The term “solar array” usually conjures up an image of a large, flat open space — or alternately, perhaps a rooftop. But a recently completed solar project in New Jersey has a more unusual setting, and much of the success of project had to do with the adaptability of Solar FlexRack and the ingenuity of its design team.
Balford Farms is a dairy product warehouse and distribution facility located in Burlington, NJ. The need to keep its products refrigerated or frozen 24/7 makes for a very high demand for electricity. Balford wanted to offset as much of this demand as possible with solar power, but found that their roof was not large enough to address more than a portion of their total demand and there was little free space on the ground that was not earmarked for future expansion.
The only remaining uninterrupted parcel of land on the property was a stormwater detention basin. Signature Solar, LLC, the company that had originally been chosen to do the roof installation for Balford Farms, saw an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons. They believed that a solar array could be erected that would not in any way interfere with the original intent or purpose of the basin while at the same time ensuring that the solar array’s performance would remain unaffected by any natural events within the basin.
Signature Solar knew it would take a creative approach and design to permit and erect a cost effective array in the basin and to ensure that all of these needs were met Signature turned to Solar FlexRack. It was clear that a custom racking system would have to be designed that would:
1) have no impact on the surface volume of the basin
2) not subject any electrical components to immersion should the basin overflow
3) meet all applicable wind and snow load requirements
4) not change the design of the basin or damage it in any way during construction
5) remain an economical and cost-effective solution for Balford Farms
Solar FlexRack met all of these criteria with a custom 2×11 racking system that met Signature Solar’s electrical design for string sizing. The 64 Solar FlexRacks were used to hold 1,408 Trina solar panels in an array that will generate a total of 422.4 KW of power.
The posts for the system were also custom-designed by Solar FlexRack. The key requirements for the posts were that they provide adequate height and strength to support the panels, have no cumulative effect on the surface area of the basin, could be installed simply while keeping the costs for materials and installation within budget.
A Solar FlexRack certified installer, Evergreen Solar Services, was chosen to install the Balford Farms solar array, because of their extensive previous experience with installing Solar FlexRack systems. Their custom pile driving equipment easily managed the longer than usual posts needed for this installation.
Solar FlexRack field technicians joined with Signature Solar to form an effective team that was able to meet the many challenges this project posed — which included adverse weather conditions. Hurricane Sandy hit less than a week before construction began, and subsequent rain in the following weeks led to extremely difficult conditions in the basin.
The pre-assembled, unfolding design of the Solar FlexRack was created to make installation quick and easy and this was proven out once again as the team was able to complete construction of the solar at Balford Farms very close to the original schedule despite the adverse conditions.
Solar FlexRack
www.SolarFlexRack.com
Need me solar power knowledge.