Fort Wayne Airport
JOHNSON-MELLOH / C2 SOLUTIONS OF BLOOMFIELD
Racking System: METAL X®
Structure Type: Municipal
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Completed: December 2020
Challenge
The airport was doubling the size of six existing identical carports and wanted to add PV solar to both existing structures and the new extensions. Each roof was a gentle curved metal standing seam averaging about 16 ft. high with a slope of 3 degrees. A solution was needed that would connect to the metal roof profile, follow the contour of the curved carport design, and offer low weight and rapid installation times to cut down on labor costs. A good-looking, low-profile solution was also desirable for this public space.
Solution
Unirac proposed a METAL X® system for the site based on its light weight and flexibility for the roof geometry. Ease of installation and cost were also maximized through the choice of system.
To evaluate compatibility with the unique curvature of the carports, Unirac sent the configuration its in-house Boulder R&D lab. There, the Unirac engineering team replicated the curvature of the structure, and was able to verify that the MetalX clamps and couplings would accommodate a secure connection to the curved roof.
Implementation
Jason Comstock, Field Support / Product Training with Unirac, went on-site in July 2020 to help the crew prepare. When Comstock arrived to show them MetalX, the expansion of the structures was still to be completed, so he helped the crews put panels on the existing carport roofs. “It went great,” Comstock says. “I had no idea when showed up at jobsite that I had trained two of the installers on a dfferent system (a flat-roof project) at Ball State University. They picked MetalX right up. It’s really simple–there aren’t a whole lot of parts. Once you get your first row of attachments and get them straight, everything just falls in.”
METAL X was designed to install quickly as the modules are placed, rather than requiring the racking to be pre-installed. With the drop-in feature, crews could follow the curve of the carport, quickly drop the next row of modules in the clamps, and move on. Thirty percent fewer attachments, 73 percent less aluminum, the fact that modules install with the racking as opposed to atop it, and no need for cutting meant the job went quickly.
In fact, it was so straightforward that Comstock didn’t end up using all the time he’d budgeted. “I’d planned a second day on site,” he says, “but by the end of the first day, they were rocking and rolling, so they didn’t need me after that. And we actually didn’t start until fairly late in the morning that day.”
I’ve been recommending METAL X to everyone!
Tommy Mitchell of C2
Benefit
The system is 552kW in total, made up of 1380 400-watt Hanwha Q-cells, which have a 35mm frame and were installed in landscape. The rows were fairly long, ending up with 24 columns altogether. Standard Solar Connections International 2-SS attachments were used and paired with METAL X panel clamps.
The solar crew was able to follow behind the crew doing the new section of each carport as it was finished with its expansion. Since each carport amounted to a few boxes of MetalX parts, it was easy to store and quickly deploy material without disrupting large portions of the lot.
