Demand for solar power is running hot, and yet space for solar development is increasingly limited by community opposition and government intervention at the federal, state, and local level. Space is at a premium even where the regulatory environment favors solar, particularly in cities and other urbanized areas. That’s where the creativity factor steps in, as illustrated by the US firm Cultivate Power.
Making Space For Solar Power
“Developing solar on constrained parcels is a growing focus for the industry. It’s becoming more important as competitive land use drives solar onto smaller and smaller parcels,” Cultivate explained in an email to CleanTechnica last week.
The company’s latest project is a case in point. The new Bowes Solar array sits on a 22-acre site in Elgin, Illinois. Situated between two residential subdivisions, the site is further encumbered by high-voltage power lines and train tracks. A wetlands area in one corner offers yet another obstacle to conventional solar development.
The Cultivate team tackled the challenge from several angles. To accommodate the irregular footprint of the site, they divided the installation into two arrays for a combined total of 11 megawatts (DC). By dividing the site in two parts, Cultivate also gained the flexibility needed to accommodate setback requirements and avoid impinging on the wetland…