(Beaver Dam) Progress is being made at Alliant Energy’s Beaver Dam Solar Project. The 50-megawatt facility is being constructed on 350 acres in the city and town of Beaver Dam and the town of Burnett. It is part of the utility’s Clean Energy Blueprint, a strategic roadmap to cost-effectively accelerate renewable energy development and reduce carbon emissions.
Approximately 20-percent of the 120,000 solar panels have been installed. Crews are also around 90-percent finished installing piles, the metal posts that support the solar arrays, and they are in the process of installing the tracking system. Chris Caporale is a spokesperson with Alliant Energy.
“We’re obviously excited about the progress we’ve been making installing solar panels at the site and so we’re definitely inching closer to completion here in the next few months,” says Caporale. “It’s a big milestone for us to be able to [bring] a project of this scale online. At this point we’re really excited as we get into the winter months to finish it off and have it ready to go for next year.”
Work also continues on install the underground AC cable that carries electricity from inverters to the substation. As solar panels are placed, Alliant will also install DC electrical cable that carries electricity from the panels to the inverter box. Caporale says that they are eyeing the spring months for when the site will be operational.
“We’re nearing completion on all the construction activities…so that’s installing the panels…all the wiring…all the cabling…making sure everything is in its place,” says Caporale. “After that, we have a couple months of testing and conditioning. So that’s where we make sure the panels are producing right…the inverters are passing the energy along.”
Caporale adds that weather conditions and supply chain issues could change when the site is up and running. Company officials note that the solar project will be a significant source of new local tax revenue. It is anticipated that $200-thousand-dollars in annual shared revenue will be generated for the city and town of Beaver Dam, the town of Burnett, and Dodge County.
–Photo courtesy of the Alliant Energy website
