Energy industry consortium SGIP and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have launched the US Department of Energy’s SunShot initiative Orange Button.
It has been introduced to simplify and standardise data across solar project lifecycles, as well as to improve data quality and enhance transaction efficiency.
Tasks involve rganising several market participants to drive the strategy and to collect business requirements from different perspectives.
SGIP and SEIA are forming Strategy and Business Requirements Working Groups for deployment, real estate, financial, grid integration, and solar operations and management (O&M).
The deployment group includes solar asset installers, permitting officials, and engineering firms and is focussed on data needs related to structural and electrical safety, as well as other permitting concerns.
Included in the financial group are solar project developers, asset managers, and banking and specialty finance institutions. They will organise efficient finance for projects and work on financial reporting practices during project operation.
It will examine data practices for tax and accounting systems, streamline data exchange between banks and developers in order to evaluate development risk, and manage the data exchange environment required to conduct financial asset management activities.
The real estate group is focussed on data requirements to install solar projects at different commercial lots.
Solar O&M, its service providers, and project developers are focussed on all data requirements for project operations, maintenance practices, and cost models.
Grid Integration includes project developers, ISOs, electric utilities, and state regulatory bodies. It is focussed on the data requirements for ISOs, utilities, and solar developers associated to new utility-scale and behind-the-meter connections.
