A 50MW alternating current solar project has recently been completed in Indiana near Troy. The company that completed its construction, Burns & McDonnell, announced that the 50-megawatt alternating current/65-megawatt direct current project has marked another step toward the utility’s goal of reducing operational emissions by 70% by 2035 based on its emissions in 2005. The solar farm consists of nearly 150,000 solar modules. Each of the modules has been mounted on a NEXTracker single-axis tracker. The company worked with local subcontractors and building trades to assist with onsite labor efforts, this also promoted job growth in the region during a difficult economic downturn as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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After CenterPoint Energy’s original EPC contractor exited the market, Burns & McDonnell was hired and they have served as the project’s current owner’s engineer, to provide engineering, detailed electrical, civil and structural design, procurement specifications, and construction execution services. Burns & McDonnell used an AZCO, part of its family of companies for construction which allowed for consistency and effective communication across every phase of the project. They made it clear that safety remained a top priority every step of the way. There were more than 164,000 safe work hours logged, zero days away, and zero lost-time incidents.
The solar plant is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 12,000 households per year. “The client is very excited to have this solar project up and running,” said the senior vice president of renewables at Burns & McDonnell, Doug Riedel. “The client realizes the challenges the team faced going through construction, the COVID-19 pandemic, and adverse weather and is thrilled with the finished project.”
“Our ability to self-perform the construction of this job was vital to helping CenterPoint Energy diversify its generation portfolio as this project had a lot of moving parts, which, when paired with a pandemic, further complicated things. Our integrated team was able to successfully solve challenges as they arose.” stated the director of solar EPC at Burns & McDonnell, Chad Cotter.
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