Activ8 Solar Panel Installation

The Mannok solar installation in Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, forms part of a major renewable energy project being delivered by Activ8 Solar Energies in partnership with SSE Airtricity through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The 6MW rooftop solar project is being developed across approximately 3.88 hectares of Mannok’s manufacturing facilities and will incorporate almost 10,000 solar panels. Once operational, the installation is expected to provide a significant portion of Mannok’s electricity demand while avoiding an estimated 792 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Select Access was appointed to supply, install, and certify the access and fall protection systems required across the solar installation. The scope included fixed guardrails, access ladders, access steps, and cable-based fall arrest systems to facilitate safe movement between different roof levels and around the solar infrastructure.

Select Access installed 1,335lm of cable-based fall arrest systems to the metal deck panels around the roof perimeters, designed to maintain a 2m setback from leading edges. Fixed aluminium guardrails were installed to the two lower inverter roofs, comprising 65lm and 46lm respectively.

Six aluminium caged ladder systems were supplied and installed to provide access between ground level, the lower inverter roofs, and the main roof, with ladder heights ranging from 1.5m to 6.3m. Additional access solutions included a small 600mm stepover to bridge a change in roof height at the gutter line, alongside access steps and fixed access ladders designed in accordance with the relevant EN 14122 standards.

In two and a half weeks, all systems were inspected, tested, supplied, installed, and certified by Select Access, with the access package designed around the varying roof levels and operational requirements of the solar installation.

The completed access package provides a coordinated system of fall protection and roof access across the solar installation, supporting safe movement, inspection, maintenance, and servicing activities throughout the rooftop environment. The project forms part of a significant investment in Irish onsite renewable energy. Once operational, the 6MW installation is expected to generate approximately 4.86 million kWh of renewable electricity annually and avoid an estimated 792 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

By delivering certified access and fall protection infrastructure alongside the solar installation, Select Access has helped provide the safe access provisions required to support the long-term operation and maintenance of this large-scale renewable energy asset.