Scout Solar crews work to construct the two steel structures that will hold over 4,200 solar panels that will provide power to the Water Works (water department) in East Liverpool. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

Scout Solar plans to install an additional pole to hold three more transformers on it to ensure they can adequately handle the amount of power being produced by the solar structure at the water department in East Liverpool. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

Scout Solar currently has crews working on two adjacent solar structures that will total 128,000 square feet in size at the East Liverpool Water Works (water department) at 2220 Michigan Ave.

The structure, while it’s unknown if it will have the most solar panels in Columbiana County, will be the largest solar structure constructed in county, according to Matt Brophey, project executive for Scout Solar.

The two structures, which will have combined over 4,200 solar modules, will not be used for anything other than to provide solar power to the water plant since it is located in a flood plain.

Once construction of the steel structure is complete, solar electrician crews will come in and work to install the solar modules (panels). Due to the number of modules, this will be the hardest part of the project, according to Brophey.

Scout Solar will also be adding another pole with three additional transformers to the project.

According to Brophey, the three transformers currently at the site are barely enough to take on the load the solar system will produce and back feed it into the grid, so the engineers have decided to avoid any hiccups or issues by installing the three additional transformers.

The project is expected to be completed by the first or second week of December.

Once the construction crew is done with the water department they will, weather permitting, move on to a project in downtown East Liverpool. Scout Solar will build a pavilion on Sixth Street that will provide power to city hall. The pavilion can be used as a performance venue or however the city sees fit to use it.

Additional projects which are expected to begin in the spring include a complete rebuild of the Broadway Wharf and the Sewage Treatment Plant on Fourth Street.

“Everything is done on site, so they are building this one here (water plant) to provide power for this property. They are putting the one at the wharf to produce the power they need down there, and they are putting one at the pavilion for city hall,” Brophey said.

Between the projects at the water plant and possibly the pavilion, Scout Solar crews will begin work at one of the four projects they are contracted to complete for the Village of Wellsville.

For Wellsville they will be constructing solar projects at the two pump stations, the water plant and village hall.

Currently, only the water plant is scheduled for Wellsville due to a delay in getting interconnection approvals from AEP (American Electric Power) for the other three projects, according to Brophey.

Brophey noted that Scout Solar has been waiting for over a year on a lot of the interconnections applications they submitted to AEP which has delayed some of the projects.

kgarabrandt@mojonewsnews.com