Vote: Project of the Year 2024 | Under 100 kW

By SB Staff September 26, 2024

Here are the Under 100 kW nominees for the 2024 Solar Builder Project of the Year awards.

The form is at the bottom of the page. You are allowed to vote once per day from now until Friday, Oct. 11 at midnight (ET). (FYI: Our voting widget will let you vote more than once a day, but we filter these out in the back-end. Sorry, ballot stuffers.) Winners will be announced and prominently featured in the Q4 issue of Solar Builder magazine and online in December.

The 2024 Project of the Year Awards are sponsored by Aurora Solar. Witness the impactful synergy as Helioscope accelerates design, slashes timelines, and fuels a forecasted 2 0% growth for Skyview.

Be sure to vote in every category!

Bolongo Bay Beach Resort

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands | 15 kW+

The U.S. Virgin Islands struggle with some the highest electricity costs in the United States. Resorts there, which are the lifeblood of the economy, struggle with the cost of heating water accounting for the lion’s share of their electricity bills. The Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, a 45-room destination hotel, turned to PowerPanel, a hybrid solar / thermal energy system manufacturer in Michigan for a “net-zero” hot water (in terms of both emissions and costs) to meet the resort’s daily needs. The system combines solar electricity generation and hot water heating, and an advanced hot water storage tank using thermoplastics. The PVT technology extracts PV electricity and solar thermally heated hot water from a single module, using an “encapsulated” PV element embedded into a thermal collection / liquid circulatory architecture. Along with collecting the desirable heat, the system also cools the PV element. The dual-energy system’s output ratio is roughly 4x greater than that of either solar PV or solar thermal panels by themselves. The system reduces electricity costs from 0.42 cents per kWh to 0.06 cents.

Developer/EPC/Installer: PowerPanel | Modules: PowerPanel | Inverters: OutBack Power FX/R 3048A 3.2 kW inverter/charger; Morningstar TriStar TS-MPPT 45 charge controller | Storage: 8 VRLA AGM 12V batteries (total capacity: 20 kWh) | Mounting/Racking: PowerPanel

Michael Phelps House

Paradise Valley, Arizona | 36.9 kW

Olympic champion and Team Panasonic Brand Ambassador Michael Phelps partnered with Panasonic to install a state-of-the-art home solar system with two goals in mind: Invest in his commitment to building a more sustainable future and educate his family and others on the importance of sustainable practices in everyday life. The system is designed to power his 10,000+ sq ft Arizona home on solar energy using 90 solar panels and 4 battery systems, reducing the overall home energy usage by up to 70% and providing back-up battery storage. Panasonic Elite Installer, Sunbright Solar, was challenged with installing a system that complimented the home’s architecture and surrounding landscape for an appealing and aesthetic fit, as well as keep up with the family’s power needs and lifestyle. The final installation highlighted Sunbright Solar’s ability to meet Michael’s project goals to implement a system that was fitting for the home design and could supply the dwelling with 53 MWh of solar power annually.

Boerne Residential PV + Storage

Boerne, Texas | 80 kW

FranklinWH solar storage project of the year

Situated on a 4.18-acre property, this project addresses the issues of unreliable grid power and significant energy demands with an innovative solar and battery storage solution. The property, characterized by its substantial size and high energy consumption, previously depended on a 60 kW generator for backup power. However, this generator solution was not only expensive and inefficient but also posed environmental concerns due to high fuel consumption and noise. To achieve a more reliable and cleaner energy supply while reducing generator fuel costs, the customer installed four FranklinWH systems. Each system features one aGate energy controller and four aPower batteries, paired with an 18 kW solar array. The setup is expected to achieve a 90-95% reduction in generator usage — but maintaining the previous generator was also key for this project. The 800 A distribution panel allows the 60 kW generator to simultaneously charge all 16 batteries. This means that if the solar power alone isn’t enough to charge the battery, the generator can be used to recharge the batteries during the day, without disturbing nighttime tranquility.

Developer/EPC/Installer: Advanced Solar & Electric | Modules: Boviet | Inverters: Enphase | Storage: FranklinWH | Mounting/Racking: S-5!

Adventure Science Center

Nashville | 72.32 kW

Everybody Solar partnered with Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Tennessee, on a 72.32 kW rooftop solar array in a project that blends renewable energy, education, and community impact. Everybody Solar aimed to do more than reduce Adventure Science Center’s electricity bills by approximately $10,956 annually, with a goal to create an experience that would inspire and educate the facility’s 382,000 annual visitors, including more than 75,000 students from 73 Tennessee school systems. Adventure Science Center is using the solar array to provide a hands-on learning experience. When guests arrive, they can explore the impact of the solar array through an interactive kiosk, which provides real-time insights into how weather conditions affect solar energy production. A new “exploded” solar panel exhibit allows visitors to see inside a working solar module, layer by layer. This interactive display turns complex technology into something tactile and understandable. The solar array is expected to generate more than 102,009 kWh of clean electricity per year — cost savings that will allow Adventure Science Center to invest more in their programs and services.

Pi-Nee-Waus Community Center Microgrid

Lapwai, Idaho | 86.4 kW

The Pi-Nee-Waus Community Center microgrid at the Nez Perce tribal headquarters in Lapwai, Idaho, was installed by Nez Perce tribal members as part of a workforce training program. It is designed to provide community resiliency, and yield cost saving benefits to the Nez Perce Tribe. The Pi-Nee-Waus building itself serves as a community hub day to day and as a community shelter in emergencies. Wildfires are a common occurrence in Northern Idaho, and these fires threaten tribal member’s homes, and surrounding electrical infrastructure. The Pi-Nee-Waus microgrid provides backup power to the entire building during electrical grid outages. This microgrid project is part of the Nez Perce Tribe’s 5311 plan, which aims to collaborate with tribes across the west to replace the 5.311 GWh of annual energy production from the lower four snake river dams. Removal of these dams is required for the return of wild salmon, and the preservation of the Nez Perce people’s way of life.

Clinic for Special Children

Gordonville, Pa. | 97.325 kW

The Clinic for Special Children Solar Energy Project is a powerful example of how a community can unite to support healthcare and sustainability. The Clinic is known for its affordable and effective treatment options for children and adults with genetic illnesses. The Clinic’s new 28,000-sq-ft facility, which opened in April 2024, was designed with solar integration in mind from the outset. The construction team carefully selected a standing seam roof, prioritizing minimizing the risk of leaks while maintaining an attractive appearance. During the building phase, conduits were strategically run through walls and floors to prevent any need for rework or downtime for the solar installation after the facility became operational. Additionally, the electrical service was set up with a backfed circuit breaker, pre-sized to accommodate the future solar installation, ensuring that no power outage would be necessary during the utility interconnection. Over 2,800 supporters and local businesses contributed money, time, materials, and equipment to make this project happen. The funding for the solar project itself was raised from donors interested in contributing to the mission by procuring a renewable energy source for the facility.

Developer/EPC/Installer: Paradise Energy Solutions | Modules: Qcells | Inverters: SolarEdge | Storage: N/A | Mounting/Racking: S-5! and IronRidge