ARTICLE: Charlotte Business Journal Visits Strata
Strata was recently hosted John Downey, Energy Reporter from the Charlotte Business Journal. Keep reading for his article from his visit.
Strata Solar executive on westward expansion, battery storage as part of ambitious growth plan
Even for the ever-changing world of solar energy, North Carolina’s largest homegrown solar developer and builder is looking at some ambitious changes this year.
Chapel Hill-based Strata Solar has kicked off its move into utility-scale project construction in the Western U.S. this year with the 28-megawatt Adams-Neilson solar farm in Washington.
It is part of an aggressive plan to have Strata operating in 25 states within the next couple of years, says Henry Dziuba, the company's chief revenue officer. Strata has 4 gigawatts — or 4,000 megawatts — of solar in its pipeline for commercial-scale, utility-scale and community solar projects, he says.
And Strata is ramping up plans for battery storage. Brian O’Hara, senior vice president for government affairs, says storage will definitely be part of all its bids in the West, where organized, unregulated markets have priced storage products and services. He said the company will also be looking for storage opportunities elsewhere, including its base in the Southeast.
“It will depend on the bid evaluation structure (for competitive bidding) and how it all plays out in the requests for proposals in those states,” O’Hara says.
Expansion needs
Despite questions in specific markets, the overall commitment is clear. In April, the company hired an experienced hand in the storage industry in New York — Joshua Rogol, formerly with ViZn Energy Systems — for Strata's newly created position of vice president of storage.
