Renusol America and Pura EnergiaPR, a leading PV solar designer and installer based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, recently announced the completion of a 60 kW solar installation in Moca, Puerto Rico.
Faced with increasing energy costs and the need for more power to run its heavy machinery, the Hacienda Gosen, a commercial farm and food processing facility located in remote, mountainous Western Puerto Rico, turned to solar energy and Pura EnergiaPR.
“We needed to figure [out] how to deliver panels and system components for this 60 kW installation to the jobsite over vey poor access roads and secure them to a 20,000 square foot trapezoidal roof in a way that would mitigate the risk of water and wind damage from the hurricanes that are always a threat across Puerto Rico,” says David Portalatin of Pura Energia PR.
Pura EnergiaPR turned to Renusol America’s MS mounting system, which is compatible with all widely used sheet metal roofs 26-gauge or thicker with flat trapezoidal peaks at least ¾ inch in width. Since the Renusol MS preassembled system components include only module clamps, clamp bases and screws to secure the modules, the need for long rails is eliminated. This was a key consideration for attaching the 220, 300-W Trina PV panels for the Hacienda Gosen project, given the poor roads and limited access for delivery trucks to the installation site.
The Renusol MS system also eliminates the need for attachments to the support purlins or rafters underneath the sheet metal roof. This, along with the attachment points on the ridge, as opposed to the gulley, of a trapezoidal metal roof, significantly reduces the possibility of leakage and water damage during heavy rain and hurricanes.
“The way the Renusol MS system is designed there is also a very low profile between the sheet metal roof and the panel,” adds Portalatin “Importantly, given the hurricane situation in Puerto Rico, this means less possibility for uplift pressure on the roof during high wind conditions.”
The system provides 70% of Hacienda Gosen’s power needs, dramatically reducing their energy bills, while generating the added power needed to operate the processing machinery used to prepare their food products for delivery to supermarkets and distributors across Puerto Rico.
Pura EnergiaPR designed, installed and certified the project. They also wrote and submitted the installation to Puerto Rico’s Green Energy Fund (PRGEF), which provided funding covering 40% of the project costs.
Pura EnergiaPR recently completed a 90 kW installation using the Renusol MS mounting system and is currently installing another with Renusol, a 400 kW project on the trapezoidal metal roof of San Juan’s largest hardware store.
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