Successful solar projects benefit from intentional design with a core focus on reliability, availability, and maintainability.

Conceptual Design

  • Site & Layout

    • Preliminary boundary & wetland delineation

    • Topography guidance

    • Preliminary DC capacity

    • Interconnection delivery limit (upper & lower confidence)

  • PV & Electrical

    • Generic 8760 (upper & lower confidence)

    • Generic specific yield (upper & lower confidence)

    • Generic DC/AC ratio

    • Allocation for transformer & line losses

    • Publicly available weather assumption

    • Generic Major Equipment (currently available and/or new technology)

    • PVSyst, PlantPredict, Helioscope

    • Behind-the-meter net metering system sizing

  • Energy Storage Systems

    • Pairing storage systems with wind and/or solar facilities

    • Dispatch modeling (assumed or client-provided ramp rates and round trip efficiency)

      • TMY or multi-year analysis

    • Arbitrage (TOD shifting) and/or peak shaving (follow TOU schedule)

    • Grid charging (HV), AC charging (MV), DC charging

    • Model POI limits & the loss or sale of power as voltage support, reactive power, and/or power factor support

    • Behind-the-meter optimal battery sizing analysis

      • Historic use (utility interval data)

      • Rate schedule assessment (and potential change)

      • Peak (kW) shaving and price shifting (kWh TOU)

      • Revenue modeling

  • Financial

    • Financial modeling guidance

 20% - 50% Design

  • PV & Electrical

    • Equipment vetting (modules, inverters, trackers)

    • Module electrical parameter optimization

    • Inverter electrical parameter optimization

    • Tracker configuration & parameter optimization

    • String size selection

    • Optimal row spacing (tracking & fixed tilt)

    • Optimal fixed-tilt angle

    • Bifacial module modeling

    • Module & row layout

    • Optimal wire/cable size & losses

    • Horizon Shading

    • Near shading losses

    • Client guided soiling loss

    • Module electrical losses

    • Client guided grading & post height design

    • Behind-the-meter net metering losses

    • Coupled energy storage system

  • Financial

    • Detailed guidance

    • Module & kWh degradation

    • Optimal DC and AC overbuild

    • Equipment selection

    • O&M cost

 IFC & As-BUilt Design

  • PV & Electrical

    • Final PVSyst model

    • DC capacity documentation

    • Site visits & drawing review

    • Commissioning test review & inspections

    • Labeling

Independent Engineer Review

  • Resource review

  • Equipment selection

  • PVSyst model review/creation

  • Financial model review

  • Critical project document review

  • Schedule review

  • Site walkdown reporting (any stage)