Managing Growth - Other Issues

QuickTalk: Beyond Cookie Cutter: Solar Project Design for Local Need

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM PT

Location: 208AB, Level 2, Anaheim Convention Center

QuickTalk Moderator(s)

Mac Keller (he/him/his)

Manager, Resilience
Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA)
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

QuickTalk Panelist(s)

Nayan Bhakta (he/him/his)

Senior Vice President of Preconstruction
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Melissa Cooke

Director, Project Engineering
Nextracker
Fremont, California, United States
Brett Pendleton

Director, Performance & Design
Leeward Renewable Energy
San Francisco, California, United States

The US solar industry is poised for significant growth, nearly tripling in the next five years fueled by plummeting panel prices and IRA legislation. This expansion is pushing utility-scale solar into new geographies, such as the MISO territory, which historically had minimal solar development. As solar projects encounter increasingly complex site conditions, innovative solutions are required to minimize land disturbance, gain community acceptance, and maximize investor returns. This QuickTalk will explore topics including new foundation technology for challenging soil conditions, "terrain-following" tracker construction to avoid earthwork, leveraging data and intelligence in construction processes, adopting "light on land" approaches to minimize site disturbance, and enabling de-commissioning at project end-of-life.