Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • Solar tariffs
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractor’s Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • Monthly Snapshots
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • 2021 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Inverters
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
    • Racking and Mounting
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Podcasts
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Inverter Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Solar Panel Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
  • Leadership
    • Vote for the 2022 Leaders!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2018 Winners

SALT Energy installs 58-kW solar array at private Florida community

By Billy Ludt | November 4, 2021

Share

SALT Energy recently completed a rooftop solar array at the Ocean Reef Club on the northernmost tip of Key Largo in the Florida Keys. Ocean Reef Club is a private club community offering 1,700 waterfront estates, private homes, condominiums and an oceanfront inn.

Credit: S-5!

On the grounds of the resort is a 6,400-sq-ft reverse osmosis water plant featuring 58 kW of solar PV along with an SMA solar inverter. The solar installation is predicted to save the resort on average $1,000 per month on its electric bills.

The club is located on a private peninsula beside America’s only living reef, bound on three sides by water and on the fourth side by federal and state lands. The area is subject to 180 mph, Category 5 hurricane winds, making installation of a low-profile, roof-mounted system essential.

Using the only south-facing roof available, SALT Energy installed 132 SunPower A-Series 440-W modules to maximize the solar output in the space allotted. The modules were secured to the Dean Steel Building Rib-12 roof using the S-5-PVKIT 2.0 solar mounting solution along with S-5!’s RibBracket III.

SALT Energy was challenged with installing the solar adjacent to the local airport’s runway (just 150 ft away) so a glint and glare analysis was required. The findings and resulting action items from this assessment would ensure the reflection produced by the solar PV would not visually impact pilots or air-traffic controllers.

Credit: S-5!

“SALT Energy serves the most demanding market in the U.S. and the Caribbean for solar installations due to projects in High-Velocity Hurricane Zones and coastal exposure by the Atlantic Ocean — our design wind load requirements are the highest in the U.S.,” said David Kaul, operations and engineering director, SALT Energy. “Together, the S-5! products provided a low-profile design solution with minimal equipment on the roof to achieve a design strong enough to withstand the area’s high wind loads. With a fully engineered design, three to five module clamps per side depending on wind zone of the roof (six to 10 points of attachment per module), 15% of the dead load of rail-mounting, and more uniform wind load distribution to the roof structure, this array welcomes any Category 5 Hurricane challenge.”

The Ocean Reef Club hosts a range of amenities, including a spa and salon, medical center, grocery store, cooking school, nature and cultural centers, an independent school and a private airport.

News item from S-5!

About The Author

Billy Ludt

Billy Ludt is associate editor of Solar Power World and currently covers topics on mounting, installation and business for the magazine.

Comments

  1. Solarman says

    November 4, 2021 at 10:12 pm

    “The area is subject to 180 mph, Category 5 hurricane winds, making installation of a low-profile, roof-mounted system essential.”

    Man, that’s mean, real mean.

    Resiliency, the concept is catching on and even those today who install grid tied solar PV still have the option in the future of adding smart energy storage and an off grid secondary system that can be used to island critical circuits during storm and grid fail events.

    Reply

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

Related Articles Read More >

Duke Energy builds 1st utility-scale project in Florida county
Pivot Energy developing 41-MW ‘income-qualified’ community solar portfolio
Nextracker supplying Silicon Ranch with 1.5 GW of single-axis trackers
Texas solar project spurs local workforce development

SPW Digital Editions

Solar Power World Digital EditionBrowse the current issue and archived issues of Solar Power World in an easy-to-use, high-quality format. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading solar construction magazine today.

Contractor's Corner Podcast

May 23, 2022
Contractor’s Corner: Solar apprenticeships are key to meeting renewable energy goals
See More >

Solar Policy Snapshot

Solar policy differs across state lines and regions. Click to see our monthly roundup of recent legislation and research throughout the country.

Read More >

Solar Power World
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Solar Articles
  • Windpower Engineering & Development
  • Battery Power Tips
  • Top Products
  • Leadership
  • About/Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • WTWH Media

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • Solar tariffs
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractor’s Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • Monthly Snapshots
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • 2021 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Inverters
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
    • Racking and Mounting
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
      • Global Manufacturing Locations
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Podcasts
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Inverter Manufacturing Locations
      • Global Solar Panel Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
  • Leadership
    • Vote for the 2022 Leaders!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
    • 2019 Winners
    • 2018 Winners