It’s no secret that the Inovateus team loves to develop, build and supply solar projects throughout different regions of the U.S. and the world, and we are especially excited when we have a chance to be a part of a major solar system right here in the Midwest. Earlier this week, I headed out to Michigan State University in East Lansing. My mission? To visit the construction site of what SEIA has confirmed will soon become the largest-known solar carport system in the United States.
In case you missed the news, here’s the summary. With help from our general contractor partner Selge Construction and subcons Harvest Energy Solutions and Parkway Electrical, Inovateus is developing and managing the deployment of a 13.49 MWDC (10.53 MWAC) solar carport system, which spans five parking lots throughout the campus. The canopies stand more than 14 feet tall at their lowest point, providing enough room for recreational vehicles to park during football season. The PV ports collectively occupy more than 700,000 square feet and will generate about 15,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually for the university, contributing to its goal of 100% renewable energy-enabled sustainability. Once completed, the system will become the largest nonutility solar array in Michigan and provide an example to other institutions of what can be done with on-campus solar.
Inovateus project manager John Gulanick expects initial mechanical completion as early as November, with final completion set for December. He explained that there have been unique challenges on the sites, including working around trees to avoid their removal and slightly adjusting the initial design of one of the lots. Despite these unexpected developments, the project’s completion dates remain on target.
Here are some additional resources if you want to learn more about the project.
You can follow construction progress online with Inovateus’ live webcam feed and visit MSU’s construction project page for more information. Also check out our previous blog outlining further details of the project. MSU is doing its part in building a brilliant tomorrow, and other universities are taking notice. It will be very exciting to see new solar projects developed as more colleges decide to expand their sustainability initiatives.
By Heather Dixon, marketing coordinator, Inovateus Solar
