In Jobos, Puerto Rico, the clean energy firm AES installed 1,396 prefabricated 5B Maverick solar arrays that generate 69 megawatts of peak renewable energy when commercial operations begin later this year.
The prefabricated Maverick systems, made by Australian solar technology company 5B, make up more than half of a large regional solar and storage plant.
The flat modules are equipped with accordion-folding ground mounts that have been designed specially for harsh climates.
Deploying accordion solar blocks straight out of shipping containers
A structural ballasting method makes the whole array able to resist the winds of Category 5 hurricanes up to 208 mph.
Each prefabricated 5B Maverick Block comes to the site pre-wired and compactly packaged within standard shipping containers.
A minimal crew employing an all-terrain forklift can deploy a single Maverick block—containing up to 90 pre-wired PV modules—in about 30 minutes.
Hinged mounting beams rest on the ground without necessitating deep excavation or piling.
Pre-assembled plug-and-play wiring harnesses facilitate the immediate connection of individual electrical blocks once deployed.
Field deployment offers a considerable cost advantage in terms of minimizing expenses related to expensive machinery and man-hours in comparison to traditional fixed-tilt or tracking racking systems.
Deployment of integrated and modular blocks speeds up commissioning of utility-scale green energy projects in remote island grids.
Anchoring low-profile arrays against Category 5 hurricane gusts
The Caribbean electricity generation facilities are subject to the constant risk of destruction by the devastating hurricanes blowing across the Atlantic.
Regular ground-mounted solar panel arrays leave panels raised off the ground, thus susceptible to destructive upward-lifting winds.
The installation of solar panels at an angle of five degrees provides an aerodynamic shape that guides the fast-moving air around the surface.
Large composite steel and concrete beams function as ballast weight, ensuring the stability of the modular structures.
The lack of a mechanical structure with motors for rotation eliminates the risk of one point of structural failure.
The prefabricated frame was independently tested in a wind tunnel and was proven to stay fully stationary even at the wind speed of 208 miles per hour.
Doubling power yield on limited tropical acreage
Contiguous acquisition of large tracts of land represents an important operating constraint for large-scale island solar installations.
Conventional single-axis tracking systems demand considerable access paths between each parallel row of panels in order to avoid shadowing between the parallel rows.
Solar panels can be packed tightly to fill almost all ground space between each structural row in dense east-west configurations.
Continuous production of power from sunrise to sunset on both sides of the A-frame structure makes for a continuous, expanded power curve.
Spatial efficiency means that the Maverick system is capable of generating up to 98% more MWh of electricity per acre than traditional tracking systems.
Power density maximization means that local farmland is conserved while achieving maximum power production potential within the project area.
Buffering solar supply with utility-scale battery storage
Generation from intermittent solar sources produces extreme frequency fluctuations on the grid in the case of rapidly blocking tropical clouds that cut off photovoltaic production.
The 5B – Jobos Project plant is being integrated into a larger utility-scale hybrid energy system owned and managed by AES Puerto Rico.
The system pairs 80 MW of solar generation capacity with a 110 MW, four-hour (approximately 440 MWh) battery energy storage system.
Once fully commissioned, discharging energy stored during peak evening hours will offer utility providers reliable power throughout the day.
Combining robust solar panels with utility-scale batteries increases grid reliability against transmission outages caused by storms.
Replacing fossil fuels to meet island clean energy goals
Electricity in Puerto Rico was traditionally provided using imported oil and coal in their central power grid.
The use of imported fossil fuel results in highly fluctuating prices for electricity consumers and vulnerability to fluctuations in the global energy market.
Regulations under local energy law mandate that Puerto Rico should be able to produce all of its electricity using renewable energy sources by 2050.
Once commercially operational, delivering 69 megawatts of hurricane-resilient peak solar capacity will significantly support island decarbonization efforts.
The implementation of modular and hurricane-tested solar power provides an engineering model for rebuilding energy infrastructure in tropical areas vulnerable to disasters.
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