Project Overview

Located in Emery County, Utah, the Hornshadow Photovoltaic Plant is a combination of two co-located photovoltaic facilities with a combined capacity of 360MWdc and a common substation. Construction was anticipated to take 15 months, and the Sundt team brought the plant online in an unprecedented 13 months.

The project team successfully overcame a site challenge when wetlands were discovered where panels were planned for placement. The project team reassessed the land and redesigned about 15% of the project. With 10 different bin classes of modules to account for and limited room for adjustments, the redesign required a massive logistical effort to coordinate offloading locations and account for delays in owner-supplied equipment. Despite the challenges, the Sundt team remained flexible and modified execution strategies to maintain the overall project schedule. And the disturbed wetlands were carefully restored including reseeding and reshaping the land.

The Hornshadow Plant features a new frameless solar panel by First Solar. The Series 7 panels thin film modules, essentially a mixture of chemicals turned into a gel and placed between two pieces of glass that generate up to 540 watts of energy. The panels can even adjust for the notorious high winds that move through the site’s location. With the smart tracking systems installed allow for the panels to automatically pivot into a protective “wind stow” position at a 60-degree angle to prevent damage from high winds.