Travers Solar, a photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Vulcan County, Alberta, covers 3,300 acres and generates 692 DC megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 100,000 homes annually. Travers Solar is the largest solar project in Canada and at peak construction employed about 800 people.

Travers Solar incorporates a tracking system with steel helical piles that rotate the solar panels to follow the sun’s path as the day progresses from dawn to dusk. The project, scattered across 24 parcels of relatively flat agricultural farmland, involved installation of approximately 1.3 million bifacial solar PV modules, and construction of the power conversion stations, an electrical collection system, access roads and the Little Bow Project Substation to connect to the Alberta Interconnected Electrical System. 

The project design is based on a 35-year design life requirement with all DC system loss at 1.5% and all below-grade AC system loss at 1%. The project uses an above-grade DC CAB system and a below-grade DC system. The CAB system and combiner box have their own supporting end piles. 

Travers Solar showcases Southern Alberta as a haven for renewable energy and offsets more than 472,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year.