Reels from solar farms
Utility-scale solar plants are built from thousands of feet of collection and DC cable, all delivered on reels. The Antelope Valley alone holds plants of 579 MW and 230 MW, and building, repairing or repowering them empties large reels by the hundred. We clear solar laydown yards in full runs.
- Usual flanges
- 36 to 72 in
- Areas it fills
- 4
- Lanes
- 2
Solar farms around Los Angeles
The western Mojave is one of the biggest solar regions in the country. On the Antelope Valley floor, the Antelope Valley Solar Projects total 579 MW on 3,230 acres straddling the Kern and Los Angeles county line, with their output sold to Southern California Edison. AV Solar Ranch One adds 230 MW on about 2,100 acres in unincorporated Los Angeles County. More plants stretch east across the Victor Valley and beyond.
A solar plant's cable runs from panel strings to combiners, to inverters, to collection lines and the substation. Much of it is medium-voltage collection cable on large reels; the rest is smaller DC and control cable. Construction empties them by the laydown yard; repair and repowering empty more for years afterwards.
Repowering, the replacement of older panels and inverters with newer ones, is a growing source of reels at plants that have run for a decade or more. Each repowering job re-cables part of the plant and leaves a new batch of empties in the laydown yard. Repair after storms and wildfires adds more.
Where the reels pile up
In laydown yards on or beside the plant sites, in the Antelope Valley around Lancaster and Palmdale and in the high desert around Victorville and Adelanto, and in the yards of the electrical contractors who build them.
What kind of reels
Mostly 48 to 72 inch reels, nailed and bolted, with smaller reels of DC and control cable. Sun and wind weather the wood quickly, so grading matters.
How a pickup fits the work
Solar sites are remote and big, so pickups are planned as full runs. We need a site contact, directions from the nearest paved road, somewhere firm for the truck to stand, and a calm-weather window, since desert wind can stop loading.
Where the reels go next
Solar reels go mostly to growers, ranches and contractors in the desert itself, where large reels are useful and the drive back is short. Reels that have baked in the sun for a long time lose strength, and those are recycled. Bolted reels with a maker’s stencil are set aside for return.
When the reels come off the job
Timing follows construction seasons. Desert builds often push hard through the cooler months, and laydown yards fill steadily; summer heat slows work and makes loading slower too, so we try to clear yards in spring and autumn when we can. Monsoon storms in late summer bring wind and occasional flash floods to desert roads, which can move a window by a day or two.
The common mistake on solar sites is leaving empties scattered along the arrays where the cable was pulled. Gathering them later, across hundreds of acres, takes a crew and a telehandler. Bringing them back to the laydown yard as each block is finished saves that day, and keeps them out of the way of trucks and mowers.
A pickup, stop by stop
Gather the empties
Bring empties to one part of the laydown yard, on firm ground near the access road.
Count by flange
Most will be 48 to 72 inches; note any smaller ones.
Send directions
Remote sites need a contact, a gate code or escort, and directions.
Load in calm weather
We plan around the wind forecast and clear the yard in full runs.
Reel sizes from solar farms
Lanes that serve solar farms
Other industries that empty reels here
Questions from solar farms
Do you go to remote solar sites?
Yes, with directions, a contact and firm ground for the truck to stand on.
Does desert sun ruin reels?
It dries and splits the wood over time. Reels that have sat out for a year or more often go to recycling.
Can you clear a laydown yard at the end of a build?
Yes, in as many full runs as it takes.
Do you name solar owners as customers?
No. Plants are named only as places where reels come from.
Which flange sizes come off a solar build?
Mostly 48 to 72 inch reels of collection cable, plus smaller reels of DC and control cable from the string and combiner work.
Can solar reels ride with other loads?
Rarely. A solar laydown yard usually fills a deck by itself, and smaller stops in Palmdale, Lancaster or Victorville ride with it.
What about plants in Kern County?
They are outside our map. Rosamond and Mojave are close to the Antelope Valley run, so ask with the address if you are near the county line.
How is wind handled on site?
Reels are chocked under both flanges before straps go on, and loading stops if gusts can move an empty reel.