Protecting and Enhancing Ecosystems – This project uses native and pollinator-friendly seed mix to establish a pollinator habitat for the life of the project, generating both operational cost savings and ecosystem services. Monarch butterflies and native pollinators will be able to access a high-quality habitat. This agrivoltaics approach generates benefits for the community by improving native vegetation, protecting local wildlife and ecosystems, and promoting pollinator health for local agriculture.

Long-term Monitoring and Maintenance – The project has a long-term monitoring approach with detailed steps and specific plans for every component of the site. In addition, procedures are applied that establish monitoring improvement practices, continual development and/or improvement of monitoring tools to assist in maintenance and improve the efficiency, energy availability, and performance of the facility.

Energy Commissioning – Closely aligned with the monitoring and maintenance program noted above, the Azure Sky solar + storage project was designed and built with the appropriately sized and selected redundant equipment and software to monitor the performance of the PV panels and BESS continuously. All systems (PV plant, BESS, security, met towers, etc.) are integrated with the external systems, making it possible to monitor performance and detect and quickly remedy potential eventual failures in real time. All components of the project have been commissioned by a third party, under the overall direction and supervision of the project team (specifically the Commissioning Team).

Energy Conversion Efficiency – The estimated conversion efficiency of the PV panels is between 80% and 82%, depending on the type used. In addition, the project will consume minimal power throughout regular operations, using energy from the PV plant during the day, while tapping into the grid during nighttime, when the PV plant is not operative. The only energy consumed at night is to keep the communication, cooling system and operational controlling of the plant at the O&M building, and for the cooling system of the BESS.

Waste Management and Balanced Earthwork – The project developed a waste and recycling management plan for the construction phase, allowing for 97% diversion of construction wastes from landfills. No earthwork was removed from the site and no earthwork was imported. Calculations of the cut and fill areas were performed, and all remaining earth volumes were used to implement the erosion control berms and revegetation efforts at the project site.

Floodplain Integration – The project initially considered using the floodplain area for power generation. However, a hydrology study was in progress and once the results were known, the project team decided to reduce the generation capacity of the project, and avoid the floodplain area, giving up additional power generation for improved environmental performance and facility resilience. Moreover, erosion controls have been added to avoid any impacts on the floodplain.