Photo courtesy of Black River Solar 68 | ISSUE 3 2021 www.piledrivers.org
the company bidding on bigger and more jobs in the Midwest
region that the company covers. That doesn’t mean Black River
will stop doing small jobs, the two- or three-pile residential jobs
that come with better margins. It does mean, he hopes, more of
the 1,000-plus-pile jobs for large solar farms, where two crews can
halve the time to completion.
The GAYK solar pile driver is a self-contained machine on
tracks. Among its features are auto-plumb and auto-level control
to make for speedier and more accurate installations. Once Black
Rock is also equipped with rock-drilling equipment, which Bales
expects to have done in the second half of this year, the company
will be set to efficiently drive piles in all conditions.
Black River also owns survey equipment, which allows it to provide
layout services for solar farms.
“Whether it’s five piles or 50,000, the process is the same. It’s all
based on making straight lines,” said Bales. The company is finding
success in this work, building a reputation with solar-farm contractors
for reliable service.
“Our relationships are expanding for this work,” said Bales.
“Contractors were hesitant at first, but now they’re turning over
responsibility for it.”
Among its recent jobs, Black River installed almost 240 piles
for a solar farm at the Sisters of St. Benedict St. Mary Monastery
in Rock Island, Ill. The job was complicated by a steep slope and
hills that created a line-of-vision challenge for keeping the tops
of the piles on the same plane. Bales made use of his teaching
background in figuring out the math involved in the project. In a
case like this, the preparation work can be significantly more timeconsuming
than the pile driving.
On another project, Black River was called in with just a couple
days’ notice for a 1,000-pile assignment, after the original contractor
experienced mechanical problems. Bales describes it as a tough
job and a “huge learning experience” for several reasons; not only
was it a big job for his company, but they also had to deal with very
limited site preparation, a starting point that was already behind
schedule and tons of rain.
Being able to step in to take on complicated projects is important
to Bales’ vision of the company.
Piles installed at a waster water treatment plant in Carbondale, Ill.
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