How to Design Stormwater Management for Ground Mounted Solar Arrays

Steven D. Trinkaus, Professional Engineer

In the legislature push in Connecticut and other states for more renewable energy, such as solar arrays, many environmental considerations are being minimized or flat out ignored by the regulatory agencies responsible for protecting the environment. The installation of large ground mounted solar arrays have caused many adverse impacts during and after development as a result of stormwater from these sites. This presentation will highlight what the particular issues are and how they need to be addressed during the design and construction period.

• Learn how assumptions about soil properties and extent of vegetation used in the design phase of stormwater management systems for ground mounted solar arrays can cause adverse environmental impacts.
• Understand what design assumptions are appropriate for developing and modeling stormwater management systems for ground mounted solar arrays.
• See the results of the adverse impacts on the environment of incorrect assumptions in the design of stormwater management associated with ground mounted solar arrays.

Presented by Steven D. Trinkaus, Professional Engineer – Civil Engineer, Trinkaus Engineering LLC

Mr. Trinkaus is a licensed professional engineer in Connecticut and Maryland and has over 38 years experience in the land development field. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of Low Impact Development (LID) and has been an invited presenter and consultant in Taiwan, China and South Korea multiple times since 2011. He was an invited presenter at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on Sustainable Stormwater Management in October 2017. He has written multiple LID Design Manuals for five municipalities in Connecticut as well as being the principal author of a LID National Guidance document for EWRI. He has designed all types of LID treatment systems including Bioretention, Dry and Wet Swales, Permeable Asphalt and open cell paver systems. He has made many presentations on LID and water quality topics at many local, regional and international conferences. He has also taught day long workshops on stormwater and LID. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management in 1980.