Solar

To optimise the design of a new solar farm, it is essential to have a good terrain model. An aerial lidar survey is ideal for solar farm planning. For smaller sites, we also provide terrestrial lidar surveys as well as conventional land survey services. When planning a solar farm, quality mapping will aid in determining access routes and connecting to the power grid. 3D visualisations can aid in planning applications for visual impact assesments.

Using our terrain analysis software, we can provide aspect analysis, slope analysis etc... in order to determine which slopes face in suitable directions and which slopes are at an incline that is viable (optimum) for construction of the solar panels. For optimising solar exposure, we can analyse:

Evenness of site - Flatter sites are generally easier to construct on, thus we look at how uneven or hilly the site is.

Orientation of site slope - South-facing slopes are generally preferred as these allow for closer spacing of the solar modules and therefore higher energy density of installations.

Shadowing (Near and far) of site - Near shadowing is dominated by calculating shadows of obstacles at solar noon on 21st December. Far shadowing uses horizon-level detail and can help determine what annual losses we experience because of mountains and other far away geographical features.

Solar power generation is expanding rapidly worldwide and your solar based energy project will be off to the best start with high accuracy mapping and terrain modelling from Merrett Surveys. We work worldwide.