Martifer Solar USA has completed a 1.142 MW solar PV system, a combination of a parking lot carport and a hillside ground-mount, at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
The installation incorporates elements of art into the design of the system, Martifer Solar notes. Kara Bartelt of Lettuce, a Los Angeles architecture firm, conceptualized the unique elliptical pattern of the hillside portion of the installation.
The carport portion of the system consists of 1,380 panels, which feature three electric car chargers, as well as an art panel installed on the underside of the array for fire safety. It will allow for shaded parking for up to 94 faculty members and students.
The 3,586-panel ground-mount portion of the system was custom built by Martifer Solar to accommodate uneven terrain, the steep slope of the hillside and wet weather. All of the 163 tables, consisting of 22 panels each, were individually tested for quality assurance prior to being lifted by a crane for installation on the hillside, Martifer Solar says.
