Santa Cruz Solar Array

Project Scope and Purpose

Martinez Construction was awarded this design/build project to replace the entire existing 136.8kW DC STC polycrystalline PV panel solar array. 

Specific Work Details

The system included 6 rows of modules, 80 modules per row for a total of 480 polycrystalline PV modules/panels.  The work also included replacing conductor feeders, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) system, and automatic transfer switches (ATS) with modern efficient equipment.

Santa Cruz Island is 25 nautical miles off the California coast (near Ventura) and is owned by both the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy.  The Island is both a national park and a preserve.  The US Navy leases a mountain top near the eastern end of the island for an instrumentation complex.  Being a very remote location all transportation to and from the island was by barge and helicopter.

Working on Santa Cruz Island was logistically challenging.  The materials and equipment were barged to the Island via a National Park Service barge that was limited In size and weight capacity.  This meant planning the shipments to get critical items to the Island first, so that work could be started while additional barges were en route.  The barge was only capable of running twice a week.  To facilitate the landing of the barge, MCS had to work with Navy personnel to prepare the beachhead for each barge trip depending on the tides and weather.  Personnel and provisions were transported to the Island via a National Park Service vendor ship that serves the Island tourists.  Again, the trips were limited depending on the season and the amount of provisions were limited based on the capacity of the vessel.

Initial work Included the design of the replacement solar array and controlling equipment.  THis Included reviews with the Navy and base personnel responsible for maintenance and operation of the system.  Once the design was approved, the panels were procured and work was started at the site.  Martinez Construction worked with a subcontractor to coordinate design and installation of the PV Panel Solar Array while providing overall site and project management to ensure a successful completion of this project.