Challenges
Mounting Energy Costs, Need for Backup Power and Frustration in Finding a System Contractor
Compass Dermatopathology, a specialized laboratory in San Diego, faced mounting energy costs while operating their facility 24/7 to process sensitive patient samples. As laboratory owners with experience in residential solar and battery systems, founders Ella and Bart Calame recognized the cost saving and resiliency benefits of onsite energy for their business. However, they encountered significant challenges when attempting to implement a commercial solution. The market’s fragmentation made it difficult to find suppliers who could competently handle both solar and battery storage components, while inconsistent pricing and proposals made it impossible to make accurate comparisons or trust the quoted costs.
Solution
Compass partnered with VECKTA to streamline their transition to onsite energy. VECKTA's platform provided:
- Independent validation of the business case without sales pressure
- Automated economic analysis and project scoping
- Access to pre-qualified suppliers through a structured RFP process
- Organized Q&A sessions ensuring transparent communication
- Standardized proposal format for accurate comparison
- Technical expertise to guide evaluation and procurement
Assessment Timeline
RFP Launch Timeline
Lifetime Utility Cost Savings
I faced significant challenges when trying to implement a solar and battery storage solution for our laboratory in San Diego. The market was fragmented, with vendors having varying levels of expertise – some understood batteries but not solar, others vice versa. This inconsistency made it nearly impossible to get comparable proposals or establish a baseline scope of work, let alone trust the wide range of pricing we were seeing.
VECKTA’s platform transformed our procurement process by providing a structured, transparent environment where all vendors operated under the same parameters. Their formal RFP process was easy to navigate and specifically tailored for energy projects. The platform facilitated organized Q&A sessions and ensured all vendors had equal access to project information, which ultimately led to truly comparable proposals. Most importantly, I could leverage VECKTA’s energy experts to guide the technical evaluation and procurement process.
Deploying Onsite Energy with VECKTA
Step 1: Automatic Indicative Assessment
Using the address and facility type as inputs, the VECKTA platform automatically provides an indicative system estimate by pulling in 5,000 data points, including:
- Electricity consumption
- Regional solar and battery storage installed pricing and performance
- Deployment costs
- Utility energy and demand charges
- Financial incentives
- Regional grid carbon intensity
Step 2: Refine Model with Energy Load Data
For projects that meet investment and performance thresholds, the next step is to inject facility-specific electricity consumption data into the platform to refine estimates. This can be done using a bill or automatically using UtilityAPI. This subsequent step can also be rolled into the first step to fast-track the assessment process.
Step 3: Receive Bids from Pre-Qualified Contractors
Customers can go directly to the market and receive bids from pre-qualified contractors in VECKTA’s marketplace. VECKTA’s standardized RFP process and expert team empower customers to make a compelling ask to the market, without the need for in-house energy project development expertise.
