On Monday, Austin-based HOLT Renewables — a subsidiary of San Antonio-based parent company HOLT CAT — unveiled solar panels installed last spring atop Austin's UPLIFT Desk warehouse.
It's the latest development in the company's fast-growing portfolio of sustainable energy projects, and one of three projects completed this year for customer UPLIFT Desk, an ergonomic furniture manufacturer and distributor, said Kevin Chavez, HOLT Renewables' sales operations manager.
The 390-watt modules — 594 of them — are mounted to the roof of the 50,000-square-foot facility with a ballasted roof mount, Chavez said — meaning they're not physically attached to the roof but weighted down by racking and blocks of ballast, which is material used to provide stability. The project as a whole was just over 230 kilowatts.
HOLT Renewables executed the project for less than $1.80 a watt, Chavez said. The average cost for a residential solar system ranges from $3 to $5 per watt, according to multiple sources.
The solar panels offset 100% of the power consumed on site. "Think of it as a reconciliation," said Chavez. "For every electron pulled up from the grid, we’re replacing that electron with green energy."
At another UPLIFT Desk installation site in Austin, HOLT Renewables spelled out "UPLIFT DESK" with breaks in the modules — so that if an airplane flies overhead, it shows the words in white surrounded by solar panels.
San Antonio-headquartered HOLT CAT is showcasing these projects while touring facilities to highlight HOLT Renewables' 2021 customers.
HOLT Renewables was formed in 2019 when HOLT CAT acquired PCI Solar Energy Solutions after the latter installed solar energy infrastructure on many HOLT CAT facilities. Once acquired, the company became the solar engineering, procurement, and construction arm of HOLT CAT, focused on commercial, industrial and institutional customers.
Conversations have picked up nationally about the value of solar power, but every market is different, Chavez said. He noted that In Texas, since February's winter storm Uri, many companies have leaned into renewable forms of energy generation.
"The notion to acquire PCI was to further diversify HOLT CAT as a business, and we really believe that we’re part of a trend that is growing," Chavez said.
HOLT Renewables has been busy in 2021. It's in the process of constructing a new battery project in Oklahoma and it completed three projects this year for Toyota — one in Alabama, one in West Virginia and one in Missouri.
And HOLT Renewables intends in 2022 to start another phase of potential projects for HOLT CAT as it continues to grow and expand its client network, said Chavez.
