Client

Capital Power

Location

Strathmore (Alberta)

Delivery

2021 2022

Contract type

Engineering-procurement-construction

Project

Build a 48-megawatt solar facility. Install 109,200 solar panels, 230 converter boxes and 13 inverters.

Challenges

Deliver the solar facility and related infrastructure on a tight schedule and with a limited labour pool.

Cope with acute supply problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and flooding in British Columbia.

Deal with various ground heights and conditions.

Install the latest solar energy-producing technology sun tracking and bifacial panels to increase efficiency and facility output by up to 25% compared to traditional systems.

Solutions

Adapt the process and schedule to mitigate procurement issues.

Use helical piles hollow steel tubes screwed deeply into the earth to ensure the strength and stability of the new foundations.

Create jobs and hire local labour through various activi- ties, including two job fairs that the Town of Strathmore offered to promote. Some 100 people from the local and surrounding communities showed up.

A solar energy project

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