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BUSINESS NEWS NEVADOS ENGINEERING RECEIVES $3 MILLION IN STATE AND FEDERAL R&D FUNDING FOR INNOVATIVE SOLAR ENERGY SOLUTIONS San Francisco-based Nevados Engineering , developer of all-terrain, single axis tracking systems that improve solar energy project economics, announced that it is the recipient of $3 million in awards from state and federal agencies. The research funds included nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative and $1 million in matching funds from the California Energy Commission through its Electric Program Investment Charge program. Nevados Engineering, a portfolio company of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, has created a low-cost tracker to help solar developers build projects without the need for land excavation or grading. Leaving the terrain undisturbed results in significantly reduced environmental impact and mitigation. The terrain-agnostic tracker and control system also enables developers to use land that typically would not be considered for solar installations, including slopes of up to 20 degrees in any direction. The state

and federal awards will fund the next 18 months of Nevados’ development activities, including demonstrating Nevados Engineering’s intelligent tracking software and reducing manufacturing costs by roughly 50 percent. “This is a good example of how state and federal agencies can work together to support innovation,” said California Energy Commission Chair Robert Weisenmiller. “It is hoped this award will commercialize a technology that should be able to make projects more cost competitive while reducing the environmental impact. It is also a good example of the partnership the Energy Commission has made with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator to bring innovative clean energy technologies to the marketplace.” Through its previous 2015-2016 SunShot award, Nevados Engineering designed, built, and is now testing full-scale rows of the tracker system on simulated rolling terrain. The pilot program, located near Davis, California, is also testing the newly developed control system which optimizes, in real time, the energy

output of each row of modules. Bankability and UL studies are near completion and a wind tunnel study to design for adverse wind conditions has been completed. The pilot of four rows of 20 modules each has been operating over the last year and is exceeding expectations, according to the company. “The world is not flat,” remarked Yezin Taha, Nevados Engineering co-founder and CEO, in a presentation to stakeholders. “More than $1 billion was spent last year alone to flatten land for solar development projects. Our solution not only alleviates the tremendous cost of grading and time intensive construction schedules, but improves ROI through intelligent tracking and installation on sun-facing slopes.” Nevados Engineering has also secured a contract for an 8.4 megawatt utility-scale solar project to commence in 2018. The project is situated on south-facing slopes, which should provide a substantial increase in power generation versus conventional flat-land tracker installations.

prepare a plan to divert 25 percent of the waste to a facility to recycle or reuse. If we could move the project to the “conserving” level, our design would include a plan to divert 100 percent of the waste to be recycled or reused. Climate change believer or not, we can make a difference as a company in how we treat the environment, and these steps help us organize and accomplish just that. Overall the process has been very enlightening and embraced by our staff. We see environmental awareness/ assessment of project impact as a responsibility we all have when wearing our design hats. No doubt that we have limited resources on the planet. Projects all over the world are now using the Envision process and obtaining Envision certification. As the population continues to grow worldwide we must embrace processes like Envision that teach us to do more with less, to conserve our resources, and to look for new sources of energy to power our projects both during the design process and once they are commissioned. We have always had the responsibility to protect the environment in our work, but the Envision process forces us to take that deeper dive and hold our actions accountable. JOSEPH VISCUSO is Pennoni’s senior vice president and director of strategic growth. He can be reached at jviscuso@pennoni.com. “We have always had the responsibility to protect the environment in our work, but the Envision process forces us to take that deeper dive and hold our actions accountable.”

JOSEPH VISCUSO, from page 5

improved, enhanced, superior, conserving, and restorative.

The interesting thing about the Envision process is that it is not a “no growth” alternative. It takes into account that growth will happen and considers how it should be managed. For example, under the “quality of life” criteria, one of the subsets is “stimulate sustainable growth and development.” In the “improved” level of achievement, “the economics of the project are the only contribution to economic growth and development” while in the “restorative” level, “the project owner and project team work with the community to identify existing community assets that if restored would improve the economic growth and development capacity of the community.” In the “natural world” criteria, there is a subset dealing with the “diversion of waste generated by the project from landfills.” Under conventional design practices, engineers would very rarely (if ever) get involved in considering the disposal of waste from a project (assuming the project is one that does not deal with hazardous waste or is a Superfund site). In the “improved” level we now know to “As the population continues to grow worldwide we must embrace processes like Envision that teach us to do more with less, to conserve our resources, and to look for new sources of energy to power our projects both during the design process and once they are commissioned.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER October 30, 2017, ISSUE 1222

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