NAES offers the solar power industry more independent O&M experience than any provider in the United States. We currently operate over 170 power plants and over 46 GW of power. Our diverse portfolio of plant life cycle services ensures an efficient, economic approach to enhance performance of your solar plants of all sizes.
NAES offers superior Independent Engineering Services through our subsidiary E3, which covers the range of Project Development and Transactional support services required to get projects approved in a timely and cost effective manner. As your solar project is developed and operated, NAES can both manage, through our Asset Management entity PurEnergy, and maintain your project with our comprehensive Solar O&M services. We also offer 24/7 monitoring through Gridforce, a NAES subsidiary. O&M Clients also receive priority on valuable NAES services including Environmental and NERC Compliance.
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NAES provides Solar Development consulting, O&M, and Asset Management with more third-party O&M experience than any company in the United States
Solar Services Offered
Development Support
Due diligence entails the independent analysis of the technological, engineering, commercial, regulatory, and environmental aspects of a project. By thoroughly understanding the client and project, we provide expert insight and direction to minimize the risks associated with the construction and operation of a solar facility. We offer consulting for pre-financing, re-financing, construction monitoring, resource assessment, interconnection, and technology/equipment evaluations before a plant begins operations.
Site assessments and federal/state regulatory permitting support to help owners and developers understand the requirements of solar operations and to ensure all proper permits are filed on time and maintained throughout the life of the project.
Once a project site has been located, financing has been put-in-place, and environmental and regulatory approvals have been secured, the crucial project development phase begins. E3 supports clients though this phase, which includes initial contract development and negotiation, technical advice as you plan, design, and launch the project, environmental permitting support, and overall monitoring of the construction process.
E3 has brought together a remarkable team of energy and environmental professionals with the extensive knowledge and operational experience necessary to analyze your potential solar facility site. Our team will assess the energy potential for your specific array of solar panels, as well as model plant performance to identify accurate solar production targets and assess ideal equipment locations to meet these goals.
It is important to provide strategic advice for projects impacted by bankruptcy, financial reorganization, and other complex financial scenarios. E3 helps navigate this complexity by offering assistance that creates a deal structure that maximizes value within the context of the current market.
PV O&M Services
NAES provides secure and reliable 24/7 monitoring of equipment and power production from our Remote Operations Control Center in Houston, TX. This ensures real-time analysis of your solar facility.
Customizable cleaning plans that maximize efficiency while minimizing costs.
Vegetation overgrowth can significantly impact the performance, access, and efficiency of your solar plant. Utilize our team to consult and create a vegetation management program that protects and preserves the natural resources around your project while maintaining your facility’s health and operations.
System uptime and availability is a key objective of O&M. Inverter failure rates are important to ROI, but even more important than how often an inverter goes offline is how quickly it can return to service. NAES will implement a preventative maintenance and inspection program further supported by industry-leading remote monitoring and remote operations services. When an inverter goes offline, our technicians will rapidly determine the root cause and take appropriate corrective actions.
NAES has a wealth of knowledge drawn from operating hundreds of large power plants that make our process and data-driven solutions second-to-none. We customize our O&M plans to prioritize availability and ROI and offer in-house options for additional a la carte value-add services which provide savings and operational performance improvement.
Asset Management
PurEnergy, a NAES company, handles all Financial and Commercial aspects of the project from Billing, Bill Collecting and Contract Management to Equity/Debt Financing and interfacing with banks and investors.
PurEnergy insures you are protected against problems such as manufacturing defects, environmental issues, premature wear and tear, and we offer peace of mind that our client’s agreements are being executed as if we were the Owners ourselves.
PurEnergy draws on the purchasing power of the largest third-party affiliated fleet in the US to provide spare parts faster and cheaper where possible.
The NAES portfolio of services allows us to collect operations data from an unprecedented number of locations (over 170 power plants currently), which helps identify the needs of the system more efficiently and more effectively. The PurEnergy asset management team will be able to report on and drive efficiencies in curtailment, inverter performance, downtime losses, and shading, which increase project availability and project ROI.
NAES is fully committed to rigorous compliance and offers Power Market, NERC, and Environmental compliance services at a discount to NAES-affiliated fleet projects.
NAES Solar Projects
Grand Renewable Solar Project
Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure has partnered with Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. and Six Nations of the Grand River to provide funding for the 100 megawatt Grand Renewable Solar Project (GRS), the largest of its kind in Canada and one of the largest in North America.
Located in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, GRS incorporates solar panels manufactured in London, Ontario by Canadian Solar and inverters made in Toronto, Ontario by SMA Solar Technology Canada Inc. that will produce enough clean energy to meet the needs of over 17,000 households. The project was completed on schedule in mid-2015.
NAES has provided GO/GOP Annual Compliance Oversight for GRS Since June 1, 2017, after the project was notified by Ontario authorities that they would be subject to NERC standards. NAES implemented Kingston’s NERC program and provides compliance oversight, training and reporting associated with both NERC CIP and O&P standards that are applicable to Generator Owners and Operators (GO/GOP).
Alamo 6 Solar
Alamo 6 Solar is a net 160 MW solar facility consisting of two projects.
The Alamo 6 solar project sits on 1,250 acres in Pecos County Texas. The 110.2 MW project includes 438,480 modules on 10,440 dual-axis trackers, making this the largest dual-axis tracking solar project in the U.S. Alamo 6 began commercial operation in March 2017.
Pearl is a 50.0 MW solar project built adjacent to the Alamo 6 site. The project uses about 500 acres of land and includes 203,472 modules and 3,768 single-axis tracker rows. Pearl began commercial operation in October 2016.
The development and construction were managed by OCI Solar Power. Both projects are 100% compliant with the Buy American Act. Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables acquired both projects. The power produced is delivered into ERCOT to service homes in San Antonio.
NAES has provided NERC Compliance support for Alamo 6 Solar since November 2017. NAES provides compliance program oversight, training, and reporting associated with NERC CIP and O&P Standards applicable to Generator Owners and Operators (GO/GOP).
Case Study
E3’s Independent Engineer’s Report Provides Technical Due Diligence Supporting Viability of Client’s Rooftop PV Power Systems
E3 recently completed an Independent Engineer’s Report testing the feasibility and viability of a client’s rooftop solar PV project, which was an exciting project for a variety of reasons. Over the next decade, Wind is expected to increase overall generation in terms of total kilowatt hours and hydro generation is expected to remain relatively constant. But both Wind and Hydro are expected to decrease in relative market share of renewables generation by kilowatt hours, because of the massive increase in size in the Solar PV market. Of all sources categorized as “renewables” by the US EIA, total generation within the Solar PV market is expected to increase the most over the next 5, 10, and 30 years. This boom in solar generation has the potential to disrupt the traditional power grid model from one of centralized production to distributed generation, where clients can potentially be both buyers and sellers in the power market.
Before they can make this leap; however, it is critical to determine if a site is suitable for solar PV generation, if a Power Purchase Agreement is both fair and financially sound, and if the surrounding electrical power system can integrate the expected generation. In this instance, E3 reviewed three systems comprised of monocrystalline bifacial silicon modules from LG. All three systems feed direct current to string inverters where the energy is converted into alternating current. The output of the inverters is fed through a step-up transformer and is metered and interconnected to the utility grid at distribution voltage. Based on the review, E3 assessed that the projects have sufficient ability – that is equipment, approvals, design, permits, etc. – to operate and comply with the terms of the Interconnection Agreements. E3 has also concluded that all of the modules being utilized are in compliance with IEC 61730 and IEC 61215, two of the most common and accepted crystalline silicon module certification tests.
The systems will sell 100 percent of the solar generation via three Standard Offer Power Purchase Agreements (SOPPAs), which were also reviewed and proved to be substantially similar to other agreements E3 has reviewed, and each agreement meets generally accepted industry practice. Energy estimates for the first year and thereafter were deemed to be reasonable and revenue pricing assumptions were accurate based on the terms of the PPA. Lastly, E3 concluded the O&M expense assumption was reasonable and consistent with other comparable projects.
As the solar PV market grows in the US, residential & rooftop solar PV systems are expected to represent ~26% of generating capacity according to the US EIA. Before these projects can see the sun; however, it is critical they be assessed for technical and financial viability, so that their positive impact can be maximized. As a provider of due diligence and technical advisory services for these complex and capital intensive projects, E3’s job is to help clients understand the risks & challenges of project while advising them on solutions that reduce this risk and preserve the bottom line.
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