Golden Triangle Solar Energy Project

Like many solar farm projects, this one was built on existing agricultural farmland. The project covered 1,060 acres and required the construction of 58,000 LF of unpaved roadways. The soft soils present in the area consisted primarily of both lean and fat clays. They tended to be relatively stable during the dry seasons but posed a real challenge during the wetter months. These soils could not support the volume of construction traffic needed to build the solar facility, and the project budget could not absorb the cost needed to build the required pavement section that would keep the roads working.

The Client provided Tensar with an initial pavement design and asked us to assist in selecting the proper geogrid. Tensar selected one of our newest geogrid products, InterAxNX650, because it resulted in the least expensive option that could be used in conjunction with the desired 6” aggregate base. We used our award-winning Tensar+ design software to evaluate multiple options and provide the proper recommendation. The customer benefited from the geogrid-stabilized roadways through lower upfront construction costs and minimized maintenance needs during the course ofconstruction.