The recently commissioned 170 MWDC The Bartonsville Energy Facility solar project has been praised by Virignia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as a model of environmental stewardship. This array was able to avoid environmentally disruptive grading of rural areas and use less steel at the structural level Nevados‘ All Terrain Tracker, a single-axis solar tracker.
Terrain-tracking solar trackers await commissioning at the Bartonsville Energy Facility, a 170 MW solar farm near Winchester, Virginia. Nevados
The Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards, an annual program administered by the DEQ in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, has recognized Bartonsville Energy Facility partners – MYR Energy Services, DE Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) and Nevados – as Gold medalists in the Environmental and Sustainable Projects Category.
This award recognizes initiatives that exceed regulatory requirements to improve the environment and promote sustainability. The Nevados All Terrain Tracker features adaptive pivoting bearings that allow it to track existing terrain over slope changes of up to 26% on any foundation. It is designed to eliminate or reduce the need for grading, simplify stormwater management and reduce the scope of permits. To date, Nevados has successfully completed all of its projects without requiring any review for the trackers, the company said in a press release.
“Our All Terrain Tracker represents a significant advancement in solar energy development, allowing us to use solar energy without disrupting the natural landscape,” said Yezin Taha, CEO of Nevados. “By adapting to the terrain, our technology eliminates the need for grading, preserving the land.”
The Bartonsville Energy Facility is located in the northern tip of Virginia, near Winchester. An independent analysis by civil consultancy Sierra Overhead Analytics reported that the Nevados All Terrain Tracker eliminated the need to move more than 400,000 cubic meters of soil there, equivalent to 123 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The avoided earthmoving and steel saved the Bartonsville project about $2.5 million each, for a combined savings of $5 million, according to Nevados.
News item from Nevados