This presentation will explore an emerging new strategy where communities can transform previously unusable land into productive solar power plants to generate clean electricity, while preserving the topsoil and avoiding grading. Greg Wolfson, VP of Business Development at Nevados, will describe what Nevados has learned about building solar on challenging sites in 10 years of developing all-terrain solar trackers, and 1.4 gigawatts of projects with no need for expensive and destructive grading. Such trackers adapt to the land, avoiding erosion and runoff, and helping win community acceptance. He will discuss the case study of a former “unbuildable” coal mine waste site with 30% slopes, acidic and rocky soil, and continuous conservation oversight. Even sites prone to differential settlement — uneven ground shifting over time — are viable for solar development using this new technology. The project overcame extreme challenges with significant savings on labor as well as grading. Attendees will gain insights into addressing the national decline in available large-scale solar sites, while preserving a key strategy for climate change mitigation.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees will:
Identify how brownfields sites can be repurposed for renewable energy projects, supporting the continued growth of solar energy as a climate mitigation strategy.
Understand the environmental and economic benefits of using all-terrain solar trackers to adapt to rolling and challenging sites, eliminating grading and preserving topsoil and natural ecosystems during redevelopment.
Maximize project success by leveraging secondary benefits of minimal grading such as reduced erosion, topsoil preserved for future generations, enhanced community acceptance, and faster permitting.
.jpg)
