230kW Installation at Austin Community College

FSG Solar is a division of Facility Solutions Group, an electrical contractor and energy efficiency company with over 3,000 employees across the United States. FSG has made an immediate impact in the commercial solar market by leveraging veteran solar talent and long-lasting relationships with former energy efficiency customers.

FSG has a long-term working relationship with a community college in Austin that ranges from lighting, maintenance, and solar installations.  

“We had completed electrical projects at this college for many years and have been in business since 1982” explained Kurt Blum, Solar Project Manager at FSG Electric and Solar.

In order to maximize LEED certification points, the college issued an RFP for a rooftop photovoltaic system. At the beginning of the bidding process, FSG offered value options (string inverters and polycrystalline modules) and performance options (SolarEdge Inverters and Jinko 365 monocrystalline modules), allowing the board of the college to decide. In order to allow ACC to meet LEED kWh production targets, FSG focused on performance in their equipment selections. The college ultimately chose the Jinko 365 module and SolarEdge 33.3 kW inverter with P730 optimizers to maximize power density on a limited roof profile while balancing maximum value. In past projects for the college, FSG had established a public online portal to view the solar production.

The Ecolibrium 5-degree ballast minimized inter-row shading and maximized module density on the flat modified bitumen roof and made the install go faster than expected. Kurt explained, “At one point, our installers were putting up 100 panels a day with optimizers!”

For past projects with the college, FSG established a public online portal to view solar production. SolarEdge module-level monitoring showcases the highest level of monitoring currently available in the solar industry. The solar production will be streamed to a live website, where students, teachers, and the wider Austin community can view the solar array’s production.

Greentech Renewables account management and operations teams worked closely with FSG to synchronize shipments and lock in cost savings. As the tariff market volatility shifted availability and module pricing, Greentech Renewables secured scarce high-wattage modules for FSG through a deposit system. Leveraging strong relationships with manufacturers, Greentech Renewables was able to redirect warehouse inventory to Texas and provide free shipping for a container delivery to the customer. By managing a supply chain of modules, inverters, and racking, Greentech Renewables Account Management and Operations minimized forklift and crane rental times for FSG to coordinate the delivery over a two-day span.