Building on the success of its first Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action, Standard Solar, a leader in the full-service development, construction, integration, financing and installation of solar electric systems, announced a second commitment as part of the Clinton Global InitiativeAmerica (CGI America) meeting. CGI is an initiative of the Clinton Foundation that convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. During CGI America, being held this week in Chicago, Standard Solar is pledging a two-pronged commitment to address the industry challenge of fully integrating photovoltaics (PV) with the grid:
1) it will work with innovative companies to develop and demonstrate new products and technologies that enhance markets, reduce costs, and/or promote new revenue streams for solar PV.
2) continue the Company’s commitment to rapid growth to achieve the scale necessary to compete with grid-supplied power.
As its first project under this commitment, Standard Solar is working with Solar Grid Storage (SGS) to co-locate a grid-interactive energy storage system with a new PV installation, creating one of the nation's first commercial micro-grids. The 402.3kW system, financed by the Kingdon Gould Jr. family, is located at the Konterra Headquarters Building in Laurel, Maryland. This innovative system has the potential to reduce PV project costs and offers new benefits to hosts including backup power, demand reduction and peak shaving. Moreover, the system can enhance grid reliability by helping balance the grid through frequency regulation, volt-ampere reactive (VARs) compensation, and demand response services. The system is scheduled to be operational by the fall of 2013.
Standard Solar intends to allocate $10.0 Million to innovative efforts over the next five years, and will make annual CGI commitments for individual projects.
Second, Standard Solar is committed to growing its business to $250 Million in annual revenues by 2017. With several years of rapid growth behind it, the company has the management team, financing access, corporate culture and dedicated workforce necessary to sustain its growth. Meeting this commitment requires SSI to expand into new geographic markets, continuously reduce costs, substantially increase personnel, and secure new equity investment of approximately $35 Million. Standard Solar believes this can be accomplished by effective implementation of its business model.
Standard Solar was inspired by the company’s prior CGI commitment made in 2006. By surpassing its previous five year commitment of installing 15,000 kW of solar with five years, Standard Solar is continuing its pursuit of expanding the solar industry and adopting new technologies to make solar truly affordable to businesses and residential communities nationwide.