Case file / Education
Shafter Unified canopies
Solar canopies across three campus lots, built in two summer windows. The structures carry the array, the lot lighting and the conduit for a future electric bus fleet.
- Array
- 614 kW DC
- Inverters
- 500 kW AC
- Annual output
- 1,038 MWh
- Permission to operate
- November 2024
Specification
The numbers on the record
| Client | Shafter Unified School District |
|---|---|
| Location | Shafter, CA |
| Array rating | 614 kW DC |
| Inverter rating | 500 kW AC (DC to AC ratio 1.23) |
| Modules | 1,116 at 550 W |
| Structure | Single-slope steel canopies over three parking lots |
| Storage | None; EV conduit stubbed for 12 future ports |
| Modelled annual production | 1,038,000 kWh |
| Specific yield | 1,691 kWh per kW DC per year |
| Load offset | 58 percent |
| Construction window | 14 weeks |
| Permission to operate | November 2024 |
What made it hard
The constraints
- All heavy construction confined to the June to August break, across two consecutive summers.
- A plan-review cycle for structures on a school site that had to be started before the design was fully priced.
- Preserving every existing accessible stall while keeping column spacing economical.
What we did about it
The approach
- Single-slope canopies at 7 degrees, oriented to the existing drive aisles so no stall was lost and no aisle narrowed.
- Column grid set on the stall stripe lines, with longer spans used only over the accessible parking bay.
- Under-canopy LED lighting on photocell control, replacing four ageing pole fixtures and removing their maintenance line.
- Switchgear and conduit sized for twelve future DC charging ports, with pull boxes left at the bus loading zone.
Result
Outcome
- System size
- 614 kW DC / 500 kW AC
- Modelled annual output
- 1,038,000 kWh
- District load offset
- 58 percent
- Covered parking
- 186 stalls across three lots
- Future EV capacity stubbed
- 12 ports
Shafter Unified canopies, Shafter, CAParents noticed the shade before anyone noticed the savings. Both showed up, but the shade showed up first.
More work
Other case files
Bring us the bill before you bring us the roof
Every project starts with twelve months of interval data and a load shape. The array comes after that, sized to what you actually use.
CSLB #1071482 (sample). Prevailing wage on public works. Engineers answer, not a call centre.