by Shane Henson — June 8, 2012—Bella Energy recently completed a 1.65-megawatt solar array atop the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The solar array that the company was contracted to build is expected to offset approximately 17 percent of Salt Palace’s annual electric consumption and is the largest solar array in the state.
According to Bella Energy, its 6,006 solar modules cover 3.85 acres of rooftop and will produce an estimated 2.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in its first year. Project development began in 2010; construction began in December of 2011 and took about six months to complete. The company has reported that there were no change orders, zero OSHA violations and no injuries.
Bella Energy also notes that the project is the result of efforts from multiple parties, including Unirac, Inc. Bella Energy selected Unirac, a provider of infrastructure for solar power systems, as the solar mounting supplier for the project.
“This is a monumental achievement by all parties involved,” said Jim Welch, CEO of Bella Energy. “Building a project of this scale in Utah is a wonderful accomplishment resulting from the hard work of countless people. We’d like to thank everyone involved in the project for all their efforts. Bella Energy looks forward to continuing to develop other large-scale projects, helping people and organizations save money in Utah, across the United States, and around the world.”
Financing the 1.65-megawatt project was achieved using a mix of grants, bonds, public and private capital. The project also reportedly holds the distinction of being one of the first solar projects in the nation to utilize the New Markets Tax Credit.
