• Protecting Solar Panels

City Chooses Redi-Rock to Protect Green Energy Installation from Erosion

Project Name: Solar Panel Installation at the Saratoga Springs Water Treatment Plant #95

Customer Name: Village of Saratoga Springs

Block Manufacturer: Redi-Rock Walls of the Adirondacks

Wall Installer: Saratoga Springs Department of Public Works

Project Location: Saratoga Springs, New York

Year Built: 2008

Project Scope:

Saratoga Springs, New York recently installed a 12.6 kilowatt hour solar project to power the waste water treatment facility. When the soil around the installation began eroding, city officials needed to find a way to halt the erosion issue and improve the overall look of the project.

“Installing the solar panels was a step in the city’s overall energy performance initiative. We had an opportunity to put the latest in solar panels in the plant and we wanted to dress it up around it,” Director of Public Works William McTygue said.

A retaining wall was not part of the original design of the project, but he soil surrounding the solar panels was loose and sandy, which allowed significant erosion to occur during rain storms. The grass could not grow and the area was unsightly. Since the waste water plant is a “showcase project,” the Saratoga Springs Department of Public works needed to improve the look of the area.

The Department of Public Works is housed in a historic building and the solar panel installation needed to match the look of the facility. McTygue had seen a Redi-Rock retaining wall project at another location in Saratoga Springs and chose to use the massive retaining wall blocks to build a knee-high a skirting around the panel area.

Redi-Rock blocks can be manufactured in different sizes and shapes, many of which weigh more than one ton each. Redi-Rock cobblestone texture blocks have 5.75 ft. of face on each block, but give the appearance of six smaller blocks. The large blocks allow for quick and easy installation, but have the aesthetic appeal of a smaller block landscaping wall.

The project did not require any engineering because it was only two courses or three ft. total height. The wall outlines the panel area in a rectangular shape and utilizes Redi-Rock 28 in. blocks, which weigh from 590 lbs. to 1770 lbs. each. McTygue said that plans are underway to put pea stone in the area at the base of the solar panels and to plant grass around the retaining walls to further improve the aesthetics of the project.

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