The Caribbean best practice recognizes wind speeds and CARILEC recognized wind speeds is 180 miles per hour. CARILEC has accepted the RMI’s, Solar Under Storm recommendations of a four-post-per-table design as the best practice.
Yes, we do have a front and back leg design, and we do supply it all over. We’ve supplied in the Caribbean and for projects in Canada and the U.S. as well.
The RMI report is well thought out, and we appreciate what they’re saying. However, we differ in our methodology, and in the prescription to go with a 4-post design front and back leg regardless of the ground conditions is something that we don’t agree with. In certain areas, it’s going to make more sense to go with a single post design if the ground allows for it. Our ultimate objective is to give you the best design for your sites. If the best design is going with a single post driven or a single post grounded, we’re not going to push you to go to a front and back design.
There are a lot of factors to consider before landing on a design, including constructability, ground conditions, topology, and wind loads. At Polar Racking and PRI, we don’t believe that we should just ignore the two posts or single post design, as we call it, and just always go for the front and back. We have the option, we’re happy to supply it. It just has to make sense. And the engineering has to tell us that it makes sense. And that’s where we stand on that.