U.S. General Services Administration Selects Solaria as Provider for Green Proving Ground Program, Reducing Risk, Accelerating Market Adoption

FREMONT, Calif.

Solaria Corporation, global provider of solar module technologies, today announced that it has been selected as a participant in the United States General Services Administration (GSA) Green Proving Ground (GPG) program. The GPG leverages GSA’s real estate portfolio to evaluate innovative sustainable building technologies. The GPG program selected Solaria after extensive testing of its building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solutions, funded by the Department of Energy (DOE), at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) new FLEXLAB. Solaria’s BIPV system underwent holistic testing, at the world’s most advanced building efficiency test bed, for energy generation, glass performance and tenant comfort, as well as proving a smooth and cost effective design-build process. As a result, the GSA is moving forward with a commercial pilot installation of the technology in 2016, to further to the readiness for commercial scale deployments across its portfolio.

A Federal Building in Kansas City, Missouri, was chosen for the commercial pilot. While demonstrating its BIPV technology in an occupied building, the Solaria and the GSA, with LBNL, will collect energy generation, thermal performance, daylighting, glare and occupant comfort data in comparison with non-BIPV windows in the same building. In addition to the factors above, it includes evaluation of the design-build process and economics. On the heels of the successful testing at FLEXLAB, it is anticipated that the results will show that BIPV solutions offer the building and construction industries a reliable, seamless alternative to traditional glass solutions with a product that provides additional value in moving glazed facades towards the goal of positive net energy gains.

“The Green Proving Ground program is committed to driving innovation that improves building performance,” said Kevin Powell, GPG program manager at GSA. “We hope that real-world evaluations like this one will accelerate adoption of sustainable building technologies around the nation.”

“At LBNL we are excited when we find technologies that can help us advance façade performance toward our goals of net zero energy buildings. We believe that the path to zero starts by eliminating energy waste, then increasing the intelligence of buildings through smart, responsive, people-friendly operating controls and finally introducing renewables for micro generation,” said Stephen Selkowitz, Senior Advisor for Building Science, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “Through our testing in this project, we found that Solaria’s BIPV solution adds to our prior GSA-GPG studies of dimmable lighting and dynamic glazing so that we now address all three challenges on this path.”

With the critical need for action in the built environment gaining momentum with COP21 commitments SB350 and the recently extended tax package for green building, real estate owners now have a viable option to take advantage of vast building facades to generate energy and cost savings. Solaria’s BIPV windows, now commercially available, offer an aesthetically pleasing, energy generating, and economically compelling solution.

“We have a deep respect for the rigorous certification process that the GSA conducts to select its certified providers and Solaria is honored to have been selected as a provider of BIPV for GSA’s GPG program and after the meticulous validation process that was conducted by FLEXLAB,” said Udi Paret, GM Building Solutions, Solaria Corporation. “We commend the GSA GPG program and its mission to provide its extensive building portfolio with access to the latest building technologies for green building and renewable energy.”

About Solaria Corporation

Solaria Corporation is a solar technology company that is paving the way for decentralized, clean power generation through optimized solutions for a range of applications. Solaria designs, manufactures and markets high-efficiency silicon PV modules and systems for rooftop, utility, building facades, and greenhouses. Solaria headquarters are in California. For more information, please visit www.solaria.com.

About U.S. General Services Administration

The mission of GSA is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government and the American people. GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, offering billions of dollars worth of products, services, and facilities that federal agencies need to serve the public.

GSA leads the way in green building design, construction, retrofit and sustainable operations and maintenance. GSA is building a 21st century government that procures and manages technology solutions in smart, secure, and affordable ways. It supports reductions in federal government real estate costs and increases in workplace efficiencies by strategically integrating space, people, and technology solutions customized to different workplace needs.

For more information, please visit http://www.gsa.gov.

About Green Proving Ground

The GSA’s Green Proving Ground (GPG) program leverages GSA’s real estate portfolio to evaluate innovative sustainable building technologies. GPG began as an innovative response to Executive Order 13514, and continues in support of Executive Order 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade issued 19 March 2015. To meet our target sustainability goals and enable the realization of net zero buildings, federal agencies must develop effective ways of reducing energy use. GPG leverages GSA’s real estate portfolio to evaluate innovative sustainable building technologies and provide recommendations on their deployment. By devoting research to technologies in the pre- or early-commercial stages of development, GPG facilitates and accelerates the transition between bench-scale technology and commercial viability.

Working with DOE’s National Laboratories, GPG evaluates technologies in a real-word context. Project reports are developed by the combined efforts of GPG and the national laboratories and provide credible, detailed information about product performance that is pivotal in determining the technology’s success in the marketplace.

For more information, please visit http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/102491.

About Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

DOE’s FLEXLAB at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is the most flexible, comprehensive, and advanced building efficiency measurement facilities in the world, and allows quantification and documentation of the full potential of energy efficiency in buildings. FLEXLAB lets users test energy-efficient building systems individually or as an integrated system, under real-world conditions. FLEXLAB test beds can test HVAC, lighting, windows, building envelope, control systems, and plug loads, in any combination. Users can test alternatives, perform cost-benefit analyses, and ensure a building will be as efficient as possible — before construction or retrofitting even begins. FLEXLAB is the latest in Berkeley Lab’s long line of game-changing energy efficiency innovations.

For more information please visit https://flexlab.lbl.gov/.

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Resolution Communications for Solaria
Nandita Geerdink, 415-269-4493
Nandita@resolutioncommunications.com