Randolph Construction Services

Randolph Project: Photovoltaic Charging Structure

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• Project Name: Photovoltaic Charging Structure
• Location: Richland, Washington
• Client: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Contract Value: $1,631,892 (fixed price)

Description:

In March 2010, Randolph Construction Services Inc. won a competitive, fixed-price Design/Build contract for the largest individual net-metered solar array in Washington state. The project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and was executed in strict compliance with the provisions of the Buy American Act.

The project was completed in November 2010. It is projected to produce 175,000 kilowatt hours annually and is currently meeting all performance and design expectations.

The site for the new array was within an existing 50,000 sq. ft. storm water swale located adjacent to the Department of Energy's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory campus. The performance specification required a peak output of 126,000 watts of generating capacity, as well as preservation of existing storm water system functionality. The photovoltaic system components included 528 Solarworld SW240 modules, a Satcon S110 inverter, deck monitoring and ground mount racking systems, and 12 Coulomb electric vehicle charging stations. To support the dual purpose of this area, the photovoltaic panel racking was designed to accommodate flood levels to the full depth of the swale without affecting the solar system performance.

In addition to the solar energy benefits, the project enabled EMSL to meet other Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) goals through placement of 500 tons of high reflective aggregate to improve performance, replacement of the traditional irrigation system with an ultra low–flow drip system, and reuse of the sod that was removed during construction and donated to the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Project Snapshots