03 Apr Key Phases of a Turnkey Solar Project: Insights from Miyoshi America’s Solar Project
For businesses considering commercial solar to combat rising energy costs and meet their social responsibility goals, the process can sometimes seem impenetrable. Between local zoning laws sometimes difficult to decipher, policies constantly changing, and not knowing which contractors can deliver the best value, going solar can feel like it’s more work than it’s worth. But finding the right solar partner can ensure a streamlined process – from thorough site development that ensures the project meets your financial goals, to a safe and well-managed installation, all the way to successful performance and operation.
In this blog, we share a case study from one of our recent turnkey projects, and highlight some of the key stages that can make a big difference in your projects success:
- Assessing the project feasibility
- Developing and installing the project
- Managing operations and maintenance
- Integrating with EV (Electric Vehicle) chargers or energy storage
Helping Commercial Customers Save Money & Meet Their Sustainability Goals
Dynamic Energy’s end-to-end service proved to be the right approach for Miyoshi America which, along with Miyoshi Kasei Group, is the global leader in the development and manufacturing of surface-treated pigments for the cosmetics industry.
Miyoshi America Vice President, Ed Houlihan knew he wanted to bring solar to the company when he started in his position in 2019. “The company wanted to go more green, reduce our CO2 emissions output, and a lot of our customers, specifically L’Oreal and Estée Lauder, were pushing us to do it,” he says. Miyoshi is also a part of the European business sustainability rating system, Eco Vadis . Through its commitments, Miyoshi is seeking to reduce emissions by 50% between 2018 and 2030.
Houlihan knew from his previous experience that adding solar to their corporate headquarters would be an important way to reduce long-term energy costs while also increasing sustainability. He also knew that there would be many moving parts and that he needed an experienced solar partner that could be responsive to his company’s needs. And that’s what immediately stuck out to him when he first talked with Tim Carr, Senior VP of Business Development as they talked through some of the early stages of the project
“Tim was really responsive, we really hit it off,” says Houlihan. “I was trying to understand the Connecticut incentives and we were a little under the gun because, at the time, the federal government was going to reverse the Solar Investment Tax Credits (ITCs).” At the time, it was imperative to move quickly. Houlihan also needed a team that knew the ins and outs of the federal, state, and local incentives as well as what was coming down the pipeline.
“What was nice about working with Dynamic energy, it’s all inclusive,” says Houlihan. “When you deal with Dynamic, they handle everything from project scoping, development, and maintenance. It’s a one-stop shop and that’s what I preferred. If the design didn’t work, they would figure out a solution. I didn’t have to worry about multiple different companies, I just had to deal with the one.”
With Carr as a constant point of contact for Houlihan and Miyoshi throughout the entire project, Dynamic Energy led the entire process from end to end. This turnkey approach is typically divided into 3 important stages, outlined below.
Project Feasibility Assessment
the early stages of a project, we start with a robust project qualification process where our team assesses whether there’s capacity on the grid and confirms the local utility company’s ability to connect to solar power. Often, we will identify commercial properties, typically those with over 10 acres of available land or large open rooftops, as potential project sites that can be developed for solar. But in the case of Miyoshi, Ed Houlihan reached out to Dynamic Energy directly.
“Miyoshi was a great fit,” says Tim Carr. “They have an established sustainability platform and they owned the real estate.” From there, Dynamic Energy applied for interconnection with the local electric utility and started moving forward on incentives for the state of Connecticut.
“What we do at the project qualification stage is take their utility information and based on the site and their usage, we design a system for the company,” says Bill Gifford, Dynamic’s senior director of origination. “We also work with our clients to understand the investment.”
Another aspect of an end-to-end approach is having the policy and economic modeling expertise to forecast the eventual return on investment (ROI) from the entire project. At the outset, between the Zero-Emission Renewable Energy Credits (ZREC) available to Connecticut companies and the initial costs, Miyoshi was looking at seven years where they’d begin seeing payback. But with energy costs continuing to rise, Houlihan expects to see the payback even sooner.
From Houlihan’s perspective, the best part was that Dynamic Energy did all the heavy lifting. Houlihan trusted that Tim Carr and his team would know what to do at each stage, would know how to get the most out of the state and federal incentives, and that they would design a project that would help Miyoshi achieve its goals. “In the early stages we were very reliant on Dynamic Energy to get through the paperwork, especially for the utility company, and to get the right design,” says Ed Houlihan. “Then once the project started, the project manager was pretty much on the ball keeping us up-to-date.”
Aerial plans of commercial solar installation at Miyoshi America
Using available land adjacent to the corporate headquarters, the Dynamic Energy engineers designed an 842 kW solar system that is expected to generate 1.13 MWhs of energy annually, enough to offset 40% of Miyoshi’s electricity demand. A project of this size is equivalent to removing 783 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually which is equivalent to removing 172 cars from Connecticut’s roads annually.
Project Development and Installation
After the incentives are locked in and the design is created, the next step is to put a project plan into action and get started building. This project implementation stage is a series of many moving parts where various teams are working concurrently, from project development, project engineering, procurement, construction management, and finding a system owner or financier.
With the Miyoshi project, Tim Carr handed this next phase off to Dynamic’s Neil Brewster, a project manager who served as Houlihan’s main point of contact. Within commercial solar, the project manager provides a similar role to that of a general contractor, who oversees all aspects of the installation, helps troubleshoot, and maintains all the connections with the subcontractors working on the project.
“At every point, Dynamic Energy owns and oversees the construction. We’re responsible for all the work that’s completed,” says Carr. This was an aspect that Ed Houlihan appreciated.
“The thing that stands out is that I never had any worries,” says Houlihan. “I never had a worry that I was going to be running over budget and we came pretty close to the timeline. The whole experience was positive.”
Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
Once a solar project is built, one of the most important phases is the actual operation, since that’s when energy is being generated. Working with a turnkey solar partner that can bake in – and manage – the long-term maintenance makes the transition from construction to operation seamless. With Dynamic Energy, our relationship with our customers doesn’t end when we hand over the keys. We are committed to ensuring that your solar asset will be maintained and continue to perform optimally for its 20+ year lifetime.
Like other facilities maintenance, solar O&M is set up to respond to maintenance concerns and handle repairs and upgrades, whether problems are caused by weather, normal wear and tear, or accidental damage. At Miyoshi, Ed Houlihan noted that one of their neighbors cracked three of the panels with golf balls. “Dynamic Energy came out quickly to fix it,” he said. “They said they’d keep an eye out for any issues and they’re always responsive when something comes up.”
Pairing Solar with EV Charging or Energy Storage
Just as demand for clean, affordable energy has increased, so have requests to install onsite EV charging stations and energy storage to pair with commercial solar projects. Having a partner with engineering expertise to design and build these two types of systems can be a huge plus and add value to your existing solar assets.
At Miyoshi, Houlihan had such a great experience with Dynamic Energy that he contracted with our team to install EV charging stations on site, further helping Miyoshi fulfill its sustainability goals while also providing a valuable benefit for its employees and visitors. Houlihan hopes to increase its fleet of electric vehicles and is encouraging employees to use the new charging stations.
The Dynamic Energy Advantage
As a turnkey solar provider, Dynamic Energy creates a seamless process for your solar installation. For Miyoshi America, going solar was an important business priority aligned to sustainability. The company is doing other work such as internal recycling programs, partnerships with the University of Connecticut Forestry department to improve indigenous tree growth, and replacing their internal systems with more efficient equipment. The solar project, though, helped move the needle exponentially. And Houlihan couldn’t be happier with the partner he had with Dynamic Energy and looks forward to more projects down the line.
