Commercial Project

Solar + Battery Storage for Skyway Telehealth in Santa Maria, CA

Simmitri designed solar and storage system that delivers long-term energy cost savings while supporting sustainability goals and improved energy resilience.

Project Details

Objectives

Skyway Telehealth wanted to reduce its carbon emissions with renewable energy while being able to power their operations 24/7 with backup power. Skyway has a strong inclination to sustainability. They wanted to make sure that they hired a company that had both solar and roofing experience since they have a flat roof and they were concerned about waterproofing of the roof.

About the Client

Skyway Telehealth has 28 CHC locations serving over 109,000 patients annually, the Skyway Telehealth Center provides behavioral health, psychiatry, and primary care. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the center has conducted more than 275,000 telehealth visits, helping reach patients who face barriers to in-person care.

Challenges

There were space constraints in the electrical room so we had to come up with a design that maximized the space we had to work with. The roof is a TPO flat roof which needed to be evaluated and carefully planned out to install on. Any deviation from manufacture specification recommendations could cause roof warranty issues. During the middle of the project the local utility (PGE) changed their rules on manufacturing battery system testing requirements which caused issues with the manufacture and the project timeline.

Simmitri’s Solution

Simmitri installed a grid-tied solar photovoltaic system that was ballasted on the roof along with a battery system which provided a fill microgrid solution. The solar system is a Ballasted solar system which are engineered to be weighed down on the roof instead of being fastened down, thereby reducing the need to penetrate the roof. For the battery issue, we worked with the manufacturer, engineers and utility to resolve the testing requirements. During daylight hours this photovoltaic system will provide electricity in parallel with the local utility service provider. During a grid outage, the Battery Energy Storage System will provide the facility electrical system with backup power.