Case Study
North County Transit District Sprinter Station Ground Mount System
165
Unisolar 136W Panels Installed
23 kW
Peak System Output
$1 Million
Savings Over Five Years
Ground Mount Strength, Solid Economics
San Diego's North County Transit District put out a request for tenders on a ground mounted solar system robust enough to meet the environmental demands of a SPRINTER rail station. This was part of a feasibility study into utilizing railway right-of-way land for solar power generation.
Detail
Sunterra won the bidding process hands down with a proposal for a military-grade ground mounted solar array. We utilized light gauge, steel-galvanized mount system, and thin-film solar panels robust enough to withstand anything the environment could throw at them, including flying debris, ballast rocks and potential wind- and vibration-damage. We installed accelerometers to monitor the effect sustained train vibrations might have on the system.
“It’s one thing to install a ground mount system in open rural space. Quite another to engineer for the kind of busy environment that a high-traffic transit station presents, with over 450 trains screaming through daily. Site-specific planning is critical, understanding potential damage factors, and engineering for them. We’re proud to say we brought this one in strong and on budget, creating significant power savings for our client.” - Chris Bunas