SOLON and MP2 Capital Complete Construction of Multi-Campus Solar System for the Tanque Verde Unified School District

TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SOLON Corporation, one of the largest providers of turnkey solar power plants in the U.S., today announced it has completed construction of 1.15 megawatts (MW) of solar systems for the Tanque Verde Unified School District (TVUSD) and will mark the occasion with project partners at a special dedication ceremony on February 28 at 5:30pm on the Tanque Verde High School campus.

Spread over four campuses - Tanque Verde Elementary School, Aqua Caliente Elementary School, Emily Gray Junior High School and Tanque Verde High School - the solar systems are a combination of shade structures and rooftop systems. With over 4,000 solar modules, the systems will offset a large portion of the daytime electricity requirements of each campus.

SOLON engineered, designed, constructed, and commissioned the systems. As a full-service system provider, SOLON will continue to operate and maintain the systems.

The solar systems were made possible through a solar services agreement (SSA) between TVUSD and MP2 Capital, a leading investor in the renewable energy industry. MP2 Capital will sell all of the power generated from the systems to the school district under the 25-year SSA. In addition, local utility provider Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will purchase all of the environmental attributes generated by the system in the form of renewable energy credits (RECs), contributing to TEP’s renewable energy goals and helping to reduce the overall cost of the system. This financing structure means that the district was not required to make any upfront investment or incur any ongoing annual expenditure to receive clean electricity at an affordable rate for a period of 25 years. When placed in service, the total output of the project for the first year is estimated to be over two million kilowatt-hours, enough energy to power over 190 homes.

“Not only are we delighted that this project required no upfront investment from our already strained school budgets, we anticipate these installations will deliver more than 70 percent of our energy across these four campuses,” said Dr. Douglas Price, Superintendent of Tanque Verde Unified School District.

SOLON is also providing an education package to the school district, including classroom monitoring of the systems’ outputs, access to the performance and weather data, and a renewable energy curriculum for elementary, middle and high school levels designed by TEP which meets Arizona state curriculum standards.

“Solar and schools are a great match because not only does the school benefit from a clean energy source, but the students are provided shade structures for outdoor learning and recreation as well as hands-on educational opportunities on renewable energy,” said Jared Schoch, Vice President and General Manager of power plants at SOLON Corporation. “This project is also special because it brings together the diverse expertise of trusted organizations - SOLON from solar development, design, construction and service, MP2 from finance, and TVUSD from education - in a collaboration to benefit an entire school district.”

“MP2 Capital has been proud to work together with SOLON to support the initiatives of the school district through the completion and operation of this solar project. The Tanque Verde School District will receive not only the benefits of clean electricity for 25 years but the lasting legacy of environmental consciousness fostered within its schoolrooms,” commented Jeff Glavan, Managing Director of MP2 Capital.

The construction of the TVUSD solar systems employed 60 Arizona workers, including 25 workers from the local community.

About SOLON Corporation:

SOLON Corporation (www.SOLON.com) is a leading provider of utility-scale and large commercial photovoltaic (PV) system solutions to the North American market. SOLON delivers complete and cost-effective turnkey PV systems to its partners with a streamlined approach from project development, design and construction to financing and operation. With NA headquarters in Tucson, AZ and offices in Phoenix and San Francisco, SOLON is driven by a passion for innovation and a commitment to providing superior solar solutions with unrivalled quality and reliability. Founded in 2007, SOLON Corporation is a subsidiary of the SOLON Group, a leading international provider of solar solutions for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications. The SOLON Group operates subsidiaries in Germany, Italy, and the U.S. with more than 500 employees worldwide. For more information, visit www.SOLON.com.

Solon Signals Expansion Plans, Taps Jared Schoch as Vice President and General Manager of Power Plants

TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SOLON Corporation, one of the largest providers of turnkey solar power plants and photovoltaic (PV) products in the United States, today announced the hiring of Jared Schoch as Vice President and General Manager of the Power Plants business. Schoch will oversee the company’s commercial and utility-scale power plants and focus on expanding SOLON's power plant business in the Americas.

“Jared’s demonstrated leadership in developing and expanding energy services markets makes him the ideal person to lead SOLON’s power plants unit at a time when we are highly focused on our national expansion plans,” said Dan Alcombright, President and CEO of SOLON Corporation. “SOLON is aggressively hiring, with open positions to support its business expansion throughout the United States.”

Prior to joining SOLON, Schoch spent four and a half years dramatically growing SunEdison's commercial and utility-scale solar development businesses throughout the United States, most recently as a Managing Director. Previously, he spent nearly six years as a leader in business development at Johnson Controls in energy efficiency services, and prior to that as a marketing consultant launching various products and services in the high tech space during the 1990s. Jared has managed over 1 GW of solar project opportunities working with utilities, school districts, cities, counties, hospitals, federal agencies and industrial clients throughout the United States.

“I relish the opportunity to help expand on SOLON’s success in the Southwest and chart a path to become one of the top solar developers in the country,” said Schoch. “SOLON has delivered the right solutions at the right time for the last 15 years. Not many companies have done that consistently, and I believe we will continue adding the right ingredients to keep doing that for years to come.”

SOLON has built nearly 100 MW of commercial and utility-scale solar power plants mostly in the sun-drenched states of Arizona, California and Colorado. Its power plant business offers turnkey solutions including development, design, finance, engineering, procurement, construction, monitoring and operations and maintenance services.

About SOLON Corporation:

SOLON Corporation (http://www.SOLON.com) is a leading provider of utility-scale and large commercial photovoltaic (PV) system solutions to the North American market. SOLON delivers complete and cost-effective turnkey PV systems to its partners with a streamlined approach from project development, design and construction to financing and operation. With NA headquarters in Tucson, AZ and offices in Phoenix and San Francisco, SOLON is driven by a passion for innovation and a commitment to providing superior solar solutions with unrivalled quality and reliability. Founded in 2007, SOLON Corporation is a subsidiary of the SOLON Group, a leading international provider of solar solutions for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications. The SOLON Group, one of oldest pure play solar companies in operation, was established in 1996 and operates subsidiaries in Germany, Italy and the U.S. with more than 600 employees worldwide. SOLON has installed over 300 MW worldwide and almost 100 MW in the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.SOLON.com.