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Advanced technologies and design innovations are creating new opportunities for solar energy, even under the toughest conditions.
In the past, the combination of ridges, rocky ground, persistent frost, undulating topography, steep hills, frigid temperatures and high winds could completely rule out a location. The level of difficulty of construction was too high and the risks too great.
While all of these conditions are still challenges, they are now completely solvable. Terrasmart is a pioneer in end-to-end solutions that transform locations with even the most complex terrain and harshest weather conditions into clean energy sources that maximize production and revenue.
Rating analysis
Assessment analyzes determine every downstream decision for difficult locations, from foundation type to racking design and installation sequence. Manipulation of earthworks through grading and/or cut and fill can prepare a site for construction, but it also increases risks, extends the time required under tight construction schedules, increases costs and creates negative environmental impacts.
Terrasmart’s advanced trackers and engineering methods allow projects to work within the natural landscape, for example using shorter rows and leg extensions to allow for adaptation to undulating topography.
Foundations
Pile foundations are often efficient and cost-effective options in warmer climates and flat terrain, but pose significant failure risks in locations with harsh conditions such as bedrock or persistent freeze/thaw cycles.
Ground screws have increased the ability to build in freezing temperatures and on difficult terrain. They essentially eliminate the risk of failure and protect the integrity of the foundation from frost. Ground screws work hand-in-hand with adaptable racking to generate predictable performance in unpredictable conditions. Terrasmart is a leader in ground screw technology, with US-based, in-house manufacturing and proprietary machinery for efficient and reliable installation.
Installation
Installation efficiency is always important, but when carrying out construction work on complex terrain and in icy conditions, a smooth and fast installation is less likely to occur. Terrasmart’s proprietary ground screw installation machine drives screws quickly and efficiently, keeping projects on schedule even under challenging conditions.
Stretch
Stretching is where technology and reality meet. Terrasmart’s TerraTrak single-axis tracker is uniquely designed to combine with ground screw foundations while meeting demanding structural requirements such as wide slope tolerances and resistance to extreme wind and snow loads. TerraTrak’s telescoping propeller extensions provide best-in-class adjustability in the field, allowing crews to navigate variable slopes without sacrificing accuracy or structural integrity.
TerraTrak’s A-frame structure redirects loads to favorable forces on the ground screws, while screw extensions add versatility in challenging terrain.
Case Study – Rumford, Maine
Terrasmart’s partnership brought environmental and economic value to the
Rumford, Maine community, despite the location checking almost every box on a difficult site condition checklist.
The project was developed and built by Nexamp with Terrasmart as a partner. Here’s how we overcame tough circumstance after tough circumstance:
- To mitigate rocky ground, steep slopes and up to 150 cm frosts, we used more than 5,000 ground screws to create a stable foundation.
- To overcome the significant gradient – up to 20% in some areas – we used 215 tracker rows for customizable racking with built-in flexibility. The rows protected 16,068 double-sided modules. In this case, TerraTrak is designed to allow slope adjustments of 11% E/W and 20% N/S while providing a range of motion of +/- 60 degrees.
- The large 45-inch front panel clearance accommodated the heavy 100 psf snow loads common in Maine. Few single-axis trackers have the structural integrity and flexibility to utilize ground screw foundations while freeing up this front height.
- Terrasmart’s designers worked closely with Nexamp to design an optimal venue layout, integrating multiple tracker row configurations to maximize yield.
- Designing the 2P tracker system to optimize the bifacial technology involved increasing E/W distance between the panels. Although TerraTrak typically has a distance of 0.5 inches between modules on monofacial panels, the team increased this distance to 4.5 inches to ensure that the tracker structure does not block reflected sunlight on the back of the panel.
- Early snow meant harsh winter conditions for the installation. Frozen ground, snowfall and freezing temperatures required extra measures to keep installation crews safe. Terrasmart’s proprietary ground screw installation machine allowed crews to install quickly and minimize time in the elements.
Today, Rumford Solar is an operational 6.5 MW solar farm that benefits from Maine’s Net Energy Billing Tariff Rate program, which provides significant annual electricity cost savings to the City of Rumford, local businesses and municipal organizations. Because TerraTrak’s design allows for custom module mounting brackets, the Rumford team was able to increase overall power. The project is expected to offset more than 12 million pounds of CO22 annual.
The strong partnership with Nexamp flourished despite the difficult weather and terrain conditions, and together we transformed a frozen, rocky, sloping site into an income-generating asset. Providing economic value and clean energy to communities like Rumford, where solar farms previously seemed out of reach, is an example of our mission in action.
Read more about our approach to tackling challenging topography here.
