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Solar EPC Firms Turn To Skid-Based Inverters To Lower Project Labor Costs

Builders of small commercial-, municipal- and small utility-scale installations are finding that mounting inverters and attending systems on skids in “power station” configurations can save on labor costs, particularly in regions and projects that require union electricians.

New York City-based Solops LLC developed a 13 MW commercial array in partnership with Marina Energy, a subsidiary of South Jersey Industries. The ground-mounted photovoltaic array system consists of 44,270 modules and 20 inverters that are expected to produce nearly 16.9 GWh of electricity annually, all of which will be purchased by Berry Plastics Corp. of Phillipsburg, N.J.

“We installed the inverters on open-platform skids, primarily to reduce labor costs,” says Matthew West, executive vice president of Solops. “It is our policy to avoid integrating high-power systems in the field, if we can avoid it.”

West says the project required significant integration of high-, medium- and low-voltage equipment. In addition to saving on labor costs, he says skids enable a lot of the integration work to be done ahead of time, which makes for more effective and predictable scheduling.

“We do as much of the prep work as possible before it lands on the site,” says Cathy Crowder, product manager of integrated solutions for Advanced Energy. “When it arrives, the electricians just hook up the leads and communications equipment.”

Minnesota-based Blattner Energy finds skids useful for managing the construction and integration in regions subject to demanding regulatory oversight. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor built a 7.5 MW project in Valley Center, Calif., for developer Golden Concord Holdings Ltd. The project provides for San Diego Gas & Electric under power purchase agreements.

The Valley Center plant incorporates 300 W and 285 W Trina photovoltaic modules and skid-mounted inverters from Advanced Energy. According to Array Technologies Inc., which supplied the single-axis tracking systems, the site has 1000 V and 600 V sections, requiring different tracking system configurations in constrained areas with irregular property lines.

Chanda Lytton, manager of solar construction for Blattner Energy, says San Diego County, where the project is located, has very stringent union labor and environmental requirements that were assisted by using skidded inverters.

“The beauty of the skid is that it saves on labor,” Lytton says. “The inverters show up complete on the skids, and the workers just had to make the connections.”

On the environmental side, she says they were able to satisfy an oil-separation requirement with a containment area that is built into the skid.

“Union labor or not, if you’ve got the right project, you can make up for the costs of the skids,” says Darren Bronen, manager of utility business development at Advanced Energy. “Plus, you should get better quality if you can perform the integration work in a controlled setting.” S

 

First Solar Starts On
250 MW Moapa Solar

First Solar has broken ground on the 250 MW Moapa Southern Paiute Solar project in Nevada. The project is located on the Moapa River Indian Reservation and has a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2015.

Moapa Southern Paiute Solar LLC, a subsidiary of First Solar Electric LLC, is the project owner and will construct the project using First Solar’s thin-film solar modules. The 2,000-acre project will include an on-site substation and a new 5.5-mile, 500 kV transmission line that will connect the project to the existing Crystal substation that serves California.

Solar energy from the Moapa plant will contribute 2.4% toward the LADWP’s renewable energy portfolio. The Moapa plant, along with a second utility-scale solar power plant in the region, will enable the LADWP to stop receiving power from its coal-fired Navajo Generating Station.

Once the Moapa Southern Paiute Solar facility becomes fully operational, the LADWP will be able to repurpose existing transmission systems that now bring high-carbon coal power from the Navajo Generating Station. The Moapa plant, along with the Copper Mountain Solar 3 facility under development by Sempra and Consolidated Edison (see below), will enable the LADWP to stop receiving coal power from the Navajo plant by the end of 2015 - four years before it is required by California state law.

The electricity from the two solar power projects in Nevada will contribute over 4% to the LADWP’s goal of 33% renewable energy by 2020.

 

Sempra And Con Ed
Partner On Solar Projects

Sempra U.S. Gas & Power and Consolidated Edison Development (CED) have agreed to partner on five solar projects in Nevada and California.

The projects include Sempra’s 250 MW Copper Mountain Solar 3 project near Las Vegas and CED California Holdings LLC’s 50 MW Alpaugh 50, 20 MW Alpaugh North, 20 MW White River 1 and 20 MW Corcoran 1 facilities.

Upon finalization of the agreements, Sempra and CED will each own a 50% interest in the five solar facilities. The agreement relative to the CED California Holdings projects is subject to regulatory approvals, which are expected during the second quarter of this year. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The CED California Holdings facilities have been operational since 2012. Copper Mountain Solar 3 is currently under construction. Completion of the first 125 MW is expected by the end of the year, with the remaining 125 MW slated for completion in 2015.

 

Martifer And Gauss
Fire Up Aura Solar

Martifer Solar and Gauss Energia inaugurated the 39 MW Aura Solar photovoltaic power project in a ceremony attended by President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico.

Located in La Paz, Baja California Sur, the plant has more than 132,000 Suntech solar PV panels installed in ground-mounted structures with single-axis solar trackers. Gauss Energia developed the project, which was funded by local development bank Nafin, International Finance Corp. and Corporacion Aura Solar. Martifer Solar was responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant and will provide operations and maintenance services.

Martifer says the project’s 20-year power purchase agreement is the first contract between a private company and Mexico’s Comision Federal de Electricidad. The country’s target is to generate 35% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2026.

Abengoa is providing engineering, procurement and construction services for the project. The solar plant will be equipped with a total of 263 Exosun horizontal trackers supporting 121,920 photovoltaic modules. Exosun says the installation will also include its Exobox monitoring and control system.

 

Scatec Gets Approvals
For 80 MW Project

Scatec Solar has received the final approvals from the Utah Public Service Commission and Iron County Community Development and Renewal Agency to proceed with an 80 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in Iron County, Utah. Construction is scheduled to start in the third quarter of this year.

The Utah Red Hills Renewable Energy Park is being developed on approximately 650 acres of privately owned land in Parowan, Utah. It will incorporate approximately 325,000 PV modules on single-axis tracking systems.

The project is expected to generate approximately 210 GWh of electricity per year that will be fed into the grid under a 20-year power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp. The plant will interconnect to an existing PacifiCorp 138 kV line in the adjacent Parowan Valley Substation and will provide electricity to customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.

 

Swinerton Completes
18 MW Solar Array

Swinerton Renewable Energy has completed the 18 MW Westlands Solar Farms project near Huron, Calif.

The project is located on 85 acres adjacent to Interstate 5. General contractor Swinerton built the single-axis tracker photovoltaic array and new substation under contract from Clenera. The project includes 18 Advanced Energy AE 1000NX inverters.

The plant is connected by a half-mile-long generation tie and transmission line from the substation into a new 70 kV switchyard. The project is producing and selling power under contract with Pacific Gas and Electric.

 

Enel Adding CSP Unit
To Stillwater Plant

Enel Green Power has started construction of a 17 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant to operate alongside the existing 33 MW Stillwater geothermal power station in Nevada. The facility is already co-located with a 26 MW photovoltaic plant.

The Stillwater geothermal plant, consisting of two binary-cycle units, will be integrated with the parabolic trough CSP system so that they contribute to the same turbines. The hybrid plant will thus combine the continuous generating capacity of binary-cycle, medium-enthalpy geothermal power with daytime peak generation from the solar thermal component.

Enel says the CSP project is aimed at testing a new technology and determining how best to integrate it with a geothermal binary plant. The CSP system heats tubes of pressurized water. The integration work will enable the CSP component to raise the temperature of the geothermal fluid extracted from the wells to improve the cycle’s yield and increase its electricity output.

The $15 million CSP plant is expected to start commercial operation by the end of the year. It will be capable of adding approximately 3 GWh of electricity per year to the output of the existing hybrid plant. Combining three generation technologies is expected to produce approximately 200 GW of electricity per year. The energy produced is being sold to NV Energy through an existing 20-year power purchase agreement.

 

Hanwha Completes Array
On Superfund Site

Hanwha Q Cells has completed the 10.9 MW Maywood Solar Farm located on a redeveloped Superfund site in Indianapolis.

Maywood was completed under the 2012 Indianapolis Power & Light Rate-REP program. Hanwha says the project was financed without additional federal, state, local or corporate incentives.

Hanwha says it implemented its soil disturbance minimization plan, which it says resulted in a volume reduction of site soil movement of more than 93% over conventional construction approaches, while also minimizing the potential for exposing known underground hazards, impairing the existing site environmental remedy or creating human exposure to site hazards.

 

Canadian Solar Gets
Funds For ‘Mighty Solar’

The Manufacturer’s Life Insurance Co. has agreed to provide approximately C$50.5 million in construction and term financing to Canadian Solar Inc. for the Mighty Solar power project, located in Ontario.

Developed by Canadian Solar, construction of the 10 MW Mighty Solar power project is under way, and connection is expected in the second quarter of this year. The Ontario Power Authority awarded the project a 20-year power purchase contract under the province’s feed-in tariff program.

The Mighty Solar project will be acquired by Concord Green Energy Inc. when it commences commercial operation. Bowmont Capital and Advisory acted as the financial advisor to Concord.

 

Borrego To Build 3.3 MW
Project At Calif. Airport

Borrego Solar Systems Inc. is developing a 3.3 MW photovoltaic power system for San Diego International Airport (SDIA).

The project will feature arrays on the roof of the newly expanded Terminal 2 West and in a section of the Terminal 2 short-term parking lot adjacent to the terminal. Borrego says the project will be completed late this year.

The system is expected to generate approximately 5.3 GWh of electricity per year - enough power to offset a projected 10%-13% of the energy needs for Terminals 1 and 2 at SDIA.

Borrego Solar will build and finance the system through a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Airport Authority.

 

Ormat Sells Heber
Solar Project

Ormat Nevada Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ormat Technologies Inc., has sold its 10 MW Heber Solar project in Imperial County, Calif., to RET Holdings LLC for $35.25 million.

The project, which started development in 2011, has a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District.

 

CEC Plans Community
Solar Expansion In Mass.

Colorado-based community solar developer Clean Energy Collective (CEC) says its recent purchase of two solar projects from Massachusetts-based BlueWave Capital represents a broader expansion plan to make community-owned solar available across the state of Massachusetts.

CEC plans to make the solar power available to residential and commercial customers in the Western Massachusetts Electric Co. (WMECo) and National Grid territories. The two initial projects include the 997 kW Western Massachusetts Community Solar Array in Hadley, serving WMECo customers, and the 997 kW Southeastern Massachusetts Community Solar Array facility in Rehoboth, in National Grid territory. Construction on the projects is under way, and both are expected to be operational by late June.

CEC’s community-owned solar model allows any customer in a participating utility territory - including renters, those with shaded roofs and people with modest incomes - to benefit from solar energy without having to install a rooftop system on their home or business. Community solar customers are afforded the same rebates and incentives as rooftop system owners, including Massachusetts Clean Energy Center rebates, and receive credit on their monthly bills for the power produced.

 

Midwest To Build 1 MW
Community Array

Midwest Energy and community solar developer Clean Energy Collective (CEC) have signed an agreement to build a 1 MW community solar array.

The 4,000-panel solar garden will be located within the Midwest Energy service territory. Midwest Energy members purchase the panels directly from CEC. The collective says the purchase price for panels in the array will include all available rebates and tax incentives as if the system were located on a customer’s roof. Customers will receive credit for the power their panels produce directly on their Midwest Energy electric bills.

 

Standard Solar Builds
PV Project At College

Standard Solar Inc. has completed an 800 kW solar photovoltaic project for Delaware Technical Community College.

The project involved four sites and 2,645 Motech solar panels in a combination of carport, rooftop and ground-mount arrays. Each installation will provide power to its own site with the exception of the Wilmington carport, which uses aggregate net metering to power two other sites. The arrays are expected to offset approximately 6% of the annual energy needs of the four sites.

Financing for the project was arranged through a long-term power purchase agreement by Urban Grid Holdings LLC.

 

Dragonfly To Develop
Co-op Arrays

Minnesota-based commercial solar developer Dragonfly Solar and SolarWorld have partnered to deliver a 517 kW solar array to four electric utility cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The solar array will be owned and managed by Minnesota-Three, an entity jointly owned by Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services, People’s Energy Cooperative and Tri-County Cooperative - all utility cooperatives whose member-owners have joined forces to curb energy costs. Dairyland Power of La Crosse, Wis., has signed an agreement to purchase the solar array’s renewable energy output.

The solar facility will incorporate over 1,800 of SolarWorld’s panels. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring in Oronoco, Minn. Upon completion, the array will be interconnected to People’s Energy Cooperative’s power delivery system.

The project was funded in part by one of the largest solar photovoltaic grants awarded in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program.

 

Fresco Completes
1,000 V Rooftop PV

California-based Fresco Solar has completed two rooftop photovoltaic installations using components approved for 1,000 V (DC): a 440 kW array on an industrial building in Hayward, Calif., and a 102 kW array on the roof of an office building in San Jose, Calif.

The Hayward solar array has over 1,400 ReneSola 300 W panels on the roof and 15 ABB Power One Trio inverters. It uses over 15,000 feet of 1,000 V PV wire.

Fresco Solar says the availability of small, three-phase 1,000 V (480 V AC) inverters that meet U.S. rules for grid interconnection was the key to the distributed inverter architecture used in both installations.

“This move saves us a lot of labor, wire, connectors and combiners,” says Sean Kenny, CEO of Fresco Solar. “We have already redesigned two projects on the books and are bidding all of our projects based on this new reality.”

 

OnForce Completes
Rooftop Project In Queens

OnForce Solar has completed a 402 kW rooftop solar installation for Price Master Corp. at its corporate office and warehouse distribution center located in Queens, N.Y.

Price Master’s rooftop solar system is expected to generate in excess of 420 MWh of electricity per year. The installation integrates Con Edison’s supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system that allows the utility to remotely monitor and control the system. The SCADA system is part of the Con Edison Smart Grid Deployment Project.

The solar system installation was made possible, in part, through an award that Price Master received from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority through the state’s NY-Sun initiative, as well as a property tax abatement from New York City.

 

NJR To Build 308 kW
Municipal Project In N.J.

New Jersey Resources (NJR) subsidiary NJR Clean Energy Ventures (NJRCEV) plans to build a 308 kW solar installation at the Woolwich Township Municipal Building in Gloucester County, N.J.

The Woolwich solar array will consist of 1,100 ground-mounted solar panels covering 1.4 acres. NJRCEV expects the solar array, which it will own and operate, to produce approximately 414 MWh of electricity annually. The array will provide power to the municipal complex, including the Woolwich Township Police Department.

The township entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement with NJRCEV for the full capacity of energy generated by the system. S