Best Energy/Industrial: Hornshadow Solar

Hornshadow Solar

Castle Dale, Utah

BEST PROJECT

Submitted by BHI

Owner D.E. Shaw Renewables

Lead Design Firm & Solar Engineer Stellavise

General Contractor Sundt Renewables

Electrical Contractor BHI

Situated on an expansive 3,700-acre site, this 420-megawatt photovoltaic facility will generate enough clean energy to power around 70,000 Utah homes.

In addition to its massive scale, this facility also had one of the most aggressive build schedules this project team had ever undertaken. Meeting the timeline required seamless coordination among multiple contractors, suppliers and agencies. Early collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management and other permitting authorities was critical, particularly for the construction of a transmission line connecting to a distant substation, which involved intricate easement negotiations and right-of-way engineering.

With such a sprawling site of varying topography, the team decided to implement Nevado’s mechanical tracker system, which adapts to the region’s rolling terrain. This significantly minimized grading and earth-disturbing activities, preserving native soil structures and reducing environmental impacts while also eliminating the need for large-scale site leveling to save the schedule time.

Using a cutting-edge plow from Germany’s Foeckersperger Group, crews installed more than 2 million ft of medium voltage cable in record time, contributing to the energization deadline and resulting in zero cable failures.

The team also completed more than 100 directional bores, ranging from 50 ft to more than 700 ft in length across the site’s challenging terrain.