Aqua America
Aqua America, a water treatment company, now has the second largest solar power farm in the state. Aqua then sells the power they generate from the solar panels back to PECO. By using solar panels to generate energy, 3,000 barrels of oil will be saved and 1.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide will be reduced per year. Although the initial investment is costly, the long term rewards will more than pay for themselves over the course of time.
It is unusual for Keares Electrical to tackle a project type that they have not done before, but that was the case when Conergy Projects, Inc. awarded us the Aqua- Ingrams Mill Solar Farm. We had begun to hear the trend of installing solar panel to derive energy sources to feed power plants and mills, but had not been awarded one up until this past year. We were excited for the challenge that awaited and spent numerous hours studying the blueprints and specifications to become knowledgeable in this area.
The project began in late October and had to be complete by the end of December in order for Aqua to receive $1 million in government grants. With an extremely fast paced schedule, Keares Electric quickly assembled a team dedicated to meeting the deadline. This was one of the few projects that boast (02) Keares Electric project managers and a foreman. Long days and weekends were a must in order to keep pace. We had (07) storage trailers on site to hold all 4,800 solar panels and misc. material. We had (02) backhoes, (02) gators, and (01) forklift on site to assist in the everyday activities. We even had a crew in our warehouse pre-fabricating the combiner boxes, so when they were delivered to the site, they were ready to install. Pre- fabricating these in our ware- house saved numerous man hours because we did not have the weather climate to deal with when rain or snow was expected.
Like all construction projects, we ran into many obstacles along the way, and handled each one as it came. Probably the most difficult was the 18” of snow that came with 3 weeks left in the project. 98% of the work for this project was outside and exposed to all weather conditions, which was difficult when high winds, rain, and snow were in the forecast. Walking in the snow and mud was a battle, especially while carrying a 3’ x 4’ solar panel that had to be in- stalled over head. These were the site conditions the last month of the project. Along with the installation of solar panels, we were also contracted to install (02) utility transformers, (02) station load transformers and panels, (02) inverters, and (02) combiner boxes. This work included constructing the con- crete slab for each one and set- ting it in place. Then, they added a lightning protection system for their utility sheds/inverter shelters, which we completed in less than a day with the assistance of Lightning Prevention Systems. With over 10,000’ of trenching/backfill, 7,000’ of cable tray installation, and 4,800 solar pan- els later we had a 1.1 megawatt solar farm to showcase. Aqua America has received a lot of praise and attention for their positive attributes to the environment regarding this project, and the positive long term affect it will have on the planet. The ground-breaking/ribbon-cutting ceremony was televised and was covered in many newspapers.
Like most ribbon-cutting ceremonies, there were some prominent names on hand. U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, R-16th, made an appearance and delivered a speech praising Aqua for “setting a wonderful example of a good corporate citizen.” State Sen. Andy Dinniman, R-19th, was also in attendance, along with a number of township and county officials. Gov. Ed Rendell made a visit to the site in the latter days of construction to show his sup- port. With all of the attention this project was getting, it was especially important to remain focused and on track and not get caught up in all of the publicity. We are proud to say that will all of the factors and conditions we faced, and strict safety requirements from Aqua, not one person missed any work time due to injury. We look for- ward to our next solar project and an opportunity to exceed customer expectations, while improving the environment at the same time.
