EPC joint ventures for the MENA region

Sharqawi Co., Saudi Arabia
Swiss Trading EST, Egypt

Partnering with Sharqawi Co., the leading electrical engineering corporation in Saudi Arabia, SMP have become the first Western solar PV company to reach an agreement for knowledge transfer with a Saudi corporation. We will provide the necessary know-how in order to build and operate large-scale solar parks
and complex roof-mounted PV plants. In return, Sharqawi will undertake the construction work.

A similar joint venture for Egypt has been concluded with international company Swiss Trading EST in April of 2018.

Zonnepark Scaldia, Zeeland, NL

Construction time: 15 weeks in 2018 (ongoing)
Capacity: 54 MWp

EPC: ibvogt

The largest standalone solar park in the Netherlands

For German EPC ibvogt, SMP Montage was responsible for the ramming, construction and installation of the frame, module installation, DC cabling, and material logistics at Zonnepark Scaldia in Zeeland. At a nominal output of 54 MWp, Scaldia is the largest standalone solar park in the Netherlands. With a workforce of more than 100, SMP installed more than 142,857 solar panels on a building site on perma-wet marshland soil more than 7 km long.

Westhampnett, Sussex, UK

Construction time: 9 weeks in 2017
Capacity: 7.4 MWp

EPC: Arun Construction

The site in Westhampnett already marks our second major installation on a former landfill site. We installed 26,532 solar panels at the site on special high-performance frames for the English-based EPC Arun Construction. Ramming was not possible due to the uneven terrain. Instead, a uniform heavy-duty ballast with large-scale concrete tables and an additionally employed ballast were used to screw down the foundations.

Rhenus Logistic roof, Son En Breugel, NL

Construction time: 8 weeks in 2017
Capacity: 4.4 MWp

EPC: KiesZon

The second largest photovoltaic roof installation in the Netherlands

In a record time of only eight weeks, we installed 14,960 solar panels and 64 SMA inverters on 10.4 hectares of roof space in Son En Breugel. We developed a special solution as part of the construction process, in order to protect the sensitive roof membrane as best as possible.

In particular, the delivery of materials to the various construction sections was a real challenge on the enormous commercial roof. To overcome this issue, we installed special delivery walkways, which were removed after the work had been completed

Crundale Solar Farm, Pembrokeshire, UK

Construction time: 8 weeks in 2014
Capacity: 37.5 MWp
EPC: ibvogt

Covering an area of 52 ha, Crundale Solar Farm in Pembrokeshire, Wales, is the second largest solar park in the UK. As a realisation partner for ibvogt, we took on all of the site logistics at Crundale and planned and coordinated all work processes. Our construction team of 160 installed the assembly systems for the entire plant in just eight weeks, with around 14,000 PV modules being installed every day. Crundale was in operation by September 2014, right on schedule. The 150,000 solar modules generate over 38 GWh of electricity, and currently supply more than 11,000 homes in the region with power.

Hillhouse Solar Farm, Gloucestershire, UK

Construction time: 5 weeks in 2015
Capacity: 27.5 MWp
EPC: ibvogt

The 40-hectare Hillhouse PV Solar Farm in Gloucestershire is located on a flood plain
and covers 18 individual fields that are separated from one another with hedges. As a result, the site logistics were not without issue because a delivery of construction materials to any given field was only possible on a single occasion and during a predetermined time frame.
In addition to the logistics, we also took on the mechanical frame assembly and the installation of all solar modules at Hillhouse in our role as realisation partner for ibvogt.

Alpincenter Bottrop, NRW, Deutschland

Construction time: 6 weeks in 2011
Capacity: 1.1 MWp
EPC: SMP Montage and Dr Metje Consulting

SMP Montage operated with an associated partner themselves as the EPC service provider for the Alpincenter in Bottrop. We took on all planning and construction work and handed the solar roof system over ready for use. In six weeks, we equipped the ski centre roof with 18,000 frameless, thin-film solar modules. The exact module alignment and a special construction insulate the roof, support the cooling efficiency of the ski centre and reduce the amount of energy needed to run it. Alpincenter Bottrop is the longest indoor ski slope in the world, with 640 m of downhill skiing and a total roof area of 16,000 square metres.

Alpincenter Wittenburg, Mecklenburg- Vorpommern, Deutschland

Construction time: 4 weeks in 2012
Capacity: 3.6 MWp
EPC: SMP Montage and Dr Metje Consulting

SMP Montage operated with an associated partner themselves as the EPC service provider for the Alpincenter facility in Wittenburg. We took on all planning and construction work and handed the project over ready for use. The Alpincenter facility now features a total roof area of around 40,000 square metres including the indoor ski centre and other buildings. The building’s special framework means that a height gradient of 57 metres can be achieved for the ski slope. However, the intricate structure of the building meant that no commercially available substructure could be used for the installation of the photovoltaic roof system. As a result, we developed a stable substructure and built it so that all the thin-film modules could be attached in a safe manner.

Tollgate, Warwickshire, UK

Construction time: 4 weeks in 2016
Capacity: 5 MWp
EPC: Solarcentury

As a realisation partner for Solarcentury, SMP Montage took care of the material logistics, mechanical frame assembly and installation of the PV modules in Tollgate. We had 50 specialists on site to adapt the frames for the solar park to the specific ground conditions directly on site. Despite the variations in altitude at the site, we worked with engineers from the frame system manufacturer Zimmermann to find a way of calibrating the posts for the plant and installing them in a way that means that the foundations can be anchored in a completely safe manner.

Stratton Hall, Colchester, UK

Construction time: 4 weeks in 2014
Capacity: 11.7 MWp
EPC: Solarcentury

As a realisation partner for Solarcentury, SMP Montage took on the mechanical assembly of the frames and module installation for the Stratton Hall solar park and developed a tailored construction solution directly on site. Around 47,000 solar modules were to be installed for the standalone solar park; however, the modules delivered turned out to be different to those originally intended and the clamps for fastening them to the substructure no longer fitted. In order to prevent delays, we developed a customised solution there and then and adapted the 170,000 clamps available to the new module formats. Stratton Hall was connected to the grid right on schedule and now supplies around 4,000 homes in the region with power.