Bright Arrow Solar & Storage

Bright Arrow is a 300 MWac/390 MWdc solar facility AC coupled with a 100MWac/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The BESS utilized LG batteries and SMAL 3950 PCS. With an impressive 876,000 photovoltaic panels and 85 central inverters, the solar project amasses more than 3,000 acres.

To accommodate the hard soils, Bright Arrow implemented an above-ground wire management system. The team also hired specialized corrosion engineers to review the project’s steel and galvanization strategies, preventing added cost or schedule impact. In an effort to design to the existing land conditions, the team opted to employ an elevated road design, rather than adding multiple basins for stormwater collection, to channel water in check dams along the sides of the roadways into jurisdictional waterways. This design helped to maintain clear job access routes during construction as part of McCarthy’s Stormwater Protection Plan (SWPP) efforts in accordance with the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Driving efficiency even further, this project piloted a prefabrication strategy for all underground installations, supporting both the BESS and creation of underground combiner boxes and inverter installations. As a direct result of the schedule, energy, and cost savings associated with this strategy, McCarthy has begun to implement an offsite prefabrication strategy for projects across the renewable energy project portfolio to ensure the highest quality installations and maintain cost savings for clients.