Solving the Snowflake Effect: How We Design for Irregular Solar Sites

Snowflakes and solar projects might not seem very similar – and when solar was less widespread, they weren’t.

However, utility-scale solar has grown so fast that large, flat, square parcels of land are rarely available. As solar development expands into more constrained regions, project site maps increasingly resemble snowflakes: unique, irregular, and complicated.

At Castillo Engineering, we call these “Snowflake Projects,” and they’re quickly becoming a defining feature of large-scale solar.

What Is the Snowflake Effect?

Solar farms in desert states like New Mexico or Arizona can often be laid out traditionally in neat, uniform arrays. However, many projects in New England and the Northeast are shaped by uneven terrain and the patchwork of available land. Wetlands, irregular property boundaries, and rolling topography mean that utility-scale arrays in such regions often need to be located across non-linear sections rather than a single block.

These projects introduce electrical, civil, and permitting complexities that demand careful engineering. Instead of replicating a standard design, each project requires tailored solutions that balance performance, cost, and constructability.

For instance, we recently served as Engineer of Record (EOR) for SeaBoard Solar’s 31.5 MW portfolio of community solar projects in New York State, including:

• East Greenbush – 9 MW, split into two adjacent 4.9 MW projects with separate interconnections

• Kinderhook – twin 4.9 MW projects, each independently interconnected

• Wilton – 4.6 MW

• Troy – 5 MW

These projects were located in rolling upstate countryside with uneven terrain; in East Greenbush and Kinderhook’s cases, projects were additionally split across adjacent land parcels.

Challenge: Stringing Irregular Layouts

The irregular site shapes and widely spaced array sections complicated stringing and inverter configurations. For this portfolio, our engineers customized designs for each site to ensure electrical efficiency and constructability. They designed variable stringing ranging from 8 to 11 strings per inverter, based on terrain and distance between subarrays, to reduce trenching distances and minimize cable runs.

In the case of the Wilton site, our engineers worked with its patchwork nature by placing DC combiners within the array sections, with string inverters sited closer to the equipment pad. This design minimized trenching and voltage loss, optimizing project performance while containing costs.

Challenge: Sensitive Environments

The spread-out nature of snowflake projects makes them more likely to border sensitive habitats. Our team is experienced in designing for such projects, including the Seaboard Solar portfolio, which bordered protected wetlands.

For these sites, our team used conduit and capping in sensitive zones to avoid digging trenches in them, while conventional trenching was applied elsewhere. This approach maintained performance targets and reduced installation costs without disturbing environmental boundaries.

Challenge: Permitting

Snowflake projects, with irregular borders and sometimes multiple sites, can complicate an already complex process: permitting. In the case of Seaboard Solar’s New York portfolio, approval required compliance with both National Grid and NYSERDA standards, a dual jurisdiction that added even more complexity to permitting and design.

Fortunately, our team takes documentation seriously and completes it meticulously. Castillo’s thoroughness in Stage B submissions helped achieve first-round approval and prevented costly construction delays. In fact, Stage B documentation for interconnection approval was completed in roughly one month across all five sites, which allowed the projects to enter the utility queue faster than typical industry timelines.

What’s Needed to Manage Snowflake Projects?

Snowflake projects often require trade-offs. Our role in such cases is not only technical, but also collaborative. For instance, we mediated between the asset owner’s efficiency demands and the EPC’s budgetary constraints, delivering a final design that achieved the owner’s goals without burdening the EPC with unmanageable costs.

Overcoming irregular layouts and difficult site conditions, we delivered a portfolio of high-performance, cost-effective solar projects that will provide clean power to New York communities for decades. As complex sites become the new normal in land-constrained regions, this adaptive, solutions-oriented approach demonstrates that even the most challenging sites can be transformed into reliable, productive solar assets.

By treating each project as unique, and applying advanced engineering tools and practical field experience, we ensure that no two “snowflakes” stand in the way of a successful solar build.

Get in touch with our team to discover how we can streamline your project and ensure long-term success – especially on challenging sites.