Mill 19, a nearly quarter-mile-long structure built at Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood Green, a former brownfield site, is now home to the largest single sloped solar array in the United States.
The $5 million project includes 4,784 silicon solar panels that cover 133,000 sf across the steel frame of the original 1943 building at a slope of 20 degrees. The panels were installed using an access platform netting material, called the Spider WorkWeb, and attached to the steel skeleton of the original mill building, which envelops the two new construction buildings below. Each of the LG solar panels were preassembled and tested on the ground before being lifted into place.
The array will generate over 2 megawatts of power and produce enough energy to power 264 homes annually. Mill 19 has been designed with the goal of achieving LEED v4 Gold certification. It includes a high-performance envelope providing maximum thermal efficiency and up to 96% daylight autonomy. Storm water will be conveyed through a rainwater garden to centrally located infiltration basins. Captured rooftop rainwater will be reused in the cooling tower and for flushing in the restrooms.
Mill 19 tenants include Carnegie Mellon University’s Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing and Manufacturing Futures Initiative, and Catalyst Connection in Building A. Building B includes Aptiv, a company that recently partnered with Hyundai to create autonomous vehicles.
Scalo Solar Solutions completed the solar array installation project.
