MA
Solar Photovoltaic Panel Installations
Scope/Solutions
The Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative (CVEC) is an electric cooperative comprised of seventeen towns on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard focused on bringing clean, renewable energy to the area. By working together, the municipalities can finance renewable energy projects without burdening individual towns and can structure projects to take advantage of federal and state incentives. SGH assisted electrical contractors and investors for the CVEC projects by evaluating existing roofs to receive solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.
SGH evaluated the capacity of existing roof structures at twenty separate sites to support the proposed PV panels. We evaluated flat roofs for ballasted, non-penetrating, pre-engineered PV systems and sloped roofs for mechanically-attached, penetrating, pre-engineered PV systems. Our work included reviewing available structural drawings for the existing roofs and if drawings were unavailable, we documented the existing structural framing conditions based on field observations.
We assisted CVEC with preliminary feasibility studies of the existing roof structures to support the proposed PV installations and communicated our findings to them. If the proposed work seemed feasible, CVEC engaged the electrical contractor to further develop the PV design and SGH supported this design effort with a more thorough analysis of the roof structure. SGH observed the installation to compare the as-built PV system with the original design and addressed unforeseen field conditions during construction.
The feasibility studies helped CVEC evaluate the costs and benefits of roof strengthening and array adjustments, which allowed them to install the PV arrays as cost effectively as possible.
At the twenty separate sites, CVEC installed solar arrays anticipated to generate a combined 1446 kW of solar power.
Project Summary
2014
Key team members
