Going Green for a Digital Future in Southern Tennessee
April 21, 2021
Elora, Tennessee — Tennessee is known for many things—its bourbon, BBQ, Goo Goo Clusters, Moon Pies, Graceland and the Grand Ole Opry—but one thing it’s not, is solar power.
Until now.
Near a small farming town in southern Tennessee, Ulteig designed and engineered what may be the largest solar power center in the state. Located on more than 1,700 acres near the Tennessee-Alabama border, this new 150MW AC solar farm will interconnect with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) existing electrical grid. The TVA, under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) will sell most of the output to Facebook, which built a $750 million data center located in nearby Huntsville, Alabama.
Built with 508,147 Trina and BYD-brand solar panels, the solar farm will help create more economic diversity in the region by attempting to attract high-tech companies to this largely agricultural region of the state.
Building a Strong Partnership
The solar farm construction project was awarded to Wanzek Construction, Inc. in early 2020. Shortly after, Ulteig joined the extended Wanzek project team to help optimize the preliminary project design and equipment to be selected for the project. Construction (as of January 2021) is currently underway with the project expected to be complete by October 2021.
Over the years, Ulteig and Wanzek have partnered on several wind energy projects throughout the country but the solar farm near Elora represents the first time the two companies worked together on a solar project, according to Andrew Melvin, technical manager for Ulteig’s Solar Engineering team.
“We have a strong working relationship with Wanzek,” said Melvin. “Our years of working together on wind energy allowed for an easy transition to this project.”
Optimizing for Reduced Costs; Higher Performance
In designing the solar energy farm near Elora, Ulteig engineers were challenged with optimizing project plans to reduce costs while maintaining or increasing the solar farm’s productivity. Fortunately, the engineers realized early on that they had a decent plot of land with which to work. While there are some wetlands nearby, the solar park is being built on a relatively flat, well-draining plot not located within a flood plain. Still, Ulteig engineers designed the solar park to withstand a 100-year flood event.
“Ulteig’s recommendations will save tens of thousands of dollars in building construction and maintenance costs over the long run,” said Melvin, “while reducing the break-even point for the owner/developer by years.”
Ulteig supports the development, performance and design of medium to large, grid-connected, solar electric projects including the C&I Distributed Generation and Utility scale markets. In addition to medium voltage collection systems, substation, SCADA, transmission, civil and GIS services, we also specialize in performance evaluation and plant design including DC collections and pile design. To learn more about Ulteig’s solar power services and expertise, download our Solar one-pager.
WHAT MAKES ULTEIG DIFFERENT?
From global energy producers to locally funded cities and private developers to government agencies, the clients we serve encompass a broad range of relationships and projects. Find out why Ulteig is a leader in the engineering industry.
Contact Us
