Commercial
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Solar Projects
Almeric L. Christian Federal Building and Courthouse St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Helios Energy, in partnership with Schneider Electric, implemented a 497-kW ground mount solar PV system. The installation was part of an agency-wide initiative to expand energy efficiency and clean energy production measures at sites within the U.S.V.I.
Challenge
Design a value-engineered ground-mount solution for the GSA.
- Need 1: Meet hurricane wind standards of 180 mph for all solutions, the first system to do so in the USVI
- Need 2: Meet megawatt-hour production goals
- Need 3: Removal and rebuild of a previously failed system and integration with existing active loads with minimal interruption
- Need 4: Complete installation during the COVID-19 pandemic when global supply chain issues and labor shortages presented unique, unprecedented challenges
Scope of Project
- Size of Project: 497 kW DC ground mount solar PV
- Annual Energy Produced: 687 MWh/year (design) although initial yields are 8% above target
- Panels Used: LG Chem 395W high uplift strength, mono-silicon modules
- Inverters: 8 x 60kW Yaskawa Solectria string inverters
- Application: Supply the daytime energy load for Federal Courthouse buildings on the property, while offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions achieving “net Zero” energy
- Time to Build: 9 months, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the global supply chain, and transportation crisis
Result
- When exploring partners to design, build, and employ the 497kW DC solar system, Schneider Electric sought out previous partners with experience in the Caribbean. Further, with a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and tenured solar PV expertise, a partnership with Helios Energy™ became the logical next step.
- The Helios Energy™ Team is grateful to be delivering the solar PV solution to the deserving St. Croix community.
- Helios is also proud to have partnered with local Virgin Island subcontractors and to have injected over 90% of the labor budget back into the local economy while creating clean energy jobs.
The Helios Energy™ Impact
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) was seeking to substantially reduce energy consumption and add clean, solar energy production for the Almeric L. Christian Federal Building and Courthouse, government properties located in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Key to the success of this initiative was a value-engineered 497 kW DC system, comprised of ground-mount solar PV, engineered and constructed by the Helios Energy™ Team in partnership with Schneider Electric. Further, the successful execution of this project during the COVID-19 pandemic, historic global supply shortages, and unprecedented global transportation crisis exemplified Helios’ ability to creatively find solutions to substantial challenges. Despite these challenges, Helios and our key construction partners, Eleven Construction and ATEC BVI, commissioned a solar PV system that is exceeding energy production goals.
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