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Sandhills Energy: state inspection pending; soft energization planned for Sydney solar site
Summary
Sandhills Energy told the council its Sydney solar installation is waiting on a state electrical inspection and will undergo a soft energization and verification with WAPA before producing power; the company's O&M team will be based in Sydney.
Sandhills Energy told the Sydney City Council that the solar array north of town is at the final stages of commissioning and is awaiting a state electrical inspection before a planned soft energization.
"We are waiting on our state electrical inspection that happened today," Kyle Gorsuch, director of operations and maintenance for Sandhills Energy, said. He said the company expects a state inspection sticker within days and is aiming for a soft energization "towards the end of next week," followed by verification with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and other interconnection steps before the site produces power.
Gorsuch said Sandhills has stationed a three-person O&M team in Sydney and is negotiating a long-term lease for nearby warehouse space to support operations. The firm has conducted on-site training sessions with the volunteer fire department and EMS to familiarize first responders with photovoltaic-specific risks.
"Our O and M team is fully staffed up in Sydney," Gorsuch said. "We have 3 full time technicians, including myself." He added the firm has completed required switch installations and will perform a punch-list and tracker control verifications after inspection.
Gorsuch encouraged residents to view the site and said project partners will work with the city to issue a permission-to-operate letter after the inspection and verifications. He said billing to off-takers would begin only after full energization and verification.
No formal council action was taken; Gorsuch's presentation was an update to keep the city and public informed as the project completes commissioning steps.
