O2 EMC Partners with United Renewable Energy™ to Construct a 3.3 MW Solar Project to serve the town of Bedford, VA.
BEDFORD, Va.: O2 EMC and United Renewable Energy™ LLC (URE™) have completed the construction of the Bedford Solar Farm, a 3MW AC (3.3MW DC) solar power system located on approximately 16 acres of land in Bedford, Virginia. The solar power system is a perfect use for the property that is adjacent to a landfill and owned by the city.
Developed by O2 EMC and constructed by URE™, the system is composed of 100 inverters (which convert the generated DC to AC energy), and 10,188 solar panels mounted on a single-axis tracking system that follows the sun during the day to maximize production. The existing topography on the site is rolling up to 15 degrees and challenged both O2 EMC and URE to design the system to maximize the system size, while minimizing the need for any site grading.
“URE is honored to have partnered with the O2 EMC Team on another successful project that was constructed within the schedule and under budget, while contributing to the local economy through the use of local labor,” said Keith Herbs, Executive Vice-President of URE.
In addition to providing clean energy for the next 30+ years, Bedford Solar is also setting an example for how solar projects sites can offer multiple uses to benefit local communities. O2 EMC has partnered with Sun-Raised farms to provide sheep to help keep the solar site “mowed”. Sun Raised Farms will be grazing sheep to “mow” the grass around and under the solar panels, thus drastically reducing gas-powered lawn mowers, herbicides, and noise. O2 EMC is also exploring the use of planting vegetation on their solar farms to create “pollinator islands” that benefit local agriculture.
“URE was a great partner on this exciting project. Their management was paramount in executing the first utility scale solar installation in Bedford, VA,” said Joel Olsen, CEO and President of O2 EMC.
ABOUT O2 EMC
O2 EMC is focused on developing and owning large scale ground-mounted solar power plants in the Southeast United States. Each solar project is developed to maximize profitability for investors, work opportunities for local contractors, as well as training and educational opportunities for local residents. O2 EMC has developed more than 100 Megawatts of solar farms in the southeast which generate more power than almost 12,000 average US homes consume, offsetting harmful emissions that would have been produced if the same amount of power were generated by burning fossil fuels. In total, O2 EMC has developed more than $250 million in investment. The company leverages an in-depth understanding of state energy policy, existing energy infrastructure, and project ownership and tax structuring, combined with relationships with utilities to develop successful and profitable turnkey solar power plants.
ABOUT United Renewable Energy™, LLC
United Renewable Energy™ is an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm developing industrial and utility solar photovoltaic farms and energy storage systems. URE™ focuses on creative design and implementation to deliver solar and energy storage projects with superior quality, performance, and safety at competitive cost. Learn more at www.u-renew.com.
Source:United Renewable Energy
