PHOTOVOLTAICS (PHOTOWOLTAIC POWER STATIONS/ FARMS)
Why is surveying so meaningful while/when building photovoltaic farms?
Constructing photovoltaic farms demands not only an advanced technology, but also precise planning and land analyses. Surveying plays a crucial role here, ensuring the accuracy and safety on every stage of the investment process. Below we introduce how the surveyor supports investors during the realisation of solar farms, since preparations to the finishing as-built survey.
The role of surveyor in the process of preparations to build a PV farm
Analysis of the local development/zoning plan
In case that investment is planned on an area covered by the local development plan, the surveyor plays an important role in its analysis. Thanks to everyday experience with documents like this, the surveyor is able to precisely rate the agreement of the plan with solar power. Additionally, if the local development plan is only in paper version or PDF, surveyors can vectorise the plan, that allows to transfer it to the digital version. The digital model is necessary for ensuring the integrity of the project and facilitating its future realisation.
Acquiring land development conditions
In the situation when the terrain of investment does not have a local development plan, the surveyor helps in preparations to obtain land development conditions. The geodetic work includes:
Reaching the master map, which is the foundation for the development conditions application.
Preparing and submitting the application of the development conditions that allows us to begin following stages of the project quickly.
Thanks to the professional support by the surveyor, investors can save time and avoid mistakes during the administrative process.
Project stage- Maps for design purposes and terrain scanning
Map for design purposes – crucial documentation
The basic task for the surveyor on the project stage of a photovoltaic power station is creation of a map for design purposes. The document presents the detailed description of a terrain, containing (already) existing buildings, roads and other topographical elements. This map is necessary for precise planning the placement of photovoltaic panels, access roads, fences and transformer stations. That is the key element of the whole project, it provides the following, seamless accomplishment of the investment.
Area scanning – modern method minimising a risk of the mistakes
In the case of huge solar farms, it is recommended to scan the terrain. The process enables to make DTM (Digital Terrain Model) or DEM (Digital Elevation Model), representing the detailed shape of the area. The benefits from laser scanning include:
eliminate problems with heights differences that could require adjustments to the lengths of the structural supports,
reduce the amount of necessary corrections during the realisation of the project,
enable to provide on the building site prefabricated constructions prepared with millimeter accuracy.
The companies that make projects and construct photovoltaic farms, more and more frequently appreciate the meaning/value of 3D scanning. Thanks to this, they are able to avoid expensive delays and improve the building process.
Investment realisation- Stack out and surveying report of the project
Surveying report of the project
On the building stage, the surveyor make a detailed report which contains:
prepared drafts and the coordinates necessary to stack out the projected elements on field,
pass the precise results of the surveys to the construction manager that ensures the perfect match,
The surveyor can also yield the project files adjusted to the contractor’s equipment on the construction site.
Surveyors’ stack out
The stack out for a solar power station is one of the most crucial tasks for the surveyor. It includes indicating exact places where the elements written below are going to be locked:
structural supports for photovoltaic panels,
fence around the investment territory,
trails/routes of AC and DC cables and medium-voltage lines,
access roads and transformer stations
The surveyor stack out wooden survey pegs with appropriate length, adjusted to terrain specificity (short stakes on empty, plain spaces and longer ones on terrain with vegetation) because it must be visible for workers.
As-built survey stage- Final survey report
As-built survey report
After the end of work, when everything has been built, the surveyor makes as-built survey of the solar power, which is necessary to get the final investment commissioning. The after-built map presents all of the projected elements of what has been done and allows to analyse the compliance with the original assumption. The map is going straight to the appropriate geodetic and cartographic documentation centre and the investor receives protocol of acceptance.
Statement of compliance with the project
On the end of the investment realisation, the surveyor prepares the statement of compliance with the local development plan, which is essential to get the investment technical commissioning by the construction supervision. This document approves that every work has been done properly and the investment is ready to exploit.
Summary- complex surveying service as foundation of an investment success
Realisation of photovoltaic power station demands detailed surveying service on every stage of the project. From pre-analyses through accurate surveys and stack outs to final as-built surveys- the surveyor ensures precision. Without this, the project could include many high-cost problems and delays. Investors who decide to have full survey service, may expect to have seamless realisation, risk minimisation and comprehensive compatibility with already existing norms and regulations.
