Thanks guys.
Sorry it's taken me so long to respond... Yes, things are indeed pretty nuts. I've certainly seen things from a perspective now that few get to. It's mind boggling at times to think that while I've stood in a couple of spots now where "far as the eye can see" applies, this one is rather "tiny" in comparison to what's out there.
It's pretty cool but the challenges I expected to find are actually rather different than what they are. The entire process and setup is very easy to see (with the exception of the HVAC side, I haven't made my way to that end of an inverter yet).
That said, my job isn't particularly physically demanding, currently I'm doing QC for combiners. It's a bit mentally taxing knowing I'm the one that's supposed to catch something that could have major implications if it causes a failure down the line, but other than that it's mostly *insane* amounts of walking.
I have a good bit of OCD, and so there's aspects of it that are absolutely perfect for me, others not so much. I didn't count on the remote nature of the job somehow... not that I expected it to be "in someone's backyard right next door" or anything... lol
It didn't hit home for me until I had made the drive a couple times up here and then actually started, just how remote it is. I don't have the truck with me, no... Despite there being a Y right around the corner, the rest of it doesn't work out for it and so a hotel about 1.5 miles from the site was the best I could do to get rolling.
I started out walking it and that was the plan, but of course that's just mileage above and beyond the field. I'm of course not the only one up here on the project, there's now about 200 of us on site, and this is one of those (literally) 1 light towns... not much here, so a bunch of us stay in the same hotel, and I'm able to ride with one of them more often than not.
The other aspect is they push the labor all the way to limits in terms of time... OSHA states no more than 13 days on with a minimum of 1 off. Days are 10 hours. So yeah, there's a reward for it but it's hard work no matter how you're involved.
I'm not sure what I'm allowed to get away with in terms of pics, but I figure at least one won't hurt, and while I know this doesn't really do much for anyone outside of what a quick hit on a search engine can, this one, I was "very close by" when it was taken
The white box in the center is one of the inverters.
Thanks again goes out to everyone who in one way or another allowed me to reach a point where not only I could see all this but of course understand the big picture in the process. Most there only know their specific job or those aspects which they've been involved in... I'm one of the luckier ones I guess in that way... I don't see the forest for the trees on many things, but on this one I get everything that's going on and it's really cool to see up close.
Related: I think solar panels grow on trees... they're between 4 and 6 feet tall, have really long branches with square leaves, and I swear someone just planted a bunch of single cells in the ground and let them grow up
Y'all might be amazed at how fast those strings go up... it's crazy lol
Ok well until next time...
Steve