Funding Opportunity: Technology to Market 2
SunShot Subprogram: Technology to Market
Location: Boulder, CO
SunShot Award Amount: $358,013
Awardee Cost Share: $96,102

This project creates a nationwide network of solar operations and maintenance (O&M) professionals sharing a common infrastructure, which will lead to greater service coverage and standardized rates. Applying the cooperative business model to this market sector will address current market gaps by providing streamlined, cost-effective O&M services to ensure that commercial and industrial solar photovoltaic (PV) systems fulfill their performance expectations over the short and long term, which will help the solar PV market to mature.

Approach

The project team will establish the cooperative group by developing the operational infrastructure, launching a technical training program, conducting customer and stakeholder outreach activities, and creating an online communication platform. They intend to demonstrate a reduction in the cost of solar O&M services by standardizing scope-of-work criteria and contractual agreements, defining appropriate PV system performance metrics, providing qualified O&M technician labor across a national service footprint, and establishing best-in-class O&M training and certification programs.

Innovation

This project will reduce the cost of providing high-quality O&M services for the growing number of solar PV system portfolios geographically dispersed throughout the U.S. Member companies will be able to provide a uniform level of service with standardized documents and lower O&M costs for solar asset owners.