Unlocking the Full Value of Your Solar Investments

Unlocking the Full Value of Your Solar Investments

Why Community College Districts Need Solar Asset Management Now More Than Ever

Over the past decade, many California Community Colleges have made significant investments in solar energy systems—installing rooftop arrays, carport canopies, and battery storage to reduce operating costs and demonstrate sustainability leadership. But while these systems often look impressive on paper, the financial and operational results can sometimes fall short of expectations.

Why Solar At Many College Campuses Are Underperforming?

While solar was initially installed with high expectations for savings and sustainability, many college campuses are now seeing their systems fall short of projected performance. Common causes include:

• Aging Equipment:As systems age, performance naturally declines. Inverters, meters, and other critical components often require replacement or repair after years of operation—but without proactive oversight, issues go unnoticed.

• Shrinking Service Capacity:With fewer new solar projects being developed in California, many service providers have downsized or shifted focus, reducing the availability and quality of support for existing systems.

• Undetected Outages:System- and sub-system-level outages—such as failed inverters or disconnected strings—are often missed without advanced monitoring tools, leading to prolonged production losses and missed savings.

These challenges highlight the need for active, ongoing asset management to ensure your systems continue delivering value year after year.

The Role of Asset Management in Recovering Missed Savings

Asset Management is the missing link for many colleges. It bridges the gap between installation and long-term financial performance by providing:

• Proactive Performance Monitoring:Real-time tracking of system output, fault detection, and benchmarking against performance expectations.

• Issue Resolution & Oversight:Managing warranty claims, coordinating repairs, and holding third parties accountable.

• Financial Optimization:Tracking utility bill savings, generating new revenues (e.g., monetizing Renewable Energy Certificates), and identifying opportunities to improve returns.

• Strategic Reporting:Translating technical data into actionable financial insights

What This Means for Your District

If your Community College District has invested in solar but isn’t actively managing those assets, you could be leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table each year. Asset Management ensures your systems deliver on their promise—not just in kilowatt-hours, but in real financial results.

Want to Learn More?

Schedule a no-cost Solar Portfolio Review to assess the performance of your systems and identify areas to recover missed savings.

Visit transformenergy.com/asset-management or contact David Burdick at david.burdick@transformenergy.com.