Construction of a Solar Farm on a Rolling Terrain: a Case Study.

Power generation in the United States is transitioning from fossil-fuel resources, such as coal, to more environmentally-friendly alternate energy sources. Solar farms provide the opportunity to generate electricity without contributing to global climate change, with no environmentally hazardous emissions, and are unaffected by the fluctuating costs of fuel. A subject construction company has identified the photovoltaic (PV) market as an excellent opportunity to improve one's environmental footprint, and also as a tremendous business opportunity. This construction company recently developed a renewable energy (RE) division that focuses on the creation and maintenance of solar farms. This division was established in 2011 and the company has grown to be the United States' second largest solar energy contractor. A case study will examine one of their first solar farm projects, a 9.4 MW site in Northern California, USA. Current industry trends will be examined, along with the project specifics, challenges encountered, benefits of the project, and lessons learned that can be applied to the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]