The Rose Hill Landfill photo voltaic website in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc.
Today, any photo voltaic developer with an Web connection and an excellent pc display can, with out even leaving their residence or workplace, simply determine many potential places for photo voltaic improvement: giant, wide-open, comparatively flat, south-facing websites which can be near out there utility-grid interconnection spots.
However what quite a lot of builders have discovered the onerous manner is that with virtually all initiatives, it is sensible to retain an engineering and/or environmental skilled early on to conduct a “crucial concern evaluation” of potential photo voltaic websites earlier than racing forward with improvement. Similar to retaining a house inspector earlier than you shut on the acquisition of a home or apartment, retaining the proper {of professional} early within the course of to conduct an onsite inspection of a photo voltaic website {that a} desktop search suggests as promising can prevent from every kind of grief and wasted expense.
Listed here are 5 examples of issues that may be recognized and averted by supplementing web-based location analysis with in-person skilled evaluation:
1. Inaccurate wetland map designations — each false negatives and false positives.
Whereas photo voltaic builders have many choices to make use of Geographic Info Methods (GIS) and out there state wetland sources for reviewing wetland maps of websites they’re scrutinizing, solely an in-person journey to the positioning by a wetland scientist will assist decide if there are wetland and stream sources on the positioning. Out there wetland maps on-line are notoriously inaccurate and don’t present the entire “image” of present website circumstances. For instance, a visit to the sector could reveal {that a} farmer is providing up a particular space of his farm for photo voltaic initiatives as a result of that’s the place his tractor will get caught within the mud each spring — it’s been a farmed wetland all these years.
2. Trash piles and deserted automobiles/tools.
Relying on the final time a Google Earth satellite tv for pc took an image of a given location and what was rising or not at the moment of 12 months, a visit to the sector could reveal the presence of particles piles at a promising location that may require important time and expense to filter out of the best way earlier than putting in photo voltaic PV tools. That is particularly frequent on giant farms in rural areas removed from vehicle- and trash-recycling amenities. An American Society for Testing and Supplies (ASTM) Section I Environmental Website Evaluation is a crucial first step throughout the due diligence course of.
3. Habitat supporting protected or endangered species.
On-line federal and state sources will determine if the venture could also be within the neighborhood of uncommon and endangered species. Onsite affirmation of appropriate habitat will help decide if further surveys akin to a grassland chook survey could be required. Relying on when a satellite tv for pc picture was made and through what time of 12 months, solely a discipline go to could reveal whether or not what appeared like an deserted farm discipline or hayfield now has successional habitat with small timber and shrubs and different vegetation which may be offering residence to birds, turtles, snakes and different wildlife which can be protected species, limiting or stopping improvement of the positioning for photo voltaic PV.
4. Website accessibility.
Certain, it might look from the aerial photos that there’s a wide-open grime highway that reaches the proposed photo voltaic array location … however is the entry on the identical property? How muddy or rocky or impassable does it get? Is there unimpeded entry from a public freeway to the positioning?
5. Lastly, are there zoning restrictions or particular allow necessities that will prohibit or prohibit using a website for photo voltaic improvement?
There could even be an outright moratorium on photo voltaic set up in a city or village due to native backlash in opposition to conversion of farmland to photo voltaic PV or removing of timber and vegetation to create “open fields” for photo voltaic. Significantly in smaller cities, zoning, allow and moratorium info will not be readily posted and findable on-line. Partaking an professional who is aware of their manner across the native City Corridor, has connections with native officers and generally can present perception into the area people politics round photo voltaic can fill in blanks you’ll be able to’t discover looking round on-line.
The adage that point is cash is a minimum of as true of photo voltaic improvement as it’s anything. Partaking an environmental or engineering guide early within the planning phases and evaluating crucial problems with a promising photo voltaic website can save time, cash and hassles by figuring out challenges — and even project-threatening obstacles.
GZA Senior Venture Supervisor Benjamin Haith, PG, has over 20 years of expertise with environmental due diligence investigations and website environmental characterization in upstate New York and the mid-Atlantic. Senior Venture Supervisor Julia Braunmueller, PWS, has spent 13 years in environmental engineering in initiatives throughout the northeast. Venture Supervisor Adrienne Dunk, WPIT, has labored on ecological companies initiatives throughout New York, New England, and New Jersey for over a decade. Assistant Venture Supervisor Rachel Radicello, CPESC has six years of expertise within the environmental science discipline.
