Editors from the Renewable Energy World network, which includes five print magazines and four websites, selected the winners from among the five finalists in each technology category. “So many cutting-edge projects are announced, funded, constructed and finalized each year, it’s great to take time out and actually recognize the best ones for the way in which they advance the industry,” said one network editor.
To be eligible for an award, a project needs to have been completed in 2010, be in North America and make a significant impact on the entire renewable energy industry. When judging the finalists, network editors considered the innovative technology that was employed as well as the projects’ impact on the industry at large and on the communities in which they were installed.
The award winners were announced and recognized at the Renewable Energy World North America Conference and Expo, in Tampa, Florida.
Solar Project of the Year
When the 48-megawatt (MW) Copper Mountain Solar facility, located in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas went online in December 2010, it became the largest utility-scale PV power plant in the U.S. Construction of the project took less than 1 year and at peak, 350 construction jobs were created.
Engineering, procurement and construction contractor First Solar of Tempe, Ariz., supplied the 775,000 solar panels that were installed on the 380-acre site. During construction, 103,000 steel posts (which hold the brackets that hold the panels) were installed using lasers and GPS technology to ensure the rows of panels (some ~2.5 miles long) were straight.
Power from the project is sold to Pacific Gas & Electric in Northern California under a 20-year contract. California utilities are required to get 33% of their power supply from alternative sources like wind and solar by 2020.
“Safely completing construction on a solar power facility of this magnitude in less than a year is an unprecedented achievement,” said William R. Engelbrecht, Sempra Generation’s vice president of planning and construction in a press release. Engelbrecht accepted the award on behalf of the companies involved.
“This is a massive project, and Sempra Generation’s construction team, working with First Solar, did an outstanding job of meeting our aggressive goal to build the entire project by the end of the year,” he said.
When the 48-megawatt (MW) Copper Mountain Solar facility, located in Boulder City, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas went online in December 2010, it became the largest utility-scale PV power plant in the U.S. Construction of the project took less than 1 year and at peak, 350 construction jobs were created.
Engineering, procurement and construction contractor First Solar of Tempe, Ariz., supplied the 775,000 solar panels that were installed on the 380-acre site. During construction, 103,000 steel posts (which hold the brackets that hold the panels) were installed using lasers and GPS technology to ensure the rows of panels (some ~2.5 miles long) were straight.
Power from the project is sold to Pacific Gas & Electric in Northern California under a 20-year contract. California utilities are required to get 33% of their power supply from alternative sources like wind and solar by 2020.
“Safely completing construction on a solar power facility of this magnitude in less than a year is an unprecedented achievement,” said William R. Engelbrecht, Sempra Generation’s vice president of planning and construction in a press release. Engelbrecht accepted the award on behalf of the companies involved.
“This is a massive project, and Sempra Generation’s construction team, working with First Solar, did an outstanding job of meeting our aggressive goal to build the entire project by the end of the year,” he said.
Source: Renewable Energy World.com
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