Detailed Design Services

Our organization provides a comprehensive array of detailed design services, with a focus on delivering systems related to DC and Low Voltage AC Electrical, Mechanical, and Field Control Systems design. While we have collaborated extensively with MV Electrical, Civil, and SCADA system designers, these services are not currently offered. The following list outlines the packages we provide as part of our detailed design services.

 

Ground Mounted Solar Facility Services

DC Electrical & Mechanical Engineering - General

This package contains all of the generally required drawings that apply to most projects, this generally includes:

  1. Package Cover Page

  2. General DC Electrical Notes

  3. Constraints Maps

  4. Site Plans

  5. Equipment Specifications

  6. Equipment Datasheets

DC Electrical Engineering - Schematics

This package is dedicated to specific electrical schematics for the DC Electrical Engineering, with scope limited to the LV side of the MV Transformer. The package can be tailored for either a Distributed String Inverter Design, a Centralized String Inverter Design or a Central Inverter type of Design.

  1. Single Line Diagrams (Each ITS or String Inverter Type)

  2. Two Line Diagrams (For DC Systems)

  3. Three Line Diagrams (Where Required)

  4. Typical Bonding Single Line Diagrams

  5. Cable Schedules (Dependent on Trenching and String Design Packages)

DC Electrical Engineering - Trenching Designs

This package contains all plans required to specify the electrical requirements of site wide trenching.

  1. Trenching Plans

  2. Trenching Section Views

  3. Combiner Box Take-offs (Cable quantities based on Trenching Designs)

DC Electrical Engineering - Module String Designs

This package contains all drawings required for procurement and location of electrical DC strings. Strings are divided into separate drawings to be legible for site prints to ANSI D - 22 x 34 inches (559 x 864 millimeters) standards.

  1. Site String Design Overview

  2. String Design for Each Central Inverter

  3. String Cable Take-off Calculations

DC Electrical Engineering - Wire Management Designs

This package contains more specific information for the termination of DC cables and the management of DC cables throughout the array. If the solar system contains auxiliary components such as string powered actuators, the connection of these components will be detailed in this package.

  1. Typical Project Wire Management Details

  2. Typical Project Grounding and Bonding Details

  3. Typical Project Polarity Details

  4. Typical String and Control Unit Wiring Details

DC Electrical Engineering - Combiner Box Designs

Most larger scale solar systems will require a combiner box based design. This package focuses on designing the specific details required for the construction and wiring of Combiner Boxes depending on the chosen Combiner Box vendor.

  1. Internal Wiring Details

  2. External Mounting & Wiring Details

  3. Combiner Box Mount Mechanical Details

  4. Solar Racking Combiner Box Mounting Details

DC Electrical Engineering - Medium Voltage Station Supporting Designs

Medium Voltage Stations and their connection to AC, DC and Communication system can be complicated. This package focuses on dividing the different aspects of those stations up for the various construction teams.

  1. General Conduit Plan Details (Complete Design)

  2. General Conduit Plan Details (Frame Only)

  3. DC Cables Conduit Plan Details

  4. AC Conduit Plan Details

  5. Communication Conduit Plan Details

  6. Battery Energy Storage Conduit Plan Details (If required)

Control Systems Engineering - Field Monitoring Designs

This package focuses on field based control systems such as weather monitoring, array monitoring and the connection of Inverters throughout the site.

  1. DC Field Device Network Design

  2. Field Monitoring Site Plan

  3. Instrumentation Mounting Details

  4. Instrumentation Wiring Details

Electrical Engineering - Energy Production Estimates

The economics of a solar project are of critical importance, this means that the capital expenditure of a project must be weighed carefully against the projected revenue of a project. This is where Energy Production Estimates become necessary. In order to project the potential revenue to be generate from a solar farm, the energy production must be estimated with a high degree of accuracy, this package addresses that need.

  1. PVSyst Input Summary

  2. PVSyst Standard Operating Procedure (Detailed Design Level)

  3. PVSyst Energy Generation Report(s)

  4. Hourly (8760), Daily, and Monthly Data Exports

Note: Input Summaries and Standard Operating Procedures are almost always required as they provide all assumptions that are required at this stage of design. Assumptions clarify economic modelling factors that would otherwise be embedded in report information for quick use in Client economic models.

Mechanical Engineering - Racking Discretization Designs

Most racking systems contain different types of arrays based of mechanical loading (uplift and deadlift forces). These drawings will often be supplied by the racking manufacturer, by if not, we are also capable of adding this content to our drawing packages.

  1. Mechanical Racking Design Overview

  2. Racking Design each Physical Array

  3. Racking Design Take-offs

Mechanical Engineering - Basic Visual Impact Designs

Often customers need a visual representation of the Solar Farm for stake holder engagement. This basic package will suit most marketing needs for overall system representation.

  1. Basic Site 3D Modelling

  2. Site 3D Render Overview Design

  3. Site 3D Render Details

  4. 3D Rendered Images

Mechanical Engineering - Detailed Visual Impact Designs

In some situations advanced 3D modelling of the Solar Site will be needed. This type of render typically focuses on the visual impact from the perspective of each stake holder that the client would like to engage. Typical examples are the visual impact from an adjacent land owner who would like to see what the array would look like from the first and second floor home.

  1. Advanced Site 3D Modelling

  2. Site 3D Render Overview Design

  3. Site 3D Render Details (From Each stake-holder perspective)

  4. 3D Rendered Images

Mechanical Engineering - Medium Voltage Station Staging Designs

In some situations, the interface between Civil and Electrical disciplines at a Medium Voltage Station may require more detailed drawings. We offer a staging package that breaks this interface into separate construction stages to simplify the process of construction.

  1. Construction Staging Design Sheet (Per Medium Voltage Station)

  2. 3D renders of Each Stage of Construction

General Engineering - Lamacoid Designs

Often forgotten, ‘Lamacoids’ or laminated engraved nameplates, are often left out of the design process. Although Lamacoids are often specified in EPC agreements, some CAD work is often required for Lamacoid production companies to produce these nameplates to specifications. As an example, Single Line Diagrams (Simplified) Lamacoids are often required, this package ensures that your company will have these designs ready for the manufacturer.

  1. Single Line Diagram Lamacoids

  2. Inverter Lamacoids

  3. Combiner Box Lamacoids

Roof Mounted Solar Facilities

Electrical Package - Rooftop Solar - CEC & OESC

For Rooftop solar designs, an engineering package can be considerably smaller that the design of a Ground Mounted Solar Farm. In part this is due to the scale of Ground Mounted Solar farms, but this is also because Rooftop Solar facilities utilize an existing structure. This package contains the generally required drawings for the Canadian Electrical Code, or Ontario Electrical Safety Code for a Rooftop Solar Facility at the Detailed Design level.

  1. Title Sheet

  2. General Notes

  3. Existing Conditions - Roof Plan

  4. String Diagram Plan

  5. Single Line Diagram

  6. Equipment Calculations

  7. General Details

  8. Equipment Datasheets

  9. Lamacoid Designs