Tucson Electric Power (TEP) worked with Solar FlexRack to engineer a community solar project in in Tucson, Arizona. The new array will supply power for the TEP GoSolar Home program, which provides a renewable energy option for renters and homeowners, including those whose rooftops are shaded by trees or nearby buildings. Participants can buy clean solar energy without installation or equipment maintenance costs.
TEP’s 15-MW Raptor Ridge solar array was commissioned this month at a 100-acre site with Solar FlexRack’s single-axis trackers to support 35,500 bifacial modules.
Jeff Krauss, TEP’s Manager of Community Scale Renewable Resources, says they selected Solar FlexRack for their engineering expertise and the minimal backside shading of their solar tracker design, which is well suited for bifacial modules.
“In a challenging market environment where supply chain issues have delayed other large solar projects, Solar FlexRack demonstrated their commitment to customer service by honoring agreements and delivering product on time,” Krauss says.
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, nearly 50 percent of households and businesses are not able to host rooftop solar systems. For reasons such as this, the U.S. community solar market continues to grow and enable greater access to solar energy, with expectations that it will add more than 4.5 GW of total capacity over the next five years.
“We are pleased to have been selected by Tucson Electric Power to participate in this benchmark project,” said Mike Herman, Director of Operations at Solar FlexRack. “We look forward to providing our engineering expertise and reliable and time-tested trackers in additional impactful community solar projects in 2022 and the years to come.”
Tags: Community Solar, Solar FlexRack, utility-scale
