301 Moved Permanently

---

nginx

Toledo Zoo Marks First Year With 2 MW Array

A year after the start of power generation from the 2 MW Anthony Wayne Solar Array at the Toledo Zoo in Ohio, officials say that the renewable energy project has reduced the zoo’s carbon footprint, produced cost savings and turned a local eyesore into a community asset.

The 28,000-module photovoltaic array provides the Toledo Zoo with enough power to supply more than 30% of its electric energy needs. The zoo uses an average of 8 GWh of electricity per year, and the array produces nearly 3 GWh annually.

“The solar array allows the zoo to demonstrate environmental stewardship while reducing and stabilizing our electrical costs,” says Rick Payeff, director of facilities and planning for the Toledo Zoo. “The power purchase agreement developed with GEM Energy has provided us with a way to utilize renewable energy sources without expanding capital or operational dollars up front.”

The project was the product of a collaboration with Walbridge, Ohio-based GEM Energy, the Toledo Mayor’s Office, the City Council and the Lucas County Land Bank.

“What we see today is the result of a public/private partnership that repurposed a foreclosed and contaminated brownfield into a productive solar array that lowers the zoo’s carbon footprint by producing power through clean energy,” says Jason Slattery, director of solar for GEM Energy, a subsidiary of the Rudolph Libbe Group.

 

EnterSolar Develops 1.5 MW Remote Net-Metering Project

New York City-based EnterSolar has developed a large-scale rooftop project that will enable Bloomberg LP’s global headquarters in midtown Manhattan and its downtown data center to partially convert to solar energy through remote net metering.

The Bloomberg-JFK Airport Park Solar Project comprises a 1.5 MW solar installation across three adjacent logistics facilities at the JFK Airport Park in Queens’ Springfield Gardens.

According to EnterSolar, the 5,500-panel system is the largest rooftop solar array in Queens and is among the largest rooftop solar projects in New York state. The power generated will be converted to energy credits and applied to Bloomberg’s offices in New York City.

EnterSolar says the project is also the largest remote net-metering project in New York City and the first to use remote net metering to power a midtown Manhattan skyscraper with a remotely sited solar PV system.

On an annual basis, the project will generate 1.8 million kWh of energy - enough to power more than 244 typical homes for a year.

The project was supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as part of Gov. Cuomo’s NY-Sun $1 billion initiative.

“Under Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision, New York state continues its strong commitment to the growth of the solar industry as it scales up the adoption of this clean, renewable resource,” says John B. Rhodes, president and CEO of NYSERDA. “This project is an excellent example of the use of remote net metering to offset electricity costs at a major facility that would not otherwise be able to benefit from solar.”

 

BPE Solicitors Advises Clients On 1.8 MW Rooftop Installation In The U.K.

Cheltenham, U.K.-based BPE Solicitors has advised Guinness Asset Management and Perpetum Energy Europe on the lease; power purchase agreement (PPA); and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a 1.8 MW rooftop solar array.

For the project, Shoreham, U.K.-based steel manufacturer ParkerSteel partnered with Perpetum Energy to fit the solar array to the roof of its manufacturing facility. The solar installation will be owned by Larimin, which is supported by Guinness Asset Management’s enterprise investment scheme. ParkerSteel will purchase the electricity from Larimin under a PPA.

BPE advised Guinness Asset Management and Perpetum on the commercial property lease of the roof space and the EPC agreement between Perpetum and Larimin.

“The project wasn’t completely straightforward because ParkerSteel leases its building from the port authority,” says Tim Williams, a partner in BPE’s renewables team.

 

Sempra Plans 100 MW Expansion Of Mesquite Solar

Sempra U.S. Gas & Power has announced a 100 MW expansion of its Mesquite Solar complex in Arlington, Ariz., about 60 miles west of Phoenix.

When completed in late 2016, the expansion, called Mesquite Solar 2, will produce enough power for 45,000 homes. Construction is expected to begin this fall.

The entire output of the Mesquite Solar 2 expansion has been sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The contract is subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission.

According to Sempra, the 4,000-acre Mesquite Solar complex is among the largest photovoltaic solar facilities in the U.S. By late 2016, the complex’s three phases are expected to have a total capacity of 400 MW.

The company also expects to complete the 94 MW Copper Mountain Solar 4 project in Nevada during that time frame. By year-end 2016, the combined solar power portfolio of projects jointly owned by Sempra U.S. Gas & Power in Arizona and Nevada is expected to grow to more than 1,000 MW.

 

Texas Electric Cooperative’s 2.7 MW Solar Farm Ready For Business

Final testing is under way at CoServ Electric’s 2.7 MW solar farm in Krugerville, Texas.

The CoServ array consists of 8,448 SolarWorld 315 W solar panels on a 16-acre site that was once a peanut farm. It is expected to generate approximately 3.9 GWh of electricity per year. CoServ members are able to buy units of solar energy under a special solar residential rate.

The facility is one of 14 pilot projects nationwide to be selected for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Utility Network Deployment Acceleration program designed to hasten solar deployment by electric cooperatives. Under the program, co-ops receive assistance in areas such as engineering, finance and procurement in an effort to drive down the soft costs of solar development.

“This project is important because it not only brings clean energy to a rapidly growing market in Texas, but it also lights the way for co-ops across the country to follow in CoServ’s footsteps,” says Ardes Johnson, U.S. vice president of sales and marketing at SolarWorld.