From innovative software to new products and business models, 7X makes it easier and more affordable for energy buyers to procure utility-scale solar power.
To reduce the soft costs of solar development, in 2015 7X developed Smart Power MapsTM (SPM), a geospatial software visualization platform that accelerates the site selection process. With SPM, we can identify ideal greenfield sites based on dozens of factors, such as solar resource, proximity to transmission infrastructure, and topography. It also helps us to identify potential design and construction challenges early-on so that we can plan around them and avoid costly delays. The speed and efficiency of SPM minimizes risks on our projects and reduces our development timeframe and costs. We pass the savings on to our customers in the form of low PPA pricing.
7X has developed truly industry leading transmission analytic software. The transmission software enables 7X to quickly and efficiently analyze and model thousands of points of interconnection in minutes in any RTO/ISO in the US. Providing full congestion and curtailment modeling capabilities for the 7X development and transmission teams. The proprietary software gives 7X a leg up over its competitors and reduces project risk for 7X customers.
With our internal design and engineering expertise, we are able to model solar projects to truly optimize resource production. Similar to incremental learning, in which input data is continually used to extend the knowledge base, our internal experts provide iterative designs with varying dc/ac ratios, ground coverage ratio (GCR), PV technology (crystalline, thin film, bi-facial), inverter technology, and site topography to drive optimal production. We intuitively understand the production scenarios and regularly add to our wealth of knowledge from years of experience in the solar industry.
Designed for utilities, electricity cooperatives, and corporate energy buyers in competitive electricity markets, SolarBlocks is one of the industry’s first fixed-block power purchasing product in which the blocks of energy are generated by a greenfield solar plant developed by 7X. SolarBlocks offers companies more flexibility and shorter contract terms than a traditional PPA. Best of all, buyers can still claim additionality and receive RECs.
7X’s second generation offering, SolarBlocks+™, provides a broader block sizing and time-distribution option through the use of storage co-located and charged-by their solar facilities, rather than market balancing alone. Both products eliminate the risks borne the power buyer, either directly or priced-in by its load serving entity (LSE), by the short-term market exposures for shortages or overages against expected generation in a typical as-generated PPA.
Smaller energy buyers want to procure solar power at the same low PPA rates larger energy purchasers can obtain. But, many customers do not have enough electricity load to justify a utility-scale project of their own. Our solution: BoostPPA, a product which aggregates the loads of several buyers at one site and distributes development costs among them. By doing so, each participating purchaser benefits from lower PPA pricing.
