Continental Energy Solutions

CONT INENTAL ENERGY SOLUT IONS With continued growth on the menu, Haug’s vision is to see CES solidified as a leading energy solutions provider as the State of Illinois transitions to a green economy. He shares, “As the President of the Illinois Solar Energy Association, I’ve been deeply involved in the renewable energy sector for a long time, which gave me a vantage point to see what was coming. When various state and national legislations started passing, we were perfectly poised to take advantage of the sweeping reforms, which I still believe to be the case despite the pandemic.” In addition to riding the current legislative wave, CES is also capitalizing on emerging technological trends in the solar energy field, like using lithium-ion and redox flow batteries for advanced grid support. “We are currently focusing on the PJM market to see how batteries can be used to add energy to the grid and stabilize grid operations,” says Haug. “All this is mandated by the FERC (Federal Energy Regulation Commission) and we work with companies like Samsung and Tesla that build the batteries.” CES services clients primarily in Illinois, although the company has some past and current projects in other Midwest states like Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Missouri. Further afield, it leverages its affiliation to the Electric Roundtable, a nationwide association of electrical contractors who assist each other with operational and logistical support for projects around the country. “The projects we typically focus on include rooftop and ground-mounted arrays that are 250kW or larger,” says Haug. “Since the state has some great incentives for projects sized up to 2000kW, we have a lot of community solar and commercial projects that fit this scope.” Besides solar arrays, CES also installs EV chargers, although not as often as when the company first started. “Between 2011 and 2015, there were a lot of incentives from utilities and the state, so we installed over 400 chargers even before EVs went mainstream,” recalls Haug. “However, most incentives ended, so we stopped doing that as much, although, with the influx of electric vehicles that segment might pick up again.” Another market segment Haug is keeping a close eye on is smart energy management, which falls under the company’s operations and maintenance division. He notes, “This division tracks the health and performance of all our installations to ensure our customers are getting value for their investments. Our partner, Intelligent Generation, continuously interfaces with the batteries , offering a stream of data that tells us how the batteries are performing and whether they need maintenance.” Another partner that CES relies on is Convergence Energy, a solar and storage developer based in Wisconsin. “Besides our commercial partners, we also have customers