Building solar on an island presents many complex challenges. These are easily overcome with a partner with deep experience engineering for high winds and tough refusal.

We started the Freeport project with an analysis of the geotechnical report that showcased a large presence of bedrock, limestone, and silt. With these challenging soils present, the team knew immediately that Terrasmart’s ground screws were the best solution to eliminate refusal risk. However, the team did not stop there. With this mix of challenging soils we decided to complete a pull out test on our ground screws to understand tensile and lateral forces along with torque values. Our in-house field team completed 4 pull out tests across the 6.77 MW site. The pull out test resulted in the engineering team selecting the 1425 Terrasmart screws which have a higher strength and thicker threads. The reliable screws paired with pre-drilling and our seasoned field team, resulted in solid foundations that will stand the test of time.

Another challenge commonly faced when building solar in coastal regions, is a high wind load. In this case a wind load of 180 mph was required. With deep experience engineering for island regions, the Terrasmart team knew the best course of action was to complete a tilt study. This involved using co-efficients from ASCE and analyzing different tilt angles to understand the different module pressures. This study ensures we utilize the right tilt to avoid stressing the modules which could result in cracking. Once the tilt study was complete, the engineering team found that a 13-degree tilt was ideal. Pairing that with a smaller 2h x 8w table ensured our racking can withstand the high wind forces.

The Freeport project is another great example of how Terrasmart is making solar possible on any terrain and in any weather.