Muscle Shoals Solar Farm

Location: Muscle Shoals, AL

Project Type: Energy

Application: Spillway and Channel Stabilization & Panel Drip Line & Swale Protection

Product Used: ARMORMAX & PYRAMAT 75

When a new 227 mega watt solar farm was planned for an 2,700 acre site, the engineer wanted to include resilient erosion control into the project design. Due to the size and geography of the site, multiple erosion control applications existed including channel protection, solar panel foundation protection, spillway armoring and pond bank stabilization.

To address these needs, Propex worked with the project engineer and earthwork contractor to develop a comprehensive project design that included stabilization of emergency spillways with ARMORMAX® and protection of central drainage swales and channels using PYRAMAT® High Performance Turf Reinforcement Mat (HPTRM).

Engineered to promote vegetated reinforcement, these technologies offer a lower carbon impact at a lower installed cost than hard armor alternatives like rock and concrete. Rock riprap had originally been specified for sections of this project, but the cost to transport and install that much rock to a remote location was expensive and time consuming. Due to their flexible nature, ARMORMAX and PYRAMAT are more easily transported to remote site locations and are fast and easy to install.

Nearly 519,000 square yards of PYRAMAT and more than 10,000 square yards of ARMORMAX was installed. Once installation was complete, steel piles used to support the solar panels were driven through the HPTRM.