Environmental support for solar power facilities

About this project

client
Confidential
location
Upper Midwest
cost
$536,100 (Barr’s fees)
completion date
2022

A confidential pipeline client plans to install multiple solar power facilities “behind the meter” at over a dozen pump stations as part of their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability commitments. Each facility is planned to produce no less than 5 megawatts (MW) of solar power to provide electricity for pipeline operations. Barr was hired to provide key environmental evaluations to support feasibility analyses for these sites in the upper Midwest and advance them to the next stage of development ahead of construction planned for 2024.

Barr began by conducting desktop reviews for the proposed sites to assist our client in solidifying site boundaries. We developed figures with publicly available information to document natural resources and land cover at each site. We conducted desktop reviews to identify potential impacts to waterways, wetlands, and threatened and endangered species. Additionally, we performed cultural resource literature reviews at each site to identify previously recorded archaeological sites, historic structures, and other relevant cultural resources. Barr also developed a site-specific baseline environmental schedule to keep the environmental reviews on track.

Next, Barr quickly and efficiently summarized the desktop review information in a critical issues analysis (CIA) document for each site. The CIAs summarized the baseline environmental conditions and informed the client of site risks and constraints. With this information in hand, we created a permit matrix to evaluate federal, state, and local permits required for each site.

Finally, Barr coordinated onsite wetland delineations and functional assessments, as well as archaeological resource surveys with tribal monitor oversight, to identify environmental/cultural considerations for permitting and regulatory requirements. This information was also used by the client to further refine project boundaries and minimize impacts to identified resources. Barr’s work will ultimately help our client construct these projects more efficiently and meet their ESG goals.

Key team members

Sarah Johnson

Senior Environmental Consultant

Laurie Beth Nederveld

Senior Ecologist
Office Business Unit Representative

Alina Heydt

Vice President
Senior Environmental Engineer

Veronica Parsell

Senior Cultural Resources Specialist

Related Solar projects

Stationary-source evaluation for asphalt plants
Pre-acquisition environmental due diligence review
Air dispersion modeling for distributed-generation plant
Third-party transmission-line construction monitoring
Design of abutment wall extension at Dells hydro station
Phase I ESA for copper-nickel project
Siting and permitting for saltwater disposal wells
Ore transportation study
Detailed assessment of phosphorus sources and loading to Minnesota watersheds
Permitting, environmental assessment, and design for copper-nickel mine
Routine electrical, controls, and instrumentation support
Engineering services and permitting assistance for Bison 2 and 3 wind farms
Dam safety consultations for SaskPower
Geotechnical, structural, and civil work for Canadian wind farm
Preliminary engineering for Mouse River enhanced flood protection project
Geotechnical investigation and design for expansion of ancient gold mine
Electric-energy resource options study
Environmental impact assessment for mountain-bike trail
Design services for solar generation facility
Scoping study to increase magnetite-concentrate production capacity
Development of sewer plan and update of model
Upper Sheyenne River erosion and sedimentation risk assessment
Water supply sustainability study for City of Rochester
Capture-efficiency testing for ethanol production facility
Study of engineering risks and site feasibility for windpower client
Chemical and biological monitoring of test ponds
Natural resources inventory and stewardship recommendations
Water-quality modeling and mapping for watershed district
Infiltration updates to the Minnesota Stormwater Manual
Geologic modeling and mine-plan development for aggregate quarries
Resource estimates for neodymium-rich rare-earth-element exploration project
Rapid response planning for aquatic invasive species
Environmental review for proposed natural-gas pipeline
Assessment and remediation of former dump site on university campus
EMIS implementation and related assistance
Sustainable landscape master plan for Minnesota college campus
Installation of new auxiliary boilers for power plant
Responding to wind-farm tornado damage
Updating of Lake Superior chemical source inventory
Upgrade of wastewater treatment system
Environmental liability assessment at manufacturing facility
Evaluation of wind-turbine foundation following fire damage
Engine compliance tool update
Environmental review and prefeasibility design for planned uranium mine
Vulnerability assessment of municipal stormwater system
Vulnerability assessment of a city’s aging storm sewer system
Test burn for cofiring coal and biomass
Transmission line EIS
Living-streets planning provides framework for alternative street reconstruction
West Side Flats park and stormwater design
Permitting and wetland delineation for a community solar garden
Penstock replacement at McClure Dam
District stormwater management system for redeveloping urban center
Non-segregating tailings deposition study
Modeling and failure risk assessment of a municipal storm sewer system
XP-SWMM model update and calibration for Minnesota watershed
Options study and design to restore biomass fuel-handling system
Air permit-to-install strategy and application
Steam-line evaluation at Rapids Energy Center
Air quality permitting for distributed-generation plant
Hiawatha Golf Course alternatives analysis and master planning
Identification of wetland restoration opportunities
Watershed management planning for Minnesota watershed district
Site reviews for solar gardens across Minnesota
Removing dissolved metals from roadway runoff using ferric-oxide filtration
Geotechnical deformation and failure modeling of fine tailings capping
Stormwater-management minimal impact design standards and BMP design calculator
Hydropower facility evaluation and due diligence
Public-space and sustainable stormwater management decision-making framework
Groundwater compliance assistance for CCR Rule
Stormwater-development reviews for urban WMO
Developing health assessment tools for wind-turbine towers and foundations
Reclaimed mineland offers worldclass mountain biking and economic development
Environmental site assessments for future site of mining and processing facility
Condition assessment and options study for hydro facility
Floodproofing of utility switchyard
One Watershed, One Plan development for southern Minnesota watershed district
EIS preparation and third-party environmental review of transmission line
Environmental review and permitting for natural-gas-distribution projects
Resource assessment and permitting assistance for industrial sands facility
Groundwater-flow model of the Twin Cities metro area
Geotechnical assistance for mine expansion at Julienne Lake
Environmental review for peaking plants
Development of a citywide GIS-based stormwater management water-quality model
Engineering and design services for new truck dumper
Shoreline stabilization and restoration of Lake Minnetonka’s Big Island
Landscape master plan for Minnesota college campus
Stormwater infrastructure management assistance
Compliance, resource, and process evaluations for potential mining sites
Dispersion modeling at five ethanol production facilities
Evaluating tunnel system pressure
Solar-energy-system compliance
Auxiliary boiler installation
Urban watershed stormwater-development and permit reviews
Retrofit engineering for ash conveyance
Ecological residential development design preserves nature and city growth
Redevelopment services for New Brighton Exchange
Energy integration study for waste-heat utilization
Strategic planning for Freeway Landfill
Environmental services for coal-yard decommissioning
Brownfields redevelopment for Mississippi WMO headquarters
Tongue River assessment
Option study and design for air jig dewatering system
Permitting, design, and construction oversight for CCR surface impoundment
Transmission-line permitting assistance
Structural and electrical engineering for coal-dryer load-out improvements
Environmental permitting and compliance support for a refinery
AFFF containment upgrades evaluation
Environmental review for natural gas pipelines
Water reuse evaluation for zero liquid discharge at manufacturing facility
Poplar Bluff substation upgrade
Redevelopment of former Atlas Cement plant
Expansion-related permitting and review assistance
Installation design for alternative energy facility
Aquifer storage and recovery and water sustainability evaluation and implementation
Transmission line upgrades for reliable power delivery
arc-flash analysis at Coal Creek Station
Study of solar developments on closed Minnesota landfills
Geotechnical investigation for the East Valley Battery Storage Facility
Geotechnical investigation of pumped-storage hydroelectric facility
Preliminary geotechnical engineering and geophysical investigation
Geotechnical highwall assessment at Bald Mountain
Seneca solar project geotechnical engineering services
Conceptual development for Coal FIRST initiative
Pre-FEED study for Coal FIRST initiative
Civil engineering services for 10 MW solar facility
Environmental services for cathodic protection facilities in Michigan
Structural analysis and evaluation of powerhouse
Transaction due diligence for oil and gas assets
Creating ESG clarity for a petroleum company
ESG policy review and advisory services
ESG framework for midstream oil and gas company
Permitting assistance for partial repowering of wind facility
Environmental review and permitting for windfarm repowering
Mitigation of aerosol impacts from coal combustion
Spillway redesign at Cedar Falls Hydro Generating Station
Hydropower facility evaluation and improvement recommendations
PMF modifications at hydroelectric plants
Design for spillway replacement at Bond Falls Dam
Crane walk geotechnical engineering at Kings Point wind site
PMF study for the Dead River
Cyclic degradation geotechnical evaluation for wind turbine foundations
Business risk assessment of species at risk in oil sands region
PFAS treatment during power plant decommissioning
Gate upgrade at Island Lake Dam
Field review and permitting for pipeline replacement
Environmental field review and MPSC Act 9 support
Solar on reclaimed coal mine, settlement and subsidence risk analysis
Pressure control valve methanol-injection engineering study
UAS topographic data collection for habitat restoration design
City of Minnetonka natural resources management plan
Spring Lake Park Reserve natural resources management plan
Metropolitan Council sustainable landscape guidelines
Sustainable landscape master plan for Abbott Northwestern Hospital
Carbon-evaluation services for new mining facilities
Assessment of PFAS use
Air permitting assistance for pharmaceutical facility
Desktop study and geotechnical investigation for new wind power site
Great lakes coastal wetland restoration feasibility study
Wind farm repowering structural assessment
Highland Bridge (Ford Site) green stormwater infrastructure
Bloomington natural resources prioritization and management
Natural resources management plan for recreational area
Pipeline route permitting assistance
Climate adaptation and resiliency plan
Renewable energy development plan
Carbon-capture-system feasibility study
Water discharge permitting for copper-nickel mine
Closure and reclamation support for a legacy metals mine
Combined hydrologic, hydraulic and water quality model for watershed planning
Detailed 1D/2D and 2D HECRAS modeling for watershed management
Implementing a dual fuel system for peaking plant