Terrasmart has expanded its in-house manufacturing capabilities to produce ground screws used for solar racking foundations. Terrasmart’s domestic ground screws, which have historically been manufactured at outside companies, will now be produced at the company’s manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Credit: Terrasmart
In-house production, in addition to more on-shoring of its supply chain, is part of Terrasmart’s larger vertical integration strategy.
Currently, Terrasmart’s ground screw manufacturing capacity is on track to supply nearly 500 MW of new PV projects. To make this possible, the new production line consists of 12 work stations, an induction heater, forge, plasma cutter, stamping press, three-hole punch and set nut welder, and six helical welders. The facility will also add three different sizes of ground screws to its list. To empower its team members, Terrasmart trained the ground screw assembly line team in five new skill sets.
“Terrasmart was one of the first providers of ground screw foundations in the U.S., bringing additional reliability and performance to sites in challenging conditions and opening new opportunities for ground-mount solar,” said Ed McKiernan, president of Terrasmart. “Moving domestic ground screw production in house streamlines our supply chain, maximizing availability for qualifying solar projects to meet domestic content thresholds to benefit our customers, the solar industry and the wider U.S. economy.”
Ground screws are more effective in tougher terrains and work in a variety of soils, in addition to the driven piles and ballasted foundations that make up Terrasmart’s structural portfolio.
“We are known for our focus on advising on and providing the optimal foundation solutions for every site. Domestic, in-house ground screw production allows us to partner with our customers with even greater efficiency and reliability,” said Yury Reznikov, chief sales officer at Terrasmart.
Supply chain resilience has been top of mind for solar industry professionals amidst ongoing changes and pressures in global trade and logistics. At the same time, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created an bonus credit for an additional 10% tax incentive for projects that meet a set domestic content threshold for iron, steel and manufactured products, which has driven further interest in U.S.-made solar technologies. By establishing a domestic manufacturing capacity, Terrasmart hopes to tap into the growing demand for domestically produced steel components which contribute a major share of solar equipment costs.
News item from Terrasmart
