Turning Sun solar

Challenge

The 128.9 MW (DC) / 100 MW (AC) Turning Sun Solar Project is a large-scale, ground-mounted solar photovoltaic facility spanning more than 200 hectares across four quarter sections in southeastern Saskatchewan. The project presented a range of technical and design challenges, including undulating terrain, numerous wetlands and water depressions, and long medium-voltage collection feeders extending to a substation located in the southwest corner of the site.

The project also required the integration of new terrain-following tracker technology, an aerial cable management system for DC conductors, and SaskPower-specific grounding requirements. At the same time, key site constraints—including municipal setbacks, rights-of-way, wetland designations, and adjacent transmission line routing—continued to evolve through detailed design.

With more than 1,800 trackers, 180,000 modules, 27 power stations, 30,000 structural piles, and approximately 9 km of internal access roads, the project pushed the limits of conventional utility-scale solar design approaches.

Solution

SLR led the electrical, civil, and stormwater management design for the solar facility, working closely with Barton Malow and the project’s other engineering partners to coordinate design requirements and support project delivery.

To accommodate the site’s complex terrain, SLR used internally developed software and a new design approach for table geometry optimization. The team coordinated tracker geometry with grading and stormwater management requirements, incorporating wetlands, high water levels, and drainage patterns into the design.

As project requirements evolved, SLR adapted the design to incorporate updated municipal setbacks, right-of-way locations and dimensions, and adjacent high-voltage transmission line routing requirements that were clarified during the detailed design process. Following IFC civil design, the team worked with Barton Malow to update the site grading design to generate additional material for road and substation construction, reducing the need for imported material while reassessing impacts to tracker geometry and stormwater flows.

The electrical design addressed the project's long MV feeders, aerial DC cable management system, and specialized grounding requirements, including SaskPower's requirement for a 50% margin above maximum provided fault levels. Throughout design and construction, SLR maintained close coordination across disciplines to support constructability and delivery.

Impact

SLR's integrated electrical, civil, and hydrological expertise enabled the project team to navigate complex site conditions, evolving requirements, and significant technical and scheduling constraints while maintaining progress toward construction.

The resulting facility will be one of Saskatchewan's largest solar developments, providing a renewable generating capacity of 100 MWAC to the SaskPower transmission grid. SLR continues to support Barton Malow through construction, commissioning, as-built documentation, and performance testing through final client handover.