With over 12 years of installation experience, Apex Solar specializes in custom designed off-grid and grid-tie installations with battery backup systems and packages. Based in San Jose, California, Apex Solar provides turn-key solar design and installation services throughout California.
Blue Oak Ranch Reserve is a Biological Field Station and Ecological Reserve. It is one of the 38 units of the UC Natural Reserve System and is operated jointly by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, Berkeley Natural History Museums and UC NRS. The Reserve provides a wealth of research and teaching opportunities in a wide range of important Californian habitats.
Thanks to the knowledge and expertise of Apex Solar, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve is now powered by a 25.2-kW PV system using an off-grid design with battery backup. Soligent is proud to be a solar distribution partner with Apex Solar.
Farrel Williams, owner of Apex Solar, provided some feedback on his experience with this installation:
“The Blue Oak Ranch Reserve (BORR) is used by UC Berkeley students for research on a number of wildlife and nature studies. Since the reserve is in a natural setting, it is miles away from the nearest utility. In addition, directors of the reserve wanted to have as little impact on the land as possible, so off-grid solar power needed to be the source of electricity.
“The reserve had a small off-grid system in place when we started working with BORR, but this was outdated equipment and far too small for the requirements. To accommodate the new personnel housing, work and lab facilities, a new upgraded electric system was needed. The University put out a bid for a general contractor to design and build the new facilities. As part of that bid, a new off-grid electric power infrastructure was needed.
“Apex Solar Power was selected over a number of other solar contractors during the bid process in part, I believe, because of the experience we have with engineering these types of systems. Some of the requirements were to provide power to a large geographic area with many structures and power demands and to integrate our solar system with the demands of a very large fire sprinkler pump.
“I believe we have provided a high quality system for BORR that will continue to deliver the power they need for the years to come.”
Solar Installation Snapshot
- 25.2 kW Installation
- 90 SolarWorld 280W Solar Modules
- 4 SMA Sunny Boy 6000 Inverters and 4 Sunny Islands
- IronRidge XR-100 Racking
- This is an off-grid solar power project utilizing battery backup at a remote location!
This article originally appeared on Soligent’s blog.