3. Risk Identification
3.1. IDENTIFICATION OF RISKS TO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT
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Our Gantt chart below, as seen in Figure 2, outlines our proposed 9-month timeline for procurement and permitting, construction, and interconnection. To mitigate the risk of a crowded and dangerous campus, we frontloaded our construction in July, a month when most students and staff are not there. Section 1.1.4. outlines the process for permitting in detail. Please see Section 2.2. for our construction staging approach.
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3.2. RISK MITIGATION
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Our Gantt chart below, as seen in Figure 2, outlines our proposed 9-month timeline for procurement and permitting, construction, and interconnection. To mitigate the risk of a crowded and dangerous campus, we frontloaded our construction in July, a month when most students and staff are not there. Section 1.1.4. outlines the process for permitting in detail. Please see Section 2.2. for our construction staging approach.
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3.2.1. Topography
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We delved deeply into the East Campus’ agricultural research lands’ topography, wetlands, and soil composition to ensure that we mitigate harm to the area and risk to our project. We found that the topography of the agricultural land is level, which lends itself to ground mounts [21]. This can be seen in Figure 7 below:
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3.2.2. Wetlands
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We found that the only wetlands are fresh water-forested and shrub wetland as well as a riverine. It is highly unlikely that these wetlands pose a flood risk to our ground mounts [22].
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3.2.3. Soil
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We also investigated the soil content of the agricultural research land and found that the composition is silty clay loam. Silty clay loam is made up of about 27-40% clay, and 20% or less sand [23]. This kind of soil is ideal for ground mounts, thus the soil in this area poses little risk [24].
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3.2.4. Public Perception/Disgruntled Neighbors
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During our planning process, we have kept in mind the impact that our plan will have on public perception and the neighboring areas. We feel that public perception will be overall positive, as green energy is growing in popularity. First, we considered the “look” of our design. Rooftop PV’s will not disrupt the aesthetics of the campus as pedestrians will not be able to see them. The solar flower’s purpose is to display the campus’ green initiatives in an aesthetic way; thus, we do not foresee any problems with the appearance. The ground mounts are the only installations that may be considered less aesthetically pleasing, but their placement on the agricultural field should not heavily affect the look of the area. This is more aesthetically pleasing in comparison with larger and more visually disruptive options such as windmills. Next, we considered how construction may cause disgruntled neighbors. Construction is a necessary part of any solar development project, so the best approach to mitigating complaints is creating an efficient, well planned timeline. For example, we would like to frontload construction in the summer months when the campus is less busy. This will allow for a productive and less disruptive environment. Additionally, we will have campus liaisons ready to engage with the community and address any complaints.
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3.2.5. Design Changes/Lack of Thorough Site Understanding/Unforeseen Expenses
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It is possible that unforeseen design changes will occur before or once construction has started. This could be due to improper lidar modeling or due to erroneous Aurora modeled roof obstruction. Additionally, we were unable to see the site first-hand before creating our plan. These disadvantages may have led us to make simplifying assumptions or uneducated decisions that may require adjustments to our design. Thus, before construction begins, a site inspection will need to take place and any necessary changes will be made accordingly. Design changes may lead to unforeseen expenses, which we must be prepared to encounter. We can mitigate the effects of unforeseen expenses by budgeting a sum of money that may be utilized flexibly. This sum will be approximately 10% of the project cost but will be finalized at the start of the project.