Vista Solar Helps DPR Construction Pursue Net Zero Energy Consumption at its San Francisco Office

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Vista Solar announced the completion of a 118-kW high efficiency SunPower solar power system for national builder DPR Construction.

The system, which was designed, engineered and installed by Vista Solar, is expected to generate at least 158,000 kilowatt hours of clean energy each year and help DPR Construction achieve net zero energy consumption at its new San Francisco, Caliornia office, meeting 100 percent of the building’s annual electricity needs.

“Since this is DPR Construction’s first net zero energy-designed regional office in the Bay Area, it was critical that we chose the right partner and solar technology to help us achieve our company goals,” says Mike Messick, project manager for DPR Construction.

DPR Construction partnered with Vista Solar to meet a number of unique site challenges in pursuit of DPR Construction’s net zero energy goal, including installation of the solar power system on the company’s highly constrained rooftop. To generate the maximum amount of power within the limited roof space, Vista Solar installed high-efficiency SunPower X21/345 solar panels, which produce 75 percent more energy than conventional panels from the same space over the first 25 years.¹

Additionally, Vista Solar installed Solar Edge inverters which pair DC optimizers with each panel to produce as much power as possible, even when other panels on the roof are shaded by the adjacent buildings, as well as Silverback Solar racking for a custom design solution that accommodated the precise attachment points, 20-foot spans, varying elevations of the barrel roof and 19 solar tubes.

“While we regularly build much larger projects, the challenge of finding solutions for the site constraints and being able to take part in a net zero retrofit, right in our backyard, made this an inspiring project to work on,” said Vista Solar Sales Engineer Sam Kim. “Everyone wanted to see DPR succeed.”

¹ SunPower 345W compared to a Conventional Panel (240W, 15 percent efficient, approx. 1.6 m2), 9 percent more energy per watt, 0.75 percent/yr slower degradation. BEW/DNV Engineering “SunPower Yield Report,” Jan 2013, with CFV Solar Test Lab Report #12063, Jan 2013 temp. coef. calculation. Campeau, Z. et al. “SunPower Module Degradation Rate,” SunPower white paper, Feb 2013. See www.sunpowercorp.com/facts for details.

Photo courtesy of Vista Solar.