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Landfill Solar:How to Mount on Moving
Ground and Take PartIn a Growing Trend
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This webinar will be available afterwards at www.solarpowerworldonline.com & email
Q&A at the end of the presentation
Hashtag for this webinar: #SolarWebinar
Before We Start
Steven Bushong
Solar Power World
Moderator Presenters
Andrew Barron Worden
GameChange Racking
Steve RaederSunEdison
Mark GiesPanelClaw
Solar Power World Landfill Solar Development Webinar 03/27/14
Presenter:
Andrew Barron Worden – CEO & Founder, GameChange Racking
GameChange Landfill Experience
About GameChange Racking
GameChange Racking LLC designs and manufactures innovative solar racking systems which combine fast installation, quality, and unbeatable value for ground, rooftop and carport applications
Municipal Solid Waste Landfill 1.2 MW, GC Ballasted Paver System
Hartford CT
DuPont Superfund Site 500 KW GC Ballasted Paver System
Northern DE
Delaware Peninsula Brownfield Site 2 MW, GC Paver Ballasted System
Wilmington DE
Typical Landfill Diagram
Clay Bottom :LayerLeachate Containment Layer
Trash Layer
HPDE Geomembrane LayerSand Layer
Soil LayerVegetative CoverVents
• Repurposing: creating value from valueless land
• Regulatory incentives for developers such as higher SRECs in Massachusetts
• Municipalities eager to pursue projects with developers since they receive revenues from leasing landfills
Landfill Solar Development Opportunities
Installed GameChange ground mount system
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Topography
• Flat landfill caps optimal for cost effective installation
• Steep slopes on edges of landfill present installation and maintenance challenges and are often excluded from layout design
GameChange Pour-in-Place™ 6.24 MW system, Brimfield MA
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Settlement Issues• Type of landfill must be taken into
consideration (contaminated soil/coal ash which compacts well vs. Municipal Solid Waste which often has settlement issues)
• Age of landfill and date of capping• Gas generation; decomposition causes gas
release, which results in the cap dropping• Racking with robust rails essential for
protecting panels from damage resulting from settlement
Robust GameChange rails essential for protecting panels form settlement issues
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Cap Weight Limitations• Typically for membrane caps 7 PSI max
allowed for temporary loads and 3.5 PSI for permanent loads
• Higher loads typically allowed for brownfields
• Large ballast required for racks• Use of tracked vehicles for installation• Lay down area needs to be off the cap Elephant trunk on bobcat for concrete pouring on
sensitive landfill caps or for small inter-row spacing
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Vegetation
• Grass is often required • Racking must have a high ground
clearance to allow for vegetation maintenance
• Vegetation must be restored at completion of installation for cosmetics and stabilization
24 to 36 inch ground clearance under GameChange racks enables easy vegetation maintenance
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Stormwater Management• Swales and ponds must be installed and
maintained as required by local regulators
• Vegetation or other stabilization must be installed and maintained as required by local regulators
• Inverter pad and access roads cause stormwater diversion which needs to be factored into design
Installed GameChange ground mount system
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Operations & Maintenance• Both the solar system owner and the landlord for
the landfill have obligations for operations and maintenance
• Solar system owner needs to constantly monitor array for any settlement damages to membrane and ensure it falls within acceptable design parameters for the racking and other system components
• Any settlement of cap resulting in racking beginning to settle must be rectified immediately by elevating sinking foundations or making other adjustments
• Vegetation and storm water management maintenance
GameChange Paver Ballasted Ground System: high ground clearance for easy maintenance
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Regulatory Requirements• Municipal projects typically require long RFP
process and competitive pricing • State environmental authorities typically require
closure permits allowing for solar• Local and other permits required such as concom,
building department, electrical• Landfills often require highly qualified, typically
prevailing wage labor at higher labor rates• Some landfills have multiple interested parties in
addition to landlord such as previous operators (such as waste management company that may want to do additional dumping in landfill and need to be coordinated with going forward)
GameChange Pour-in-Place™ 6.24 MW system, Brimfield MA
Landfill Solar Challenges:
Project Economics• Landfill solar systems cost $.50/w more than
typical ground mount systems• Higher cost mostly due to over ground cable trays,
racking and installing a more labor-intensive system
• Overall system cost for landfills must drop from current typical level of $3/w to $2/w to enable superior economics for developers
• Fast installing racking system key to controlling typically prevailing wage labor costs
• Racking system cost must be $.20/w vs. $.35/w currently
Save on system and install costs by using GameChange ground mount systems which pour concrete on site vs. expensive precast
We Said:
Let’s Make PV Racking Simple
Less Parts, Less Cost, Faster Install
And Then We Did It …
Specifically for Landfill Ballasted Ground Applications:
We realized we had to utilize cost-effective locally-sourced concrete or pavers to reduce cost
We realized that installation had to be twice as fast as with current offerings
GameChange Racking Mission Statement
• Self leveling technology: 68% faster install than precast
• Large ballast footprint reduces landfill cap loading
• Fast top down panel attachment to aluminum rails using t-bolts into slots and top mount clamps
• Leave-behind patent-pending recycled HMWPE plastic Pour-in-Place™ forms
• Wind Tunnel tested• Available in both 1 and 2 panels up
portrait
Excellence in Product Innovation:
GC Pour-in-Place™ Ballasted Ground System
1. Place racking supports into Pour-in- PlaceTM forms
2. Aluminum rails simply bolt onto supports, enable 7” vertical adjustability
3. Integrated wire management tray on robust rails
4. Panels rapidly mount using T-bolts and top mount clamps
• Large ballast footprint reduces landfill cap loading
• Standard inexpensive 74 pound pavers stack on ballast trays
• Fast top down panel attachment to aluminum rails using t-bolts into slots and top mount clamps
• Tilt adjustability when mounting tubes to pans to accommodate uneven ground
• Wind tunnel tested
Excellence in Product Innovation:
GC Paver Ballasted Ground System
3. Integrated wire management tray on robust rails
4. Panels rapidly mount using T-bolts and top mount
1. Standard pavers placed on tray 2. Aluminum rails mount quickly
Get on board with GameChange Racking Let’s change the game for solar
www.gamechangeracking.com
[email protected] 212-359-0205
Mounting System Flexibility
REQUIRED FOR SOLAR ON
LANDFILLS
TitleBallasted
Adjustable
Water flow
Load distributionAccess
Tilt angles
PanelClaw Panda Bear® Ground Mount System
Settlement and Compressive Strength
• Difficult to predict
• Localized
• Several feet
• Impacts structural integrity and energy generation
Differential (Localized) Settlement
*Geosyntec 2011 Report
Best practicesConsider mounting systems that can respond to differential settlement occurrences
Minimize weight (distributed loads)
Allow for raising or lowering of the array height
Flexible and strategic array placement
Slope and Stability
Challenges• Domed caps
• Water flow and erosion control
• Impacts to energy production
• Sliding and downward forces
Slope and Stability
Slopes and Domed Caps
Slope and Stability
Slopes and Domed Caps
Slope and Stability
Best practicesSelection of tilt angles
Component-to-component adjustability
Non rail-based systems
Distributed load
Know your limits – Perform interface friction testing
Slope and Stability
Caps and what’s below?
Challenges
• Obstacles
• Underground objects
• Cap liners (cannot penetrate)
• Weight restrictions
Caps and what’s below?
Best practices
Single module layout flexibility
Ballast-only foundation
Distributed weight
Caps and what’s below?
Construction
Challenges• Road access
• Heavy equipment
Construction
Best practices
Design flexibility
Minimal ground prep
Minimize heavy equipment
Ready to install: No on-site metal cutting or drilling, pre-assembled components
Construction
TitleBallasted
Adjustable
Water flow
Load distributionAccess
Tilt angles
PanelClaw Panda Bear® Ground Mount System
Thank You
Solar Power World Webinar March 27, 2014
Landfills = Optimal Host Sites for PV
Development
• Transforms liability into revenue stream (high level of public acceptance)
• Limited development options (PV = “best & highest” use)• Often located near existing distribution infrastructure• Often located near population density (i.e. load)• Most landfill caps have portion of acreage w/ minimal grade (i.e.
under 3%)• Job creation • Ideal in market with VNM / RNM programs• More than 11,000 sites comprising more than 15 million acres
across the US *
*EPA Feb. 2013 “Best Practices for Siting Solar Photovoltaics on Municipal Solid Waste Landfills”
Landfill Development not without Challenges
• Environmental Permitting: Post Closure Use Permit, EPA Storm Water Permit, National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) in addition to numerous state level permits.
• Liability: increased insurance requirements (e.g. pollution), enhanced developer indemnification sought (based on work plan); cap penetration
• Settlement: ideal sites have been capped for 10 or more years
• Design Standards: storm water mgmt (flow of storm water over cap); vegetation cover (prevent erosion); ballasted racking preferable; cap penetration concerns paramount
• Financing: tax equity = conservative. However, TE plays a lesser role in new financing structures allowing for increased risk tolerance.
Landfill PV – Basic Design
Clay Bottom :LayerLeachate Containment Layer
Trash Layer
HPDE Geomembrane Layer Sand LayerSoil Layer
Vegetative CoverVents
• The Sullivan’s Ledge Solar Project is a 1.75 MWDC solar photovoltaic (“PV”) project in New Bedford, MA located on a former CERCLIS-listed (Superfund), city-owned landfill.
• SunEd and its partner, BlueWave Capital, are reclaiming the Brownfield site for renewable energy production and helping New Bedford realize nearly $3 million in energy savings over contractual term. 1.75 MWDC PV SYSTEM AT SULLIVAN’S LEDGE REMEDIATED
BROWNFIELD
Source: www.neeinc.com
Case Study: Sullivan’s Ledge Superfund Site
Case Study: Fresh Kills • SunEd partnered with NYC to build 8 MWac (45 acres) across two distinct
sites – “Arthur Kills” and the “East” site (capped landfill)• FK = largest brownfield to parkland conversion in US• 2,220 contiguous acres located in NY’s load zone “J”• COD target early 2016• Arduous Public Approvals process: CEQR, ULURP, PCMMO etc.
Fresh Kills cont…• Net Metering Credits to be sold to orgs located within the 5 boroughs
(electricity savings)• Approx. 14,259,000 kWh produced per annum • Approx. $3mm in NMC’s generated per annum (*based on today’s NMC
tariff rate)• Parkland will surround site
Questions?Steven BushongSolar Power [email protected]: 440.234.4531Twitter: @WTWH_Renewables
Steve [email protected]: 443.909.7200
Mark [email protected]: @PanelClaw
Andrew Barron WordenGameChange [email protected]
This webinar will be available at www.solarpowerworldonline.com & email
Tweet with hashtag #SolarWebinar
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Thank You