Solar FlexRack Provides System for N.J. Dairy Farm
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Northern States Metals' Solar FlexRack was put to work on a recently completed solar project in New Jersey, the company reports.
Balford Farms, a dairy product warehouse and distribution facility in Burlington, N.J., had sought to use solar power to help offset its needs for power, which is required to keep its products refrigerated or frozen around the clock.
However, the company discovered there was not enough roof space on their buildings for an adequate installation, and little space on the ground that was not earmarked for future expansion. The only remaining uninterrupted parcel of land on the property was a stormwater detention basin.
Signature Solar LLC, the company chosen to do a roof installation, believed that a solar array could be erected within the basin that would not in any way interfere with its original intent or purpose. At the same time, the solar array’s performance would have to remain unaffected by any natural events within the basin. Signature Solar turned to Solar FlexRack to design a system that met both needs.
Among the criteria the system would have to meet, it would need to:
- have no impact on the surface volume of the basin.
- not subject any electrical components to immersion should the basin overflow.
- meet all applicable wind and snow load requirements.
- not change the design of the basin or damage it in any way.
- remain an economical and cost-effective solution for Balford Farms.
Solar FlexRack responded to the requirements with a custom 2-foot-by-11-foot racking system, which was needed to meet Signature Solar’s electrical design for string sizing. The 64 Solar FlexRacks hold 1,408 Trina solar panels and the array will generate a total of 422.4 KW of power. The posts for the system were also custom-designed by Solar FlexRack to provide adequate height and strength to support the panels, while also having no cumulative effect on the surface area of the basin.
A Solar FlexRack certified installer, Evergreen Solar Services, was chosen to install the Balford Farms solar array.
Among the many challenges that Solar FlexRack field technicians and Evergreen faced during the project were adverse weather conditions. Hurricane Sandy hit less than a week before construction began, and subsequent rain events in the following weeks led to extremely muddy conditions in the basin. Due in part to the pre-assembled, unfolding design of the Solar FlexRack, construction of the Balford Farms solar array was completed very close to the original schedule, the company said.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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