Puller Solar

We worked with both Amec Foster Wheeler and Utter Construction to develop a custom grass seed mixture that would thrive on this Virginia solar farm. The mixture needed to germinate quickly and stabilize large areas of bare soil. The solar farm mixture also needed to grow low for easy maintenance around the solar panels but be traffic tolerant as subcontractors regularly accessed the site.
Seeding a solar site in coastal Virginia can be tricky because this region is in the agronomic Transition Zone. Typically, a combination of cool-season and warm-season varieties perform well in the Transition Zone.
After testing and consultation, we developed a grass seed mixture that incorporated Sahara Bermuda and Turf Type Tall Fescue as the two primary varieties. These two perennial crops balanced each other because Sahara Bermuda is a warm season grass that thrives in warm coastal climates. Sahara Bermuda is a low growing, drought resistant turf that can survive in sandy soil. Turf Type Tall Fescue is a cool-season variety that germinates quickly and can withstand heavy traffic.
We also added Clover and Weeping Love to the mixture, two varieties that are often used for erosion control in the Mid-Atlantic Transition Zone. Weeping Love is a fine seed that grows low but aggressively, two key benefits for solar farm seeding. Clover was also used because it has a strong root structure and nitrogen fixating capabilities. In addition to the Bermuda, Tall Fescue, Clover and Weeping Love, we incorporated Rye Grass in the cool months and Millet in the warm months. We chose to seasonally rotate in these nurse crops at low rates for the perennials to have time to establish and thrive.