Shrewsbury Solar Farm

Beginning June 4, 2012 Mass. Electric Construction Co (MEC) crews worked on the installation of a 3.3MW ground mounted solar photovoltaic system in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Working as a subcontractor to Gehrlicher Solar America Corp. (Gehrlicher), MEC crews installed the following:

• 11,880 solar panels
• Racking for RBI ground mount system
• 50 each Shoals combiner boxes
• 5 each 500kW advanced energy inverters
• 15kV ground mounted disconnect switch
• Data Acquisition System (DAS)
• 23,055 LF of underground conduit
• 34,338 LF of feeder cable

At peak, 27 craft electricians installed the duct bank, racking, panels, and set the inverters. As on all projects, there was a strict focus on safety from day one. MEC had key personnel from other solar projects train the electricians to work safely and build a quality product per our high standards.

One key challenge to the project was the uneven landscape. Due to the rolling topography of the site, crews had to pay special attention to squaring and torqueing of the racking system to ensure the panels would align correctly.

The project was completed on time and under budget in September 2012.