making the client climb the scaffolding. “We also got some nice shots of the SunLink racking and mounting system on the roof without the panels,” he adds. “People don’t see that very often.”

Ra Power & Light is also offering a 10-year warranty on the project, as well as a separate 10-year operations and maintenance service in partnership with True South Renewables. Campbell says the proper design on the front end combined with the use of bankable equipment and the experience to optimize the system for the structure mitigates most of the risk on an installation warranty.

The construction phase occupied only the final few months of what Campbell describes as a 25-month process. Most of the work involved Aethercomm going through its own approval process. The pitch, such as it was, did not require much effort, he says, because the company’s CEO was very solar friendly.

“The value proposition has to make sense for operations, finance and executive management,” Campbell says. “In the case of finance, the important metric was that the project be revenue neutral and deliver operational improvements. This kept it from being a capital expense.”

Ra Power & Light specializes in cash-deal commercial and industrial (C&I) solar projects, which Campbell describes as the unicorn of solar - highly sought after and very elusive. The company does not pursue power purchase agreements. Aethercomm put up about 20% of the cost of the project and financed the rest. “It is very difficult to find people who can navigate the board room and find senior-level executives to support a seven-figure solar project,” he says.

In order to catch the unicorn, Campbell says Ra Power & Light has developed a targeted approach that requires a very precise understanding of a prospective client’s business. At the same time, Campbell says the appreciation for solar in the C&I market is substantially better than it was five years ago.

“Many managers have solar on their houses,” he says. “The customer has a progressive, forward-leaning CEO. And this is a building full of Marines!”

- Michael Puttré

 

itek Energy Completes Employee-Owned Community Solar Array

Bellingham, Wash.-based photovoltaic module manufacturer itek Energy has completed a 60 kW community solar project located on the waterfront at the site of an old Georgia Pacific tissue plant.

The project is a collaboration of itek Energy and the Port of Bellingham, which owns the land. The project is collectively owned by itek Energy employees, who provided the installation labor. Ecotech Solar helped with the AC wiring, system commissioning and permitting.

Through the state’s Renewable Energy Production incentive, itek Energy employees will receive a yearly dividend for the solar energy produced for the life of the installation.

The system features 236 itek Energy solar modules and eight Solectria inverters. Vancouver, Wash.-based Sunmodo supplied the ranking for the ground-mount array. It is estimated to produce between 60 kWh and 70 kWh per year. In addition to generating power, this system will be used for research and development to assist itek in improving solar PV module performance, durability and efficiency.

“During the design and installation process, we strove to utilize as many existing materials from the site as possible to not only reduce costs, but to give these materials a new life,” says Dana Hickenbottom, project lead for itek Energy. “We repurposed the stainless steel aeration pipes and angle iron to build a mounting structure for the solar panels and inverters. We harvested countless nuts and bolts from the site, as well as reused existing AC wiring and cable trays.”

 

SunPower Signs PPA With Turlock Irrigation District In Calif.

The Turlock Irrigation District (TID) in California and SunPower have signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA), under which TID will buy solar-generated electricity from SunPower.

To serve the agreement, SunPower is starting construction this month on a 54 MW solar photovoltaic power plant at the company’s Rosamond Solar site in Kern County, Calif. The new plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2016.

TID estimates the PPA will move the district approximately 7% closer to meeting the State of California’s recently increased renewable portfolio standard requirement of 50% renewables by 2030. It will also add another significant resource to the district’s already diverse portfolio of renewable resources, which include wind, eligible small hydro, geothermal and solar PV.

SunPower is also building a second 54 MW solar plant at the site to serve a PPA with Stanford University announced earlier this year. In all, SunPower says Rosamond Solar may support up to 300 MW of PV generation based on SunPower Oasis Power Plant systems.

 

Inland Empire Utilities Agency Installing Water-Energy Project

The Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) in California has launched a water-energy project that uses energy storage systems to integrate wind, solar, biogas and grid resources to optimize renewable generation, reduce demand on the electric grid and lower energy costs.

As part of this first-of-its-kind project, the agency says it will install approximately 3.5 MW of advanced energy storage systems at its regional water-recycling facilities and pump stations in Southern California. The agency signed an agreement with San Francisco-based Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) to design, install and manage the project.

The systems will range in size from 150 kW to 1.25 MW and will be custom-designed to optimize the IEUA’s on-site generation, which includes solar, wind and biogas resources. The batteries will store excess renewable energy and use stored energy to power facilities when demand on the electric grid is high.

The IEUA says the energy storage systems will also provide an added layer of protection against outages and enhance the agency’s ability to share renewable resources between facilities.

Integrating the IEUA’s on-site renewable energy resources will reduce its peak demand from the grid by as much as 14% and total energy costs by 5% to 10%. AMS will use Powerpack commercial battery systems procured from Tesla Energy.

According to the IEUA, state and federal energy agencies have found that water and energy resources are inextricably connected - a concept known as the water-energy nexus. The California Energy Commission says the transportation and treatment of water, treatment and disposal of wastewater, and energy used to heat and consume water account for nearly 20% of the total electricity and 30% of the natural gas not related to power plants consumed in California.

 

Nexamp Completes 88 kW Rooftop Solar Project In Massachusetts

Boston-based solar developer Nexamp has completed an 88 kW rooftop solar system for Schernecker Property Services (SPS) in Waltham, Mass.

The array consists of 270 Suniva OPT 325 solar modules mounted on a PanelClaw Polar Bear RMS Gen III racking system. The project also features three Advanced Energy 3TL 20 kW inverters.

The project was designed and built by Nexamp. Nextility, a provider of power, gas and solar energy solutions for commercial customers, financed the project and will own and operate it.

Under Nextility’s 15-year power purchase agreement, SPS, a provider of capital improvements for New England condominium and multi-residential properties, will receive a 35% discount off of the utility rate for the energy produced by the solar array.

“SPS is committed to adding value for the properties and clients with whom we work,” says Fred Schernecker, CEO of SPS. “With the advancements the solar industry has made, we anticipate strong performance at this location. Positive results should lead to wider adoption of solar by our clients on their properties.”

 

GlassPoint Breaks Ground On Novel CSP Facility In Oman

GlassPoint Solar has broken ground on the Miraah solar project for Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).

In July, the two companies announced a deal to build a trough-based concentrating solar power (CSP) system that, at its peak output, is expected to generate an excess of 1 GW of solar thermal energy. The project, located at the Amal oil field in southern Oman, will use the thermal energy to produce steam used in heavy oil production.

GlassPoint encloses its CSP arrays in greenhouses to protect the delicate parabolic mirrors from the elements. Miraah will be 100 times larger than GlassPoint’s solar pilot facility at the site, which has been operating for nearly three years.

“PDO is proud to lead the industry in deploying innovative solutions that allow us to develop our heavy oil while at the same time reduce our energy consumption and our costs,” says Raoul Restucci, managing director of PDO. “Miraah will provide a substantial amount of the steam demand at Amal, reducing our reliance on natural gas to make steam. The gas saved can be used by other industries to support Oman’s diversification and economic growth strategies.”

 

Kyocera Completes 8.5 MW Solar Power Plant In Japan

Kyocera TCL Solar LLC has completed an 8.5 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

The project, located on Yabasekihanto Island in Lake Biwa, is expected to generate approximately 9.3 GWh of electricity per year. The ground-mount array consists of approximately 33,000 Kyocera 255 W modules. Construction started in October 2014.

The project includes emergency power supply equipment consisting of a 4 kWh Kyocera solar power generating system with a 16.2 kW storage battery. The facility also features solar streetlights powered by 95 W Kyocera modules.

A nearby observation deck enables visitors to view the array from an elevated vantage point.

Kyocera TCL Solar is a joint venture of Kyocera Corp. and Century Tokyo Leasing Corp.

 

Recurrent Energy Gets Financing For 60 MW Barren Ridge Solar

Canadian Solar Inc. says its wholly owned subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, secured financing for the 60 MW Barren Ridge solar power project in Kern County, Calif.

The financing is in the form of a debt facility with a group of banks and a tax equity investment commitment from U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp. (USBCDC). Recurrent Energy will be the managing member and plans to own and operate the project.

The lender group - led by Rabobank and including Santander Bank, NordLB, Key Bank and CIT - will provide $115 million of construction debt, a tax equity bridge loan and a term loan option for the project. USBCDC, a division of U.S. Bank, will make a tax equity investment in the project under a separate agreement.

The Barren Ridge solar project is currently under construction and is expected to reach commercial operation in the third quarter of 2016. Swinerton Renewable Energy is providing engineering, procurement and construction services.

The electricity and associated renewable energy credits generated by the facility will be sold under a long-term power purchase agreement to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

 

8minutenergy Breaks Ground On 137 MW Solar Project In Kern County

Solar developer 8minutenergy Renewables LLC has begun construction on the 137 MW Springbok 1 Solar Farm, located 70 miles north of Los Angeles in Kern County, Calif.

The project has a signed power purchase agreement with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) on behalf of its participating member, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

The utility-scale solar generation facility is sited on about 700 acres of abandoned farmland taken out of production more than 20 years ago.

Once it reaches commercial operations in June 2016, the Springbok 1 project is expected to displace the equivalent of approximately 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

“Each step of this process, we have enjoyed strong working relationships with SCPPA/LADWP and the Kern County Planning and Development Department, among other local and community organizations,” says Tom Buttgenbach, president of 8minutenergy. “Add to that the economic impact the project is having in the region, and we believe this project is a model for productive private and public partnership.”

 

First Solar Inks PPAs With Austin And Sacramento Electric Utilities

First Solar Inc. has signed power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Texas’ Austin Energy and California’s Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) for two respective solar projects.

Austin Energy, the City of Austin’s municipally owned electricity provider, will obtain power generated by First Solar’s 119 MW East Pecos Solar Project.

East Pecos, which First Solar owns and is developing in Pecos County, Texas, is expected to commence construction in early 2016, with commercial operations anticipated in late 2016. The project will generate approximately 300,000 MWh of renewable energy annually.

First Solar and SMUD have executed a PPA for the off-take of the 10.8 MW Rancho Seco Solar Project that will be situated on 60 acres of SMUD-owned property, including the decommissioned Rancho Seco Nuclear Generation Station in Herald, Calif.

Construction of the Rancho Seco Solar Project is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of this year, with commercial operations beginning in mid 2016.

The project will annually generate more than 22,000 MWh of energy, which will be offered to SMUD business customers through the utility’s Commercial SolarShares program.

 

Lockheed Martin Switches On 2.25 MW Solar Carport Designed And Built By AGT

Lockheed Martin has powered up its 151,400-square-foot solar array covering the parking lot at its facility near Clearwater, Fla.

Advanced Green Technologies (AGT) broke ground on the solar carport project in March. The installation incorporates 7,260 Hanwha SolarOne S-series solar modules and SunGrow inverters. The carports provide shading for over 500 cars and also feature under-canopy LED lighting systems.

The solar project is expected to generate 3.33 GWh of electricity per year.

“This plant is indicative of Lockheed Martin’s drive to be energy-efficient and a responsible corporate citizen,” says Leo Mackay, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of sustainability. “It is a building block in our larger effort to align our company with the demands of this century - global security, advanced infrastructure and renewable energy.”

 

PSC Approves Mississippi Utility-Scale Solar Projects

The Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved Mississippi Power’s plan to build 105 MW of utility-scale solar plants at three different locations in the company’s service territory.

The developers of the solar energy projects will finance each installation, with Mississippi Power receiving all of the energy and associated renewable energy credits (RECs) generated by the projects.

The energy and RECs may be used to serve customers with renewable energy, for future renewable energy programs or to sell at wholesale to third parties. The power will be bought through long-term power purchase agreements with the developers.

The projects include the following:

• Mississippi Power and Strata Solar are partnering on a 50 MW electric solar generating station to be located in Hattiesburg;
• The company and Origis Energy are partnering on a 52 MW solar energy project to be located in Sumrall; and
• Mississippi Power, Hannah Solar and the U.S. Navy are partnering on a 3 MW to 4 MW solar project to be located at the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.

As an intermittent energy resource, the solar facilities will not replace Mississippi Power’s generating plants, but will have the capability to provide energy that will help diversify the company’s generation portfolio and help keep rates affordable for customers.

Construction on all three projects is slated to begin in early 2016.

 

Strata Solar To Build Utility Solar Project In Alabama

Strata Solar will soon begin installation of the first two utility-scale solar projects for Alabama Power at the Anniston Army Depot and Fort Rucker Army Base.

The Alabama Public Service Commission gave its approval for Alabama Power to build a 10.6 MW solar facility at Anniston Army Depot and a 10.6 MW solar facility at Fort Rucker.

Alabama Power awarded Strata Solar the engineering, procurement and construction contract for these projects. Installation is set to begin in the first quarter of 2016.

 

Stion Completes 172 kW Array At San Francisco Airport

California-based Stion Energy Services, the project development arm of module maker Stion, has completed the installation and commissioning of a 172 kW commercial rooftop array at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Hensel Phelps Construction built the array for the facility, which is the newest commercial building at SFO. The project also features a Sollega ballasted roof mount and Advanced Energy string inverters.

Although the West Field Cargo Building did not have a roof facing due south, Stion says its copper indium gallium selenide modules generate sufficient electricity even when the sun’s rays do not hit the panel at an ideal angle. The solar array is expected to generate over 281 MWh of electricity per year and will enable LEED Gold certification for the West Field Cargo Building.

“We expect SFO to see an attractive return on investment over the lifetime of the solar project,” says Jeffery Cheng, CEO of Stion Energy Services. R