O2 EMC, a firm that focuses on developing and owning large-scale, ground-mounted solar power plants in the Southeast United States, and United Renewable Energy (URE), an engineering, procurement and construction firm developing industrial and utility solar photovoltaic farms and energy storage systems, have completed the construction of the Bedford Solar Farm, a 3-megawatt AC (3.3MW DC) solar power system located on approximately 16 acres of land in Bedford, Va. The project is the first utility-scale solar installation in Bedford.
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.
In addition to providing clean energy for the next 30-plus years, Bedford Solar is also setting an example for how solar project sites can offer multiple uses to benefit local communities.
