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Rec Solar Leads Solar Growth in Us

San Luis Obispo, California-based REC Solar, one of the nation’s fastest growing solar providers for grid-tied residential and commercial solar photovoltaic systems, recently announced the acquisition of a contract with the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, or VA – a division of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) – to build 1.7 megawatts of solar capacity on federally-owned buildings in California, Arizona and Nevada.

Founded in 1997, and with more than a dozen offices in six states (AZ, CA, CO, HI, OR and NJ), REC Solar is one of only a handful of solar companies in California whose engineers are certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.

The systems, when completed, will represent the biggest solar power systems in the VA network, which total 1,296 buildings dedicated to veteran’s health, education, welfare, training, and other social support systems for the nation’s 24.5 million war veterans, almost 10 million of whom are 65 or older.

Completion of the 1.7 megawatts is scheduled for the spring of 2010, and will create more than 60 jobs during their construction. When completed, they will also prevent 1.2 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year (by removing that much generation from coal and fossil-fuel burning power plants). This is the equivalent of preserving more than a quarter acre of pine forest, planting 31 trees a year, or preventing the burning of 139 gallons of gasoline annually.

The amount of electricity generated, 2.1 megawatt-hours, would power 3,600 households and is, according to REC Solar CEO Angiolo Laviziano, the direct result of the company’s turnkey solar power solutions, which offer the VA the opportunity to purchase solar power through a standardized General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule. The GSA is the financial management and audit arm of the federal government.

The solar installations, destined for Palo Alto, Fresno, Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, as well as Tucson, Arizona and Reno, Nevada, will save the VA system more than $175,000 a year in electric utility costs, in a combination of roof-mounted, ground-arrayed, and carport installations based on 7,000 REC AE-US Series solar modules, which combine superior quality with long-lasting, reliable performance. Systems will also be equipped with Satcon inverters, and monitored by Energy Recommerce Inc.

REC Solar, whose phenomenal growth (from 20 employees in 2005 to about 500 in 2009) is largely due to the company’s reputation for quality and service, will install 1,700 systems this year, but it isn’t enough, according to Laviziano, who says the solar industry as a whole is conflicted not by lack of space (the Mojave Desert notwithstanding), but by lack of understanding of the newly defined parameters of solar photovoltaic power itself.

According to Laviziano, most people considering solar are still stuck in the 1990′s paradigm of prohibitively expensive solar installations, low efficiency rates (10 percent or less), and half-century payback times.

This is no longer true, thanks to stimulus packages and credits at the federal, state and even regional level, the falling cost of solar itself ($7 per watt installed, less incentives, or about.25 cents per kilowatt hour, as compared to.15 cents for conventional generation, including taxes and pass-through fees), and the possibility of leasing solar for those who still can’t afford the upfront costs.

Solar panels are planned for four affordable housing communities in California to provide inexpensive electricity to low-income residents.

In total, the solar arrays will generate 790 kilowatts, or 1.1 megawatt-hours, of electricity. Three of the communities to receive solar power are in San Francisco and one is in Richmond, a city just north of Berkeley.

The systems will be financed by power purchase agreements, which have become popular among homeowners and businesses looking to install solar panels but anxious about the upfront costs. Under a PPA, private installers or municipalities pay the upfront cost of solar installations and receive payment over an extended period of time. Berkeley was the first city to have a PPA program; homeowners who participate pay back the costs of their solar power system through a 20-year property tax assessment.

The PPAs provided for the four affordable housing developments will be provided by Real Goods Solar, a private solar installer. Residents of the four communities will pay for the electricity generated by the solar panels at lower rates than they pay for conventional electricity.

The solar panel systems “will produce low-cost power for decades to come,” Real Goods Solar president John Schaeffer said.

About the Author

Cooler Planet is a leading solar resource for connecting consumers and commercial entities with local solar Installers. Cooler Planet’s solar panel resources and solar energy page contains articles and tools to help with your solar project.

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