FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2014
For more information, contact:
NextStep Electric
Phone: 303-775-0117
NextStep Electric Uses Existing Infrastructure to Deliver Solar Power to the Grid
LONGMONT, CO (Sept. 23, 2014) – During the first few months of a one-year study conducted in Tucson Arizona over the summer of 2014, testing of NextStep Electric’s solar stickers supported by their proprietary micro inverter delivered impressive VAR production which was off-set by solar energy produced at the source.
The energy start-up tested solar and reactive power creation closest to the load utilizing existing infrastructure. The stickers, called the Smart Array 3000, were attached to three utility poles in the Tucson Electric Power test yard to determine whether they delivered money-saving solar power to the grid.
Carmine A. Tilghman, Senior Director, Wholesale, Fuels and Renewable Resources, UNS, said of the study, “TEP has been working with Next Step Electric over the last year to evaluate their unique solar installation and the combination of energy and VAR production. The VAR production was impressive based on the results of their pilot project. While the economics may vary among utilities, any utility looking for a combination of renewable energy and VAR production, and has the distribution system to support their product, should consider Next Step a viable alternative. It can be a cost-effective solution for the right utility.”
NextStep Electric allows utilities to create “solar farms” utilizing existing infrastructure. Solar stickers are adhered to utility poles, light-posts and even wind turbines rather than scraping land and impacting the environment to create renewable energy sources.
The technology is most effective when deployed across a large number of power poles. These three poles offset 12 tons of carbon emissions in only three months. Rolling this technology out to a MW installation across approximately 4000 poles can offset over 18,000 tons of CO2 emission per month!
NextStep Electric, Inc. (www.nextstepelectric.com) is an energy start-up that brings renewable energy to the grid using existing infrastructure. The company was founded on the idea that, since electricity is wired through millions of power poles, the most efficient place to generate solar energy and reactive power is at the point of distribution, along utility poles. The Company was established in July 2009 with the vision of making renewable energy deployment easy.