Stone Soup Solutions announces 100 megawatt south solar portfolio

Stone Soup Solutions, LLC announced today its current development plans to construct 100 megawatt (MW) of utility-scale solar farm projects in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia over the next 12 months. S3, a subsidiary of AFG Partners, LLC, is a renewable provider that has an integrated approach comprised of development, engineering, procurement, construction, operations, and maintenance.

The S3 team, led by Michael D. Whitson as President and Co-Founder, are considered pioneers in the solar industry by creating the first comprehensive quality and surety American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard for solar photovoltaic (PV), E3010-15, requiring best practices and process beyond mandated codes and standards. The ASTM 3010-15 standard represents a quality foundation for superior construction of PV assets. “In collaboration with the Clean Tech Energy Center at North Carolina State University and other industry partners, this is a first step in improving comprehensive system quality and surety for owners, investors and utility companies,” says Whitson. The ASTM 3010-15 standard in addition to S3’s operation and maintenance (O&M) plan and S3 trained technicians will enable their solar systems to be a high value asset with consistent revenue streams, allowing profits to be maximized over 25 years.

S3 will debut their next generation asset management software system that will provide granular data analytics and management, documenting all components with its history to the module level. All construction and management activities are done with geospatial locating that allows an easier method to identify and correct maintenance issues. S3’s granular data analytics brings predictability to the solar plants, as well as preventative maintenance sureties to ensure optimal performance over the lifetime of the system.

S3 has chosen Willis Towers Watson (WTW) as its insurance broker and risk management partner. WTW is a global firm offering specialized products for the solar industry. “S3 has an impressive reputation of overseeing the design, construction and operations / management of solar assets that consistently exceed forecasted output thus creating a reliable revenue stream for the assets’ owners,” says Danny Seagraves, Vice President of WTW and a member of their Global Renewable Energy Practice. Combining S3’s capabilities with the suite of revenue protection products offered by WTW allows investors to enjoy a risk profile akin to a corporate bond with an investment yield that is a multiple of those bonds.

The development of the 100 MW solar portfolio is being done by S3’s parent company, AFG Partners, LLC. AFG Partners has been successful in providing a direct link between the solar projects and the local communities to ensure job creation, economic stimulus and philanthropic outreach programs. Another highlighted feature of AFG and S3’s community involvement is the establishment of training centers to work with local schools and the unemployed workforce in the community. “We are proud that we have been able to establish partnerships with utility companies, Fortune 500 companies and church organizations, as well as local universities, community colleges, and schools to establish good business and economic development structures in the communities of our solar projects,” said Oscar C. Fields, CEO of AFG Partners and S3. “We believe the next step in solar is to be able to work inside the community so solar is a win-win for everyone.”
http://www.s3energygroup.com/

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    Stone Soup Solutions, LLC announced today its current development plans to construct 100 megawatt (MW) of utility-scale solar farm projects in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia over the next 12 months. S3, a subsidiary of AFG Partners, LLC, is a renewable provider that has an integrated approach comprised of development, engineering, procurement, construction, operations, and maintenance.

    The S3 team, led by Michael D. Whitson as President and Co-Founder, are considered pioneers in the solar industry by creating the first comprehensive quality and surety American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard for solar photovoltaic (PV), E3010-15, requiring best practices and process beyond mandated codes and standards. The ASTM 3010-15 standard represents a quality foundation for superior construction of PV assets. “In collaboration with the Clean Tech Energy Center at North Carolina State University and other industry partners, this is a first step in improving comprehensive system quality and surety for owners, investors and utility companies,” says Whitson. The ASTM 3010-15 standard in addition to S3’s operation and maintenance (O&M) plan and S3 trained technicians will enable their solar systems to be a high value asset with consistent revenue streams, allowing profits to be maximized over 25 years.

    S3 will debut their next generation asset management software system that will provide granular data analytics and management, documenting all components with its history to the module level. All construction and management activities are done with geospatial locating that allows an easier method to identify and correct maintenance issues. S3’s granular data analytics brings predictability to the solar plants, as well as preventative maintenance sureties to ensure optimal performance over the lifetime of the system.

    S3 has chosen Willis Towers Watson (WTW) as its insurance broker and risk management partner. WTW is a global firm offering specialized products for the solar industry. “S3 has an impressive reputation of overseeing the design, construction and operations / management of solar assets that consistently exceed forecasted output thus creating a reliable revenue stream for the assets’ owners,” says Danny Seagraves, Vice President of WTW and a member of their Global Renewable Energy Practice. Combining S3’s capabilities with the suite of revenue protection products offered by WTW allows investors to enjoy a risk profile akin to a corporate bond with an investment yield that is a multiple of those bonds.

    The development of the 100 MW solar portfolio is being done by S3’s parent company, AFG Partners, LLC. AFG Partners has been successful in providing a direct link between the solar projects and the local communities to ensure job creation, economic stimulus and philanthropic outreach programs. Another highlighted feature of AFG and S3’s community involvement is the establishment of training centers to work with local schools and the unemployed workforce in the community. “We are proud that we have been able to establish partnerships with utility companies, Fortune 500 companies and church organizations, as well as local universities, community colleges, and schools to establish good business and economic development structures in the communities of our solar projects,” said Oscar C. Fields, CEO of AFG Partners and S3. “We believe the next step in solar is to be able to work inside the community so solar is a win-win for everyone.”

    http://www.s3energygroup.com/