Category: News Stories
IESNA Midwest Show Floor Spotlight: Summit Ridge Energy on Scale, Storage & Building a Local Talent Pipeline
During Intersolar & Energy Storage North America (IESNA) Midwest, Digital Editor Krista Simicich spoke with Brent Buchberger, Vice President of Project Development at Summit Ridge Energy, about the company’s growth, its approach to workforce development, and his take on the challenges currently shaping the industry. Buchberger laid out two main reasons Summit Ridge showed up […]
The Advantage of Grid-Forming Inverters
The Next Generation Grid Matt Gabor, Vice President of Engineering at Summit Ridge Energy and Interconnection Strategy Champion Grid-forming inverters paired with battery storage and solar are among the fastest and cheapest ways to more powerful and reliable electric grid. Why grid forming inverters? Unlike grid following, grid-forming inverters provide both the power to meet […]
Building Strong Vendor Relationships Through Accounts Payable
What I’ve Learned: Every Payment Is About More Than a Transaction By Brandy Maines, Accounts Payable Specialist When I first started working at Summit Ridge Energy, I thought my role was straightforward: process invoices, make payments, and keep things moving. But in this industry, nothing is ever that simple. You’re dealing with contractors, engineers, landowners, and suppliers. People […]
Solar Spotlight: Morgan County Solar
Where Frogs, Butterflies, and Locally Generated Energy Share the Same Backyard in Rural Illinois Morgan Solar 1 and Morgan Solar 1B are a pair of community solar arrays near the village of Meredosia in Morgan County, Illinois. Developed by Pivot Energy and operated by Summit Ridge Energy since 2021, Morgan Solar is living (or operating) proof that locally generated energy and good land stewardship aren’t competing priorities; they can reinforce each other. Spanning […]
A Project Engineer’s Playbook for Solar Operations Excellence
Operations excellence at Summit Ridge Energy means turning a complex, multi-state solar portfolio into reliable, predictable energy production that communities and customers can count on. We sat down with Charlyn Castillo, Project Engineer at Summit Ridge Energy, to explore how she tracks performance, prevents failures, and translates day-to-day operations into long-term energy impact. Charlyn Castillo […]
How Community Solar Strengthens Rural Tax Bases
A 20-acre solar project in rural Illinois demonstrates how community solar can generate substantial new property tax revenue — no new services required. By Andrew Damitio, Senior Development Analyst A Summit Ridge Energy 2.6 MW solar site in Lena, IL Along Galena Road in rural Stephenson County, Illinois, there’s a 20-acre parcel of working farmland. With no permanent improvements and a crop of corn, it pays under $950 in property taxes annually to various local taxing […]