Mozaic Senior Life in Bridgeport, CT, provides rehabilitation, long-term care and assisted living for some of the community’s most vulnerable residents. Keeping the power on — affordably and reliably — matters. So when the teams at Parasol Structures and NuWave Energy began exploring a solar solution for the facility, the goal was straightforward: reduce energy costs and support Mozaic’s long-term commitment to sustainability.
The answer turned out to be a highly efficient, 901 kW system combining rooftop solar with three Parasol Solfex™ carport structures — enough to offset approximately 19% of the center’s electricity use.
“The customer’s goals were about sustainability and offsetting electrical costs,” explained Bill Serle, Director of Implementation at NuWave Energy.
The completed project combines rooftop solar on the facility’s buildings with three separate solar canopy structures built on adjacent parking areas. Together, the systems are expected to generate approximately 1,080,700 kWh annually and reduce utility spending by approximately $190,000 per year. In addition, the system is expected to earn $75,000 in annual performance payments through United Illuminating Company’s Non-Residential Energy Solutions (NRES) Program.
Why Solar Carports?
Early in the development process, the team explored maximizing rooftop solar to reach the center’s energy goals. But the building itself presented challenges.
“The roof structure and space at the facility is limited, with different heights and layouts,” Serle said. “There’s lots of mechanical equipment, and we just weren’t able to achieve the system size we needed with rooftop alone.”
The addition of solar canopies made it possible to significantly increase system capacity. While the rooftop array came in at 278 kW, the 623 kW canopy system pushed the total project to more than 901 kW DC.
Utilizing Parasol’s Solflex™ carport system allowed the project team to streamline both the design and installation process while working within the site’s physical constraints. Unlike traditional solar canopy systems that often require numerous third-party grounding lugs, bonding jumpers, and field-installed grounding components, Solflex features an integrated bonding and grounding approach that simplifies installation and reduces labor in the field.
Overcoming Site Challenges
Like many large-scale solar projects, the path from design to construction wasn’t without surprises. Originally, one of the canopy structures was planned for a different section of the property. But after a seismic study and further investigation into underground conditions, the team had to pivot to an ancillary newer lot because there was too much underground obstruction.
Despite those challenges, construction progressed smoothly through a busy winter season.
“Snow and ice doesn’t slow us down,” Serle said. “It was a busy winter — making sure everything was snowplowed and accessible. We actually got lucky with the timing on weather.”
Onsite work began in November with drilling and foundations, followed by steel, rebar, and concrete work through January.
“Once foundations were drilled it got easier for the customer,” he added.
A Focus on Communication
One of the biggest challenges wasn’t technical — it was maintaining daily operations at an active senior care facility.
“The parking lot is completely booked on a daily basis, and we had to take up about a third of it during construction,” Serle said.
According to Serle, consistent communication between Parasol, the customer, and project partners made a major difference.
“The Parasol team did a great job mitigating the situation,” he said. “They communicated where they were going to be, when they were going to be there, and they kept an open line of communication with the customer.”
That flexibility helped keep the project moving while minimizing disruption for staff, residents, and visitors.
“The team was amenable to move around the center’s needs. There were no surprises along the way.”
The customer’s enthusiasm also played an important role.
“They were a phenomenal customer that was excited about the project and the vision,” Serle said. “That really helped on the execution side.”
Partnership for the Win
For NuWave, this project also marked an important collaboration with Parasol Structures.
“The development team had been working with Parasol on other projects, but this was the first one we built together,” Serle said.
The experience left a strong impression.
“Everything went flawlessly and Parasol handled everything,” he said. “They are a strong team who manage all the day to day tasks.”
He credited both the onsite crews and back-office support for helping deliver the project quickly and successfully. The system is expected to come online in phases, with the rooftop system being commissioned first, followed shortly after by the canopy structures.
For Mozaic Senior Life, this project represents more than just clean energy infrastructure. It’s a long-term investment in sustainability, operational savings, and resilience for the community it serves.
Learn more about and see more Mozaic project photos here.