2025 Project of the Year: NEIEP Rooftop

In late 2023, CommercialSolarGuy developed a list of all the sites in our vicinity where solar had the potential to do the most good. The building on the very top of that list was the training center for the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) in Warwick, Rhode Island. It now holds the 279-kW solar installation pictured above.

In early 2024, our Business Operations Manager Richelle Dominique delivered a proposal to that building, where she bumped into David Morgan, executive director of the NEIEP. Over the course of the following 2 years, our team worked with David, the NEIEP organization, the workers on site, and our partners to bring this project to life.

This installation took a lot of work from a great many wonderful people, and on December 30th, 2025, we received the final permission to operate the system.

It’s our very favorite project of 2025, and this will be the first of several articles we write about it. Through this series, we’ll cover the processes behind sales, planning, design, engineering, construction, commissioning, and operation for this project.

Let’s start with the project overview below.

Why we’re proud of this project

We’re proud that our team identified this opportunity, won the bid, and carried the project through from start to finish to deliver an excellent final product.

We greatly valued our working relationship with the NEIEP and its on-site team. The organization is a non-profit labor-management partnership that trains workers for good-paying union jobs in a highly demanding field. We were proud to bring a union crew to build this system for them.

The NEIEP plays a vital role in the safe operation of key infrastructure across the United States, and students who come for training at the building will have the opportunity to tour the site and learn about solar from building staff.

Finally, we’re proud to deliver superior results while also identifying ways to anticipate challenges and fine-tune our processes. The lessons we learned during the course of this project will result in us being more prepared for the future.

Project details

The NEIEP rooftop solar installation is rated to produce 279 kW of DC power at peak output, with an AC rating of 200 kW. It will save the NEIEP an estimated $42,000 per year, and put them on schedule for a 7-year solar payback.

The installation is designed to operate for 25 years or more, meaning it will set the NEIEP up for long-term savings and make them an effective steward of the funds entrusted to them.

Check out this infographic about the project:

An infographic with text displayed over two photographs of the NEIEP building and its new rooftop solar installation.

Dig into the details

For those who would prefer a little more context and links, here are the project details:

Key facts

These are the “top line” numbers that show just how big this system is, and what it can do for the NEIEP as far as energy output and savings per year:

DC Capacity: 279 kW
AC Capacity: 200 kW
Annual Output: 340,675 kWh
Annual Savings: ~$42,000
System payback time: Under 7 years

Equipment

Here’s a short list of the biggest components that went into the installation:

Modules: 450 Qcells Q.TRON XL-G2.3/BFG 620
Inverters: 4 SMA Solar Technology Sunny TriPower
Racking: KB Racking AeroGrid, Hi-Way Concrete ballast
Monitoring: Powerdash Meter
Switchgear: Eaton & Square D
Wire Management: Ray Tray Solar
Fall Arrester: Guardian CB-12 Anchor Post

Project milestones

As mentioned above, the sales process began in January of 2024, and concluded when the NEIEP board approved our bid in June of that year. Once all the agreements were finalized and signed, we took control of the site and began the process of design and engineering.

Here are the key dates that followed:

Site control: Dec 24, 2024
Interconnection submitted: Dec 31, 2024
Interconnection signed: Jan 31, 2025 (!)
Awarded $75,000 Grant: March 7, 2025
Permit approved: Sep 26, 2025
Construction begins: Sep 26, 2025
Construction ends: Nov 10, 2025
Final walkthrough: Dec 10, 2025
Permission to operate: Dec 30, 2025

Project partners

You can’t succeed in this business without a lot of good partners. We’re lucky to work with excellent manufacturers, service providers, and distributors, including these fine organizations:

Special thanks

Everyone at NEIEP — Especially Rob Perkoski
Newport Renewables
IBEW 99
Rhode Island Energy
RI Commerce
City of Warwick, RI

Glamour shots

Below are some additional pictures of the system taken during construction and commissioning. Swipe or click the next/previous buttons to navigate.

Construction on the NEIEP project begins, with yellow metal fencing installed to define a boundary of 10 feet from the roof edge.

A flat of concrete ballast blocks sits on the roof of the NEIEP building, while workers in the background begin laying out racking on the roof.

Many rows of racking laid out on the roof of the NEIEP building in preparation for solar panel installation.

The thick, braided wire of a lightning arrester system runs through a metal cleat attached to the roof of the NEIEP building.

A roof anchor, also called a fall arrester, installed among solar panel racking bars on the roof of the NEIEP building.

The first runs of wiring are installed on the racking layout, with concrete ballasts installed on a portion of the rack.

A close-up of the specifications sticker on a Qcells Q.TRON XL-G2 solar panel used on the NEIEP rooftop project

Workers pull wires as they set up the sixth row of solar panels on the NEIEP building rooftop.

Wires are shown running throughout the racking system as the first-laid solar panels sit on the racks in the backgorund.

Coils of wire sit atop some of the strings of solar panels after all rows of the installation have been installed.

Solar panel wiring is shown as it enters the open DC side of an SMA Sunny TriPower inverter.

Three of the four SMA Sunny TriPower inverters sit behind a long row of solar panels on the NEIEP building rooftop.

Braided wires for the NEIEP building lightning arrestor system run from underneath a row of solar panels and are mounted to vertical metal pipes connected to the roof.

A wide-angle look at the nearly-completed NEIEP solar array under a partly-cloudy sky in late 2025.

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Up next: The sales and design process

That’s a wrap on our introductory post about our favorite project of 2025. Stay tuned for next week, when we’ll post the next article in the series all about how we won the bid and designed the perfect system for the NEIEP building rooftop. It’s a story of budding relationships, changing priorities, and personal triumph, sure to be a highlight of your week.

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2025 project of the year: National Elevator Industry Educational Program rooftop

Why we’re proud of this project

Project details