As we wrap up the first quarter of 2022, we remain busy with solar installations throughout the state of Florida, with one of the most extensive backlogs we’ve ever experienced. The worldwide materials shortage continues to be a big problem, especially regarding pricing. We’re all seeing and feeling these cost fluctuations in our daily lives. As a company, we are having difficulty getting prices from manufacturers, so our contracts will note that materials pricing will be confirmed at the time of the order.

This worldwide shortage of raw materials has created many challenges for construction and solar, with everything considerably behind production schedules. We are working with all our customers to navigate these waters by using our purchasing power, longstanding relationships, and inventory to secure and stockpile items which put us in a better position than most. We can purchase and store materials to get them to you quickly with seven buildings throughout Florida.

We’re excited to welcome Julia Barton to our Business Development team at Advanced Green Technologies. Julia and the team are busy with a robust backlog of solar projects throughout Florida, and the demand for solar carports and roof systems is forecast to increase into 2023.

Demand for Solar Heating Up in 2022

Overall demand for commercial solar will remain strong for the next three years as the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) phases down from 26% to 10% after 2023. The credit drops to 22% next year, so if you’re considering solar, give us a call as soon as possible to get the most savings.

There are a few new projects in the pipeline that we’re excited about, including a large-scale commercial battery energy storage system (BESS). We are also working on a few notable projects, including installing a solar roof at Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems America in Orlando. The 1.715 mW roof features Astronergy CHSM72M – HC 415W panels with a PanelClawFR ten racking and Canadian Solar 100KW inverters. The system has a potential energy offset of 13% of Mitsubishi’s total energy usage and will be completed in October of this year, so stay tuned.

We’re also breaking ground at four sites within the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Big Cypress Reservation. The total 448.49kW system features a combination of a solar roof, carport, and ground-mounted arrays, using Chint inverters and a Flexgen Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at each location. These systems are a first of their kind in Florida, with the ability to provide control over the utility grid, diesel generators, solar inverters, and the BESS at the same time.

The Tribe will have the ability to power its critical infrastructure in an outage, smooth-rolling brownouts (an intentional or unintentional drop in voltage in an electrical power supply system, used for load reduction in an emergency), and reduce utility demand without ever touching a button with the state-of-the-art Flexgen control system, batteries, and the AGT solar arrays.  The solar arrays will replenish the batteries daily in a long-term outage, providing long-term resiliency with the existing diesel backup generators.

Hurricane Season is Coming

Even though we just entered spring, our team is hard at work preparing for the upcoming hurricane season. This is the perfect time to have us inventory your roof to check for debris, drainage, etc. We will have materials on hand throughout the season, though I’m unsure how much. We may need to provide temporary patches before installing a permanent solution. Customers can rest assured that we will be on top of our game, as we’ve always been, getting your buildings safe as soon as possible.

Join us for our online webinar “Hurricane Season Preparedness: Are Your Commercial Rooftop, HVAC, and Solar Equipment Ready?” on May 5 from 11 am to 12 pm. We’ll go over tips to prepare your commercial roofing system, HVAC, solar energy equipment for a hurricane or significant storm, and more. Register here.

Looking Forward

As we know, it’s getting increasingly difficult to predict the future, but Florida’s economy continues to look bright, with lots of growth and money flowing into the state. Historically, as real estate prices increase, people spend more on their roofs. But the shortage of materials and labor will continue to be a challenge for our industry, one of the biggest I’ve experienced in the 40 years. The labor shortage continues with no end in sight, even as our company provides raises and expands its recruiting efforts beyond state lines.

These challenges will continue throughout 2022, with the first quarter of 2023 hopefully seeing some sort of normalcy with materials and pricing, so hang in there. As always, we will continue to provide exceptional customer service that hopefully makes navigating the challenges of these past few years a bit easier. Let’s make it a great rest of the year, hoping for a brighter and peaceful 2023!