Frontline Insurance
Lake Mary Headquarters Achieves Net-0 With Solar Carport Investment
Frontline Insurance, a home, and commercial property insurance provider in Lake Mary, Florida, learned about Advanced Green Technologies after seeing AGT constructing a solar carport two doors down from their office at JP Morgan Chase. The company’s internal IGNITE Labs team focuses on creating innovative business ideas for the company and contacted Advanced Green Technologies to install solar at Frontline Insurance. The investment was made to remain relevant with Frontline employees and customers, being seen as the most innovative insurance organization in the industry, striving to reach Net Zero, and wanting to control the impact of the rising cost of electricity.
Solar Carport Scope of Work
To achieve the client’s goals, Advanced Green Technologies designed six single and double Cantilever solar parking structures fully equipped with rain decking and water management to ensure reliability during Florida’s rainy season. The total roof size across all carports is 35,775 square feet, with 660.91 kW DC and an annual energy production of 986.5 MWh.
To achieve this, installation included tree and light pole demos, 41 ACIP and piers, six custom fabricated steel carport arrays, a rain deck, 1537 430W PV modules, ten inverters, two dual charging stations, lighting, gutters and downspouts, landscaping and irrigation.
Frontline Insurance is now at 100% solar offset, operating at Net Zero on a consumption basis through a net metering arrangement with Duke Energy.
Overcoming Project Challenges
The project faced several challenges during its duration, including navigating the process of waiving a Planned Unit Development (PUD) amendment with Seminole County. The Advanced Green Technologies team had several discussions with the county while researching existing PUD language to secure a waiver.
The team also installed ACIP and directional boring in an area with existing underground utilities, requiring ground penetrating radar (GPR) and potholing of the existing underground utilities. Another challenge was performing work on an active parking lot which required temporary fencing to ensure the safety of employees and crew. Lastly, Seminole County required additional irrigation measures. After researching the code regarding irrigation systems, the team designed a solution using water from the detention pond.
Solar Carport Project Competition
Along with reducing its carbon footprint and being a leader in innovative solutions, Frontline Insurance will receive a 30% Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and a Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) 100% bonus appreciation. This is in addition to the ongoing power offset savings. These total benefits combined will return 66% of the upfront investment to the client in the first year of operation. This solar investment has an impressive ROI, with total payback in less than nine years and a projected generation of over $2.5 million in free cash flow over the system’s lifespan.
The project was delayed due to Duke Energy rescheduling interconnection as a result of manpower that was allocated to recent storm recovery. Still, it was completed within budget and with no safety incidents.
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