The Sarish Solar Project is on a former waste mine site in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, which was inactive for nearly 80 years. The strip mine featured highly erosive 30% slopes, rock ledges, and acidic soil that required 80 tons of lime to remediate. The state approved site plan required grass and trees to control erosion for site improvement.

Steep slopes, spoil piles and erosion risks created massive engineering challenges. Moreover, Pennsylvania’s prevailing wage laws added significant cost pressure.

Senior Vice President of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction at Ampliform, Robert Stoever, described the site as “a challenge from a cost and compliance standpoint” and said parts of the site “looked like the moon” due to the soil acidity not allowing ground cover to grow. The extreme terrain made Sarish “economically unbuildable” by conventional standards.

“The site was extremely difficult regarding siting a PV plant and establishing proper ground cover without spending an insane amount of money,” Stoever said.

Terrain-challenged sites are inherently risky. With wet ground and steep slopes, things can start sliding and become dangerous. The primary challenge was to avoid costly grading and erosion risks as much as possible while maintaining project viability.