Ask a Renewable Energy Expert

I am helping a non-profit retirement village to develop a ground mount solar array to reduce electricity costs. Because a large portion of the land is situated on a former landfill (largely construction materials) the solar panel support structure may be more expensive than standard mounts. I am looking at types of ground mount systems available and came across PowerRack by Powerfield Energy (PowerField Energy - Easy & Affordable Solar)   . Does anyone have any experience with this system or any other system that might be suitable for this land? A geotechnical engineering study was done on the property in 2006 and their recommendation was that the land is not suitable for building homes or apartments. 

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Bill Baker
Warm Hearth Village
Blacksburg, VA
bakerw98@live.com
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Hi William,

Thanks so much for sharing this, and my sincerest apologies for the delayed response. I'm adding our incredible PV Division Chair @John Burke, who may be able to provide more insight on this.

Thanks so much for all that you do to empower a sustainable future for all.

Best,

Ella

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Ella Nielsen
Membership & Engagement Director
American Solar Energy Society
Boulder CO
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Hi Bill - 

Another possible option depending on the spot might be trays generally used for flat roof installations.  No need to install racks.  You can add panels in phases easily as you raise money.  You just need to prep the land and possibly manage weeds (if anything grows there)...but might be something to consider.

Dara

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Dara Bortman
Sustainable Solar Systems
Philadelphia PA
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That's a tough one, from different angles (No pun intended).

Collectors close to the ground get dirtier than those with some distance. Rain splatters dirt to kick up, etc... Physical vulnerability increases from mowing out shoots and other low ground kinetic activity (Animals running across them, angle dependent).

Added mass is the only way to "hold down" given an unstable ground structure. And you had better have enough when the high winds come. Wind loadings and its ability to "loosen" things is incredible.

I am guessing that the roofs on the EXISTING home structures are unsuitable? for some reason?... 

I think it will come down to VERY specific circumstances for the location.

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william fitch
Owner
www.WeAreSolar.com
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Original Message:
Sent: 2/6/2024 12:56:00 PM
From: william fitch
Subject: RE: Solar ground mount solutions

That's a tough one, from different angles (No pun intended).

Collectors close to the ground get dirtier than those with some distance. Rain splatters dirt to kick up, etc... Physical vulnerability increases from mowing out shoots and other low ground kinetic activity (Animals running across them, angle dependent).

Added mass is the only way to "hold down" given an unstable ground structure. And you had better have enough when the high winds come. Wind loadings and its ability to "loosen" things is incredible.

I am guessing that the roofs on the EXISTING home structures are unsuitable? for some reason?... 

I think it will come down to VERY specific circumstances for the location.

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william fitch
Owner
www.WeAreSolar.com
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Hi Bill,

I like the PowerField solution as you can use local fill for the ballast and it keeps the modules tilted so they better shed water/snow (although in heavy snows your modules will still be covered). I would strongly advise against any ground-mount system that places the modules horizontal (pointed towards zenith) as this will collect much more soiling and as water pools around the frame lip, pinholes in the edge seal can allow water to seep behind the front side glass and collected between the glass/encapsulant/cells (I can share some pictures of how this can create reliability issues).

Depending on the timeline of your project, the nonprofit program I direct, Equitable Solar Solutions, has a pending donation of modules and mounts. The RBI mounts are free-standing ballasted mounts that were designed to place on old landfills so that the top membrane does not get penetrated. You can contact me at rich@equitablesolarsolutions.org to talk about how your nonprofit could acquire these mounts (and maybe modules that go with them) at an extreme discount.

Best of luck.
Rich Stromberg, vice-chair PV Technical Division at ASES

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Rich Stromberg
ESS Prog Dir / PhD Student
Equitable Solar Solutions / Univ of Alaska Fairbanks
Colorado
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