20 December 2016

Prairie Gold completes 1MW solar installation in Puerto Rico using Stion's frameless solar modules

Electricity can be costly and unreliable in the Caribbean, where resources for energy are limited. In Puerto Rico 80% of the islands electricity is generated by burning oil. The sun is prolific in the Caribbean, which receives more sunlight than the CA desert, and that is why businesses including Puerto Rican mining company Ecologica Carmelo are turning to solar.

Prairie Gold Inc, which partners with early-stage developers, engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) firms and equipment manufacturers to build, operate and own distributed-scale solar (from 250kW to 10MW), has completed installation of its first solar project on the island, a 1MW project for the mining company, which was completed in October.

The 1MW project consists of 6908 Stion 145W frameless CIGS (copper indium gallium selenium) solar modules (STL-145) made by Stion Corp of San Jose, CA, USA, installed on a ground mount. The project is expected to generate 1738MW-hr per year (6% more than a similarly sized traditional crystalline silicon array, it is reckoned). Stion's modules are certified for installation in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, with the CEC Puerto Rico Certification, and they also maintain the Salt Mist - Severity 6 IEC certification. Stion says that its modules were selected for their increased energy generation, and for their proven performance and durability in marine environments.

The project was constructed for Ecologica Carmelo, which mines sand and aggregates. The mining facility will save about $300,000 per year in energy costs. Moreover, with Puerto Rico experiencing an island-wide blackout in September that lasted nearly three days, solar can provide a more dependable source of energy for industrial and commercial companies in Puerto Rico.

The Georgia-based firm Allied Energy Services (which provides energy consulting, electrical contracting and solar services throughout North America) developed the project and then sold it to Prairie Gold. The owners are now awaiting commissioning of the system. "With the warm climate in the Caribbean and Stion's industry leading temperature coefficient, Prairie Gold, which owns the system, will realize a much better return on investment (ROI) than they would have with crystalline modules," the firm reckons.

Tags: Stion CIGSSe

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