Terrain Analysis with Aplitop Software in Photovoltaic Plant Solara 4

The Solara 4 plant, located in the town of Vaqueros (Alcoutim) in the Faro district (Portugal) is the largest facility in Europe of this type built without public aid. It is made up of 661,500 high-efficiency photovoltaic modules, with an installed power of 220 MWp and an estimated production of 380,000,000 kWh / year, enough to generate renewable energy to supply more than 100,000 homes. The total occupied surface is 800 hectares, of uneven terrain with different slopes and orientations. Among the main challenges of the project, we highlight the selection of the most suitable areas to maximize the performance of the modules and minimize the earthworks. The technical design of the project was awarded to Onrenewables, and its construction was carried out between 2019 and 2020, employing more than 800 people.

The determination of the current state of the terrain was made based on a digital elevation model, in addition to a photogrammetric flight and complementary topographic surveys.

The terrain analysis was prepared using some features offered by MDT, such as determining profiles and cross-sections, 3D mesh representation or generation of slope maps and orientations, which were of great help in selecting the ideal areas for the installation of modules.

For the locations where it was necessary to prepare the land, advanced surface tools were used, which made easy the creation of esplanades with different criteria and allow balancing the cut and fill volumes.

Likewise, the utilities for realistic 3D representation and export to other formats were used to carry out infographics and simulations.

During the construction phase, partial topographic surveys were carried out, which were compared with the original terrain to determine the degree of execution and the corresponding work certifications.

APLITOP's TcpMDT application is of great help in the design and execution of photovoltaic plant projects that OnRenewables manages worldwide, so we recommend this application for projects of this type.