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It's always important to give customers peace of mind about their decisions — and arguably even more so when they're investing in the young, evolving area of solar energy.
Schenectady, New York-based Distributed Solar Development (DSD) masters the challenge with its ability to instill processes and the right teams, tools and technologies to deliver on those processes.
Since 2019, DSD has grown from a stand-alone offshoot of a multinational conglomerate to a powerhouse in its own right. It's notably scaled to become one of the most significant commercial, industrial and community solar developers in the United States.
In the second episode of our Beyond O&M: The Future of Solar series, DSD Asset Management Director Chris Larkin explains how DSD serves as a "one-stop shop" for large-scale, custom solar PV and energy storage solutions. The six-part series is brought to you by Omnidian, whose industry-leading service optimizes solar asset performance for projects of every size, providing end-to-end peace of mind.
Launched as a start-up within GE in 2019, DSD is now fully backed by BlackRock Real Assets, the giant investment firm with trillions in assets under management.
DSD provides customized solar PV energy and energy storage solutions — from analysis through design and finance to commercial operation — to commercial and industrial customers looking for a hedge against increasing energy costs and kilowatt-hour demand.
It aims to make solar more accessible to commercial, industrial and municipal organizations. You can learn more about its story in SunCast podcasts 338, 363 and 364.
DSD started as an internal solar business inside of GE, developing, designing and constructing solar projects for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, which it would sell to financiers or directly to C&I customers. It became more sophisticated as it matured and the business grew.
"We realized we wanted to grow our team and company into owning these development assets — generating the revenue, serving our customers and taking care of the assets stem to stern," Chris said.
In 2019, GE spun out DSD, which now takes care of assets from origination, design, construction and commission through asset management, owning and operating assets for their entire useful lives. It has a range of commercial, industrial and municipal customers throughout the United States.
"They're looking for an energy hedge into the future, where energy prices are only going one way — up every year, with more and more demand for kilowatt hours," Chris said. DSD provides that 20- to 30-year hedge with solar arrays built on its customer's property. Customers can use the kilowatt hours directly through net metering to reduce dependence on the grid or through a behind-the-meter scenario where they use the energy in real-time.
Chris refers to himself and his team as "Promise Keepers" who support the delivery of the promises made by sales and other company functions.
As DSD's director of asset management, Chris manages day-to-day operations and support of the company's solar fleet. The fleet includes more than 150 megawatts, both internally owned by DSD and externally owned by some of its customers. He also handles strategic management of operations and maintenance (O&M) resources, including supplier management, parts planning and sales support.
Chris worked for more than 19 years at GE Power and Water. The group is now part of GE Vernova, which provides technology, solutions and services across the energy value chain from generation to consumption.
You'll learn more about his journey and thoughts on our energy future in today's podcast — the second in our six-part series on the future of solar, which we are presenting in partnership with Omnidian. You can check out the series and the experts who comprise it at: www.mysuncast.com/futureofsolar.
ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 16-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
You can connect with Nico Johnson on Twitter, LinkedIn or email.
If you’ve been second-guessing your work decisions or maybe trying to reconsider how you "fit" in the renewable energy industry -> grab 20 minutes on Nico's calendar and discuss whether having him as Your personal coach might be the right next step.