Maplewood Mall Park and Ride PV

PV Powers Park and Ride

LHB has worked with Metro Transit for projects across their entire portfolio, from small single system upgrades to a new $125M bus maintenance facility. Due to this broad experience, Metro Transit worked with LHB to design a 40 kW photovoltaic (PV) array for a park and ride site in Maplewood, Minnesota.

The original intent and scope of work by Metro Transit was to have an integrated PV system with the facade of the building, but based on full team design review, it was not a feasible approach due to the planned structural design approach.

The design team then looked at a number of mounting options, including ground mounting, structural column post top mounts, or ballasted “roof” top installation. With information in hand, Metro Transit chose an under-utilized area of the top section of the parking facility to install ballasted low-slope PV racking. This location allowed controlled entry and maintainability with good solar access, and was the best solution for this project.