A ballasted Sollega mounting system installed on a Puerto Rico hospital in 2015 survived both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria earlier this year.

Sollega supplied the FastRack 510 ballasted mounting system for the installation of a 645-kW rooftop solar array at the VA Medical Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The medical center includes multidisciplinary ambulatory facilities, 348 authorized hospital beds, 12 blind rehabilitation beds and 120 nursing home beds. The Center services a population of approximately 150,883 veterans in Puerto Rico and in the US Virgin Islands according to 2000 US Census figures.

The FastRack510 (FR510) was selected to mount a total of 2,529 SunPower 327-W modules. The one-piece FR510 requires no assembly, and its universal design allowed Valor Construction, a disabled veteran-owned general contractor company based in Florida, to install the PV modules with the same simple and intuitive installation procedure. The high array density of the FR510 enabled VA Medical Center to reach its production goals.

The San Juan VA Medical Center is the largest federal medical facility in Puerto Rico and serves the entire Caribbean Basin. The non-corrosive injection molded Ultramid material used to make the FastRacks was a perfect fit for this project’s proximity to the ocean. Sollega’s flexible wire-management system and 8-in. roof clearance made stringing modules easy.

The August 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria (CAT 5) made landfall on Puerto Rico with winds exceeding 180 mph. The array on the VA Hospital survived both hurricanes and is 100% operational and functioning. The hybrid system (ballast & mechanical anchors) has proven to exceed the engineering design of 165 mph.