Montserrat is a mountainous Caribbean island, a British Overseas Territory, in the West Indies. Like many island nations, Montserrat is almost entirely dependent on imported fossil fuels, leaving it vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations directly impacting the cost of electricity.
With 45% of the island’s imported fuel used solely for electricity generation, the government understands the value of investing in renewable energy sources and has formulated a robust national energy policy towards self-sustainability, representing the desire of the Montserrat people to improve the country for this and future generations.
Solar would be the quickest way to achieve this. Upon consultation with local, regional and international partners, they determined the best path forward would be to incorporate solar photovoltaics (PV) and battery storage into their electrical infrastructure―three government buildings normally powered by high-cost power from diesel generators.
In addition, the area is prone to hurricanes so the design wind load requirements
necessitated a product capable of withstanding 180 mile per hour wind loads. Furthermore, shipping logistics presented a challenge to this remote island. Transporting traditional rail would be extremely costly and suffer long delivery times since there is no direct shipping from the United States.
Use of S-5!’s revolutionary RibBracket™ III, specifically designed for this unique roof profile, and the S-5 PVKIT solar solution, allowed for direct-attach or rail-less PV mounting to the metal roofs and were engineered to withstand area hurricanes winds for this project.
Using this approach to solar mounting provided a significant decrease in the amount of material required to ship. A traditional, three-rail system would have involved 10,000 feet of rail and required a full 40-foot container to ship. S-5! provided six attachments per module shipped on ONE standard palette― a 50% savings on product cost and 70% on shipping!
The government of Montserrat was able to reduce its dependency on imported fossil fuels and supplement its power generation by adding solar PV and battery storage to its electrical infrastructure. The PVKIT and RibBracket III system provided an aesthetically-pleasing, cost effective PV mounting solution – saving the customer time and money on installation and materials.
The pre-assembled PVKIT® used in rail-less solar PV mounting can save you in logistics and installation time. It is compatible with all S-5! clamps and most brackets. It fits all 30-46 mm module frames and offers multiple slots for wire management.
The RibBracket I-V™ is used with the PVKIT® for (rail-less) solar PV mounting. This sheeting-only bracket comes in five different sizes.
Learn more about the products featured in this case study.
