Solar, Wind, and Battery Storage

Our team provided electrical and mechanical engineering, and systems integration services, for several energy conservation measures at the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction in Greenfield, MA.  These conservation measures included providing and specifying energy efficient boilers, installing VFDs on an existing chiller and new AHUs, as well as providing a new shower control system which will control and limit the run time of 24 showers via retrofitted new control valves.  The new shower system will “lock out” after a predetermined set point.

In addition, we were contracted to provide the installation of solar PV canopies, totaling 436 kW DC in the facility’s parking lot. We also provided inverter curtailment, and designed, built, and programmed a custom protective relay panel.  The electrical design included providing power to new site lighting parking lot fixtures, dual car charger stations, as well as miscellaneous outdoor weather-proof receptacles located throughout the parking lot.

This project entailed the full electrical design of a 3.2 MW wind energy facility with the utility interface at 13.2kV. The energy is sold to local manufacturing firms and is net metered through their facilities with excess sold back directly to the grid (PJM) using an ARCOM director. Our design included ground resistors, 15kV switchgear, underground ductbanks, and a fiber optic communications system. Direct transfer trip using RFLs from two (2) PPL-EU substations was also designed. Our team coordinated all the interfaces to the relays and switchgear and all control wiring for breaker position, including kw/hr. monitoring, DTT, etc. We assisted in procurement and coordination of telemetry services required for PPL-EU DTT. In addition, the SCADA system is tied in with the existing LFGTE facility. We also designed, built, and programmed the required SCADA systems and the ARCOM director.

This project entailed the full electrical design of a 2.5 MW wind energy facility with the utility interface at 12.47kV. The energy is sold directly back to the local utility, Alliant Energy. Clipper Wind, whose manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids is located adjacent to a college, teamed up with the college to provide the students with a technical training facility for wind turbine construction. The design included 15kV switchgear, underground ductbanks, and a fiber optic communications system. Our team coordinated all of the control interfaces between the intertie relay, 15kV switchgear and turbine, including breaker position, kW/hr monitoring, utility status, etc. The Clipper Wind SCADA system can be accessed remotely by the college’s Industrial Technologies Facility by way of a fiber optic link.

Located within PPL service territory, this 3.5 MW AC solar photovoltaic system was installed behind the meter on a 12.47kV bus, and consisted of three (3) separate inverter power stations, two (2) at 1 MW and one (1) at 1.5 MW. We provided professional engineering services for utility coordination, switchgear design assistance, and AC/DC design review and stamp for permitting. In addition, we coordinated PPL remote RTU communications, remote trips, and switchgear status requirements with PPL and the switchgear manufacturer, and provided five (5) control panels. Our team also performed a short circuit and protective device coordination study with arc flash hazard analysis on all electrical systems.

We performed full AC and DC electrical engineering design services, including PV layout, behind the meter interconnection, AC distribution, and monitoring and controls for the rooftop PV systems on 10 large scale malls throughout the U.S., totaling approximately 6.6 MW of solar energy. These projects spanned eight different states and eight different utility and city/township requirements. Each mall had multiple interconnections which made the designs unique and challenging.

Located within Jersey Central Power & Light’s (JCP&L) service territory at 34.5kV, this project involved providing the electrical design for a 10 MW DC/8 MW AC interconnection at a solar farm in Flemington, NJ, and handling all coordination with PJM and JCP&L. Our team performed a short circuit and coordination study with arc flash hazard analysis for the AC systems, wrote specifications for NETA testing and relay programming, and provided CADD drawings of all required electrical distribution. We also performed PVWATTS and PVSYS calculations for optimizing solar output, as well as the design of the conduit system for SCADA and FirstEnergy metering communications back to the SCADA systems.