by Brianna Crandall — September 19, 2012—REC Solar, a provider of affordable, quality residential and commercial solar electric systems across the United States, is establishing itself among the top solar companies in Florida’s emerging solar market with work on five installations on retail furniture giant IKEA and U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical Center locations totaling nearly 5MW. With ample sunshine, high energy usage, and fast-falling solar prices, Florida is well positioned to become a significant market for solar energy, even absent comprehensive state solar mandates, notes REC Solar.
Florida’s sunny climate makes it a prime region for solar, but the high frequency of hurricanes poses engineering challenges for large-scale roof-mounted solar installations. REC Solar utilized SnapNRack and their Series 450 hybrid-ballasted and attached racking solution on four of the installations. REC Solar and SnapNRack’s engineering teams worked together to design the systems to meet IKEA and the VA’s internal performance requirements, as well as the state’s 186 mph wind load requirement for new solar installations.
In July, REC Solar completed installations on IKEA Orlando, IKEA Tampa and the Miami VA Medical Center. Installations on the Bay Pines VA Medical Center and IKEA Sunrise are scheduled for completion by the end of this year. The two IKEA installations represent the 11th and 12th installs that REC Solar has completed on IKEA stores nationwide. REC Solar provides end-to-end services, from initial analysis to after-install maintenance, and currently has over 8,000 solar systems online nationwide.
“These impressive installations are a result of our experience designing and installing solar systems tailored to the customer’s specific cost and climate-related constraints,” said Lee Johnson, CEO of Mainstream Energy, parent company of REC Solar. “Especially in Florida, competitively priced solar makes economic sense as a tool for businesses and agencies to control electricity costs and hedge against future rate hikes.”
