A non-profit enterprise incubator in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, centered on advancing regional power industries now hosts a five-array photo voltaic mission masking almost 1 / 4 of its power output. Photo voltaic was put in on 5 separate roof sections on the Energy Innovation Center’s (EIC) constructing on Bedford Avenue, simply east of downtown Pittsburgh, and overlooking the Allegheny River and North Shore neighborhoods.
A photo voltaic array put in on pitched sections of the Vitality Innovation Heart’s roof in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Credit score: Pittsburgh Gateways
Teams concerned in originating, putting in, championing and commissioning this 291-kW photo voltaic mission gathered on the EIC on Thursday morning to commemorate its operations. This mission was seven years within the making.
“Tasks like this are essential to the town. Once you’re speaking about rising a vibrant metropolis, often photo voltaic is one thing that all of us help,” stated Mayor Corey O’Connor.
Pennsylvania Solar Center, a non-profit group headquartered within the EIC, had labored with the incubator’s guardian group, Pittsburgh Gateways, to originate the mission. Sharon Pillar, founder and government director of the PA Photo voltaic Heart, stated the group is glad to have photo voltaic on their constructing.
“As we speak, we’re so thrilled that this iconic place has a few of the newest power expertise sitting up on its rooftop and is lastly cured by this sickness that we name ‘lazy roof syndrome.’ All that roof area sitting up there for nearly 100 years, simply doing nothing. However now, it’s lastly being put to work and it’s working actually onerous, and really very well,” Pillar stated.
By way of its GET Photo voltaic program, the PA Photo voltaic Heart helped with the mission’s preliminary evaluation and design buildout. EIC was a part of PA Photo voltaic Heart’s first cohort for organizations focused on pursuing photo voltaic. Throughout that course of, it was decided that the the constructing’s tower wanted to be re-roofed.
The now LEED Licensed Platinum facility has tenant companies and organizations from sustainability, renewable power, power analysis sectors, in addition to native political and neighborhood teams, and homes an power commerce faculty.
A photo voltaic array put in on a flat roof part of the Vitality Innovation Heart in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Credit score: Pittsburgh Gateways
“Sustainability means retaining vitality in our personal group,” stated Don Evans, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Gateways. “Once we discuss sustainability, including 300 kW of photo voltaic capability to to the roof of this constructing offers us an opportunity at that sustainability over the subsequent 25 years.”
Evans stated that Pittsburgh Gateways doesn’t have a revenue line as a company, however does have a backside line for operations, and photo voltaic has stabilized a few of its power prices. The full mission value was $1.2 million — roughly $750,000 for re-roofing and the rest value for the photo voltaic mission. This was financed by Bridgeway Capital, a lender for small companies and non-profits. The photo voltaic mission certified for the federal funding tax credit score (48E) and bonus adders, for a 40% complete tax credit score.
“The economics of this mission would make sense — it pencils out — with out federal tax credit,” Evans stated. “Nonetheless, as a non-profit we very a lot worth these tax credit … and every little thing that goes together with the help of photo voltaic proper now.”
Native contractor Scalo Solar put in the array, which was commissioned in December 2025. Throughout the commemoration at EIC, individuals spoke at a podium flanked on both wall by projections of real-time technology statistics from the photo voltaic arrays on the roof above. Mark Heckathorne, COO and government VP of Scalo Photo voltaic, pointed to these technology numbers and stated: “The misnomer for photo voltaic on this a part of the nation is that we’ve quite a lot of cloudy days. However so long as the solar comes up, photo voltaic panels will produce photo voltaic. And if the solar doesn’t come up, we’ve an even bigger downside.”
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