Brandywine Solar Farm

About the Brandywine Community Solar Farm

Brandywine Solar Farm (also known as Simba Solar) is a 3 MW community solar farm in Brandywine, Maryland that was developed and built by Cypress Creek Renewables. The 23-acre plot is leased from the Brandywine Lions Club which generates ongoing funds for the community civic group. As a community solar farm, Maryland residents receive credits to their electricity bills.

Our Role During Construction

Our team at Colonial Construction Materials worked with Vanguard Energy and Presto Geosystems to supply a solution for Simba solar farm’s access road.

Permeable Site Access Road

Constructing a site access road that was safe and dependable was critical for the success of the project. The unpaved road would allow maintenance and emergency vehicles to access the project during and after construction. Although the road would be used infrequently, it needed to support up to a 70,000-pound fire truck.

The GEOWEB® Load Support System with vegetated infill was chosen as the site access solution for Simba Solar because of the during-construction advantages and long-term durability. With on-site support from Colonial, Stuart Contractors LLC installed 39,000 square feet of 6-inch GEOWEB GW30V over a nonwoven geotextile fabric. ATRA® Keys connected the GEOWEB panels to construct the unpaved road. Once secured, the cellular confinement system was filled with engineered fill: a mixture of on-site material, imported stone and topsoil. With the confined engineered fill, the completed load support system is capable of handling heavy vehicle use while supporting long-term vegetation.

This was a perfect solution to the site access when I was doing the design. It allowed for a stable roadway on an unstable ground surface and also allowed me to eliminate stormwater management practices by reducing impervious surfaces.

Ted Hastings, PMP
Becker Morgan Group