Making solar visible brings new value to the return on solar investments. We call this Return On Visibility. In this post, we explore how ROV works and quantify the impact with two scenarios. For the right properties -- like the mixed use development shown above -- visible solar can provide an amazing yield.

Have you ever done work that really mattered, that made a difference? Felt great, right? How about the opposite? Yeah …

We recently had the distinct privilege of visiting the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, on the occasion of Lilly’s first birthday. Lilly’s not your typical toddler: she’s a precocious red kangaroo. She lives under three Spotlight Solar “trees.”

Many schools are integrating energy education into their curriculum, with particular focus on renewables. One of the challenges is to make energy generation tangible, given its normal location in distant power plants or up on the roof (vice-principals want you kids to stay offa there). Solar trees bring clean energy technology up close, and even make it look awesome.

The product rounds out the Spotlight product line with a design that offers the highest capacity and the widest canopy footprint (shade) of any of our products. It brings a new, stalwart aesthetic to our mix as well. Its lineage is found in the repurposing of old industrial sites into modern mixed-use developments. Often these re-developments have design and construction characteristics that are beautiful in an old-school function-before-form style.

Trestle provides the most shade of any of Spotlight's products: over 300 square feet. And its human scale (14' tall) is perfect for creating outdoor spaces for seating, eating, and drinking in the shade of beautiful solar technology. It incorporates 18 Lumos solar panels that look gorgeous from every angle, especially including the underside (where the people are). Its 4.5 kW capacity isn't going to run a big building, but it shows up: you could run electric vehicles for over 22,000 miles with the clean energy it puts out. If you want to talk light bulbs, how about 474 -- LED of course.