Solar Energy System Design, Engineering, and Construction

   

The design and construction of facilities for the generation of electric power from solar resources is a neighborhood that's crammed with much risk and opportunity. The goal of the chapter is very easy it's just to supply a story of all of the legal issues which are encountered within the course of engineering and constructing utility-scale solar power projects so on identify key risk allocations that are commonly utilized in this sector to make the legal framework necessary for a successful solar power project. 

 This overview is written from the attitude of Solar General Contractors Taylorsville UT ; however, this information can also interest design and engineering, construction, operations and maintenance, and financing entities. Further, the lines between owner, contractor, and equipment supplier are often blurred within the solar power industry, as contractors or equipment suppliers increasingly are taking over the role of developer and panel suppliers often perform the duties of the contractor. like any complex negotiated transaction, there's significant value to be won or lost by all parties and therefore the potential for creative legal strategies to reinforce value for all parties. 

  

1. Construction-Related Agreements 

 Critical to the event of any solar power project is the varied agreements a project owner must enter into for: 

Procurement of power generation equipment, like photovoltaic panels, mounting racks, tracker systems, inverters, transformers, and collection systems; 

Construction management services necessary to successfully schedule, coordinate, and oversee the engineering, procurement, and construction of the facility generation equipment and therefore the balance-of-plant facilities; and 

  

Operation and maintenance of the finished facility. 

Construction tasks are combined within one agreement called an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction agreement or EPC agreement. The historic traditional development model for risk allocation is that the design-bid-build method using the EPC agreement, versus the turnkey design-build package agreement which will offer a more palatable risk allocation to the owner. it's also common to possess separate agreements for procurement and installation of world power generation equipment supplemented by a “balance-of-plant” agreement for the development of ancillary facilities. 

  

 As an alternative to the single-entity EPC approach, the project developer may enter into separate agreements with a key equipment supplier, like a panel manufacturer, to secure favorable terms and an immediate relationship with this key project player. If this structure is employed, a key risk area is in matching up delivery, warranty, insurance, and project completion details from the equipment supply agreement with the terms of design, construction, and operation agreements with other contractors. it'll be critical in such cases to coordinate each of those EPC agreements to form sure that they collectively produce an entire project, in which the owner is conscious of risk allocation and any risk gaps which will be held by the owner. 

  

 Depending on the contractual structure, product service warranties, insurance, and other matters could also be addressed within a full-wrap agreement or it could also be addressed in individual agreements. Understanding how these issues impact and interrelate to every other is important for creating a group of coordinated agreements. 

  

2. Design and Engineering Services 

 solar energy projects require a certain design and engineering expertise that's unique to the present sector of the facility generation industry. The designers and engineers must coordinate their services with the structural and electrical designers and engineers performing on the structure to make sure proper integration and scheduling. Historically, relatively few companies designed, engineered, and made solar power generation equipment, PV or thin-film panels, or solar thermal and concentrated solar units. Today there are a variety of manufacturers in each of those areas. 

  

With the expansion and monetization of the industry and therefore the maturation of incentives, new vendors are entering the market regularly. For several years, PV panel prices plummeted as manufacturing capacity increased worldwide. Currently, solar technology provides for various systems, from solar thermal predicament or concentration systems to silicon cell or PV or thin-film generation panels. the requirements and requirements for any particular project, however, are partially dictated by its operating parameters, which are successively dictated by the project’s purpose, energy load, and site. 

  

 For instance, the load tolerance of a rooftop installation could also be different from the load tolerance of a ground-mount installation, and therefore the available mounting options are going to be different also. These and other factors must be considered for correct project design and risk assessment. 

  

 3. Construction and Installation Services 

Solar systems are mostly assembled from some type of predesigned components that are aggregated and are installed to suit the project’s needs. Nonetheless, substantial design and engineering work will typically be required to integrate the chosen system or systems into the prevailing environment, topography, and existing conditions at the project site, including the required interconnection requirements. These design, and related procurement and construction work, can also be performed even by the supplier of the solar equipment and materials under only one or more agreements, also are much often provided by a bit third-party consulting engineer contracting just directly with the owner. 

  

4. Typical Contractual Structure  

For Solar General Contractors Taylorsville UT these are very easy Projects. However, the subsequent example of a contractual structure used for a specific distributed generation solar project illustrates, in a limited way, how a project owner, the material dealers can address certain common concerns. Many of the concepts are discussed in this blog also applied to utility-scale solar projects. 

   

In this example, a project owner wants to put a PV system on its building to supply some of its electrical needs. The owner wants to possess an equivalent entity design, install, test, and commission the system, also as construct the electrical interconnection facilities and ensure a minimum yearly electrical output. The owner also wants to form sure it can enforce any warranties provided by many third-party subcontractors and the suppliers of materials and other equipment and needs liquidated damages for any delays that may affect its business and undermine all of the owner’s expectations regarding the project’s ability to say the tax credits and incentives for the system under state and federal regulations.