Completed in December 2020, the 61-MWdc solar farm is built on 180 acres of igneous rock in the 2,200-acre Reno Technology Park. The master-planned industrial park is shared between Apple and Turquoise Solar, which own 1,600 and 600 acres of it, respectively. Crews installed 156,000 solar modules, 6,700 solar racks, 26,704 legs and 28,305 drilled holes and ground screws.

Photo courtesy of McCarthy Building Cos.

The most defining characteristic of the project, and also its most challenging aspect, was the site’s topography and terrain. The solar farm sits on a hillside with slopes as steep as 30 degrees, and the terrain was covered with rock, above and below the surface, making it a challenge to install panels. Steep topography also created a sliding risk for the equipment, so the contractor incorporated a proprietary fixed-tilt racking solution and ground-screw technology developed especially for tough soils. 

Photo courtesy of McCarthy Building Cos.

One of the key processes that contributed to the high level of quality and craftsmanship on the project was the implementation of McCarthy’s Golden Row procedure. It consists of installing a comprehensive mock-up of the different racking configurations before proceeding to full production. The mock-ups included all electrical wiring and equipment as well as the actual solar panels. Getting the Golden Row modules in place allowed the team to practice and perfect its installation procedures as well as fine-tune procurement of the electrical wiring before it was needed on site. To safely route the large volume of water coming through the solar field from the nearby mountains, the team built multiple channels using rock harvested from the site rather than importing more expensive rip-rap. 

Photo courtesy of McCarthy Building Cos.

The project site is a short distance from Reno, which allowed 80% of the construction workforce to be locally sourced, but many of the workers had no experience with utility-scale solar installations, so special training programs were implemented. Following completion of the project, many of the workers moved on to work on two other large-scale photovoltaic plants in the same county.