Transportable and multi configurable, modular power platforms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solar power platforms require extensive pre-development, costly foundations, and significant site disruption, making them inefficient and environmentally harmful for distributed renewable energy applications.
Innovation Solution
The use of transportable, modular solar power platforms with toggle anchors and rod/cable foundations allows for rapid, low-cost installation on various terrains without heavy equipment, eliminating the need for geotechnical reports and minimizing environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional foundations and support structures are used for solar arrays, then structural stability is achieved, but installation time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The solar array support system is divided into modular components: adjustable support legs with feet, interchangeable foundation elements (concrete blocks, ballasted bases, or ground screws), and standardized mounting brackets. This segmentation allows rapid assembly without extensive site preparation while maintaining structural stability through proven connection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Foundation elements are pre-manufactured and prepared before site arrival. Concrete blocks are pre-cured, ballasted bases are pre-assembled, and ground screws are pre-galvanized. This preliminary preparation eliminates on-site curing time and reduces installation to simple placement and connection operations.
2Strength
If conventional foundations with heavy equipment are used, then installation strength is sufficient, but environmental disruption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses temporary or semi-permanent foundation solutions such as concrete blocks and ballasted bases that can be easily installed and removed without permanent site modification. These elements provide sufficient holding strength during the solar array's operational life but can be relocated or removed with minimal environmental impact when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the heavy equipment requirement from the installation process entirely. Foundation elements are designed to be installed by hand or with simple tools, removing the need for excavators, concrete mixers, and other heavy machinery that cause soil compaction, erosion, and habitat disruption.
3Reliability
If geotechnical reports and extensive pre-development are conducted, then site suitability is confirmed, but project time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters of foundation design to be independent of soil conditions. By using ballasted bases, concrete blocks, or adjustable support legs with various foot types, the foundation system adapts to different ground surfaces (paved, gravel, soil, slopes) without requiring geotechnical analysis or custom engineering for each site.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular foundation system is designed with universal applicability across multiple site types. The same basic support leg and mounting structure can accommodate concrete blocks on paved surfaces, ballasted bases on gravel, or ground screws in soil, eliminating the need for site-specific foundation designs and extensive pre-development engineering.
4Reliability
If I beam steel piles or helical ground screw foundations are used, then structural reliability is improved, but installation cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The foundation elements are designed to be self-installing without specialized equipment or skilled labor. Concrete blocks and ballasted bases are simply placed on the prepared surface, and support legs are adjusted to level positions. This self-service installation eliminates the need for expensive pile driving equipment, helical screw installers, and specialized foundation contractors.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables faster, more economical deployment with reduced site disruption and environmental impact, increasing energy production by up to 20% compared to conventional systems while lowering overall costs and logistical challenges.
Implementation Method 1
Solar (PV) energy...capture the most solar radiation
Data Source
AI summary
Support platforms for one or more solar panels and systems and methods for securing support platforms are provided. In one embodiment, a frame of a support platform includes a plurality of support legs, each leg including a shoe plate. One or more toggle anchors with rod and/or cable are provided that include an anchor portion and a toggle portion pivotally coupled to the anchor portion, and a rod and/or cable is coupled to the toggle portion. Each anchor is driven into the ground with a driving rod such that an exposed end of the rod and/or cable extends from the ground. The driving rod is removed, and the rod and/or cable is pulled to deploy the anchor, and which the anchor is pull tested and measured in real time soil conditions whereupon the exposed end is coupled to the shoe plate of one of the support legs to apply a desired tensile force between the exposed end and the anchor to secure the support leg and, consequently, the support platform relative to the ground.