SOLAR INSTALLATIONS
Solar Farms
! (1 Oriana Solar Array 1, Isabela ! (2 Puerto Rico Convention Center Solar Array, San Juan ! (3 Reden Solar Array, Humacao ! (3
Atlantic Ocean
! (2
Arecibo
San Juan ISLA DE CULEBRA
Rincón
Fajardo
PUERTO RICO
Mayagüez
Ponce
0
10
20
40 Miles
Humacao
! (1
ISLA VIEQUES
Guayama
Caribbean Sea
µ
Figure 6-1: Location map showing ground-mounted PV facilities visited by the MAT.
6.1.1 Reden Solar Array, Humacao In Humacao, a large ground-mounted PV system belonging to Reden Solar (formerly Fonroche) experienced major damage from high winds. Located approximately 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, Humacao experienced severe wind speeds estimated at 140 mph (225 kph) at 33 feet (10 meters) above ground over flat open terrain (Figure 1-2 and Figure 1-7). Two phases of the facility experienced significantly different effects from the hurricane winds. The first 20-megawatt (MW) phase was constructed in 2016, followed by the second 20 MW phase, which was completed in 2017. The Phase 2 area of the facility was severely impacted by hurricane wind forces and wind-borne debris, while Phase 1 performed relatively well (Figure 6-2, left). Based upon aerial imagery, it is estimated that 75 percent of the solar panels in Phase 2 were damaged or removed from the ground-mount structure, compared to about 25 percent for Phase 1. Several differences were identified between the Phase 1 and Phase 2 PV arrays (Figure 6-2) during the MAT assessment: ●●Location: The overview (Figure 6-2, middle) illustrates how the system is positioned. Phase 1 is mostly located on the left side in the photograph, while Phase 2 is to the right. It is possible that the two phases were impacted differently due to the topographic effects created by the surroundings.
6-2
MITIGATION ASSESSMENT TEAM REPORT
HURRICANES IRMA AND MARIA IN PUERTO RICO