Case Study: TerraSmart achieves 50% faster ground-screw installation and $250K+ survey savings with Trimble DPS900 Drilling System

TerraSmart Drills for Solar Panel Ground Screws 50% Faster with Trimble DPS900 Drilling System

TerraSmart, a North American leader in solar ground‑mount racking, was hired to build foundations for the Moapa Solar Energy Center — a 1,500‑acre, ~250 MW project in Nevada. The site’s extremely rocky, caliche‑filled soil made traditional driven piles slow and hard to keep in tolerance (earlier contractors spent ~1.5 years on blocks 1–4), and the team faced tight accuracy requirements and high survey costs.

TerraSmart adopted ground screws and outfitted five Atlas Copco rigs with the Trimble DPS900 3D drilling system (with Trimble total stations and GNSS), drilling pilot holes and placing ~62,000 screws for blocks 5–6 in about four months (approximately 110,000 screws placed on the project). The approach met tolerances (±2 cm; holes eventually within ½ in), sped block completion by >50%, saved upwards of $250,000 in survey/labor, and earned TerraSmart follow‑on contracts for remaining blocks.

TerraSmart

James Meyer

Survey Lead