Hoyle Tanner is providing civil engineering design and permitting services for over 25 solar farm development sites throughout Maine. These farms contain ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) modules and generate enough power for thousands of homes per year. Each development includes the infrastructure needed to support the PV system, including access roadways, drainage, fencing, and electrical utilities.
In Waterboro, Maine, one site has more than 15,000 modules situated on 20 acres of previously undeveloped land. The modules are attached in a five-high, five-wide configuration to galvanized steel racking systems known as tables. Each table faces south with a 20-degree fixed tilt towards the sun and is anchored with six-foot-deep ground screws. At this site, the solar modules are bifacial which means they have absorbing cells on both sides of the panels. This allows for reflected light off grass or snow to be captured on the bottom side of the panels and provides 15% more efficiency with the overall system output. The modules capture the sun’s energy and produce a DC electrical current which is then inverted to AC power and stepped up through transformers before entering the local utility grid. Once the electricity hits the grid, it travels down the powerlines making its way to commercial, industrial, and residential neighborhoods. The Waterboro solar farm is 7.5MWdc, enough electricity to power roughly 3,000 homes at peak output.
Our team continues to assist clients in their mission to reduce carbon footprints by utilizing a clean source of power. Contact Shawn Tobey for more information on how we can assist.
