How Schletter made 350 solar projects a year easier to design with PVcase

At Schletter's project volume, early layout speed has a direct effect on how many opportunities the team can evaluate. Yet setting up a layout could take two to three days, while projects arriving from EPC partners often had to be recreated using Schletter's actual mounting-system parameters.

Days of setup slowed early-stage decisions

Schletter needed to reduce layout setup from days to hours so teams could test project options sooner, respond faster, and spend more time on the opportunities most likely to move forward.

The same project could require two design efforts

When an EPC layout arrived in another format or used generic mounting assumptions, Schletter had to rebuild it with the correct system geometry. That created a two-step process: one design by the EPC and another by Schletter.

Fixed-tilt and tracker projects needed one workflow

Schletter's annual portfolio includes both fixed-tilt and tracking projects. The team needed a consistent way to apply real table dimensions, module arrangements, post positions, terrain tolerances, and structural requirements across both system types.

Complex projects keep changing

AgriPV makes that challenge especially visible. Crop type, machinery access, clearance rules, tracker movement, terrain, and structural loads must be considered together — and layouts still need to adapt when utilities, access routes, or agricultural requirements change.

Schletter combines its internal structural configuration process with PVcase Ground Mount to create layouts based on real mounting-system parameters. The same workflow supports fixed-tilt and tracking projects, from early setup and iteration through terrain review and pile-level construction data.

Starting with real system data

Schletter defines the mounting system using inputs such as module dimensions, wind and snow loads, system type, table length, post positions, and required embedment depth. These parameters can be mirrored in PVcase Ground Mount, allowing the layout to use the intended system geometry instead of a generic placeholder.

Adapting layouts as agricultural requirements change

Within PVcase Ground Mount, Schletter can define buildable boundaries, access roads, vegetation, and exclusion areas, then update the layout when new information appears. If a utility corridor is added or larger machinery requires more space, the team can adjust the affected area or row spacing and regenerate the layout around the new constraints.

Distinguishing interior and perimeter tables

PVcase helps Schletter classify tables according to their position within the site. Interior tables are partially sheltered from wind by surrounding structures and may require fewer posts than exposed perimeter tables, subject to Schletter's structural calculations. In the agriPV webinar example, Schletter showcased that almost 80% of the tables fell within the interior area.

Testing the layout against terrain

Survey points are converted into a terrain mesh and assessed against the proposed tracker layout. Schletter can review post lengths, group them into practical increments, and identify areas where extreme terrain would require very long posts. Those areas can then be redesigned, graded, or excluded before construction.

Carrying layout data toward installation

Once the design is established, Schletter can export project quantities and pile information, including table counts, module capacity, road and fence lengths, and earthwork volumes when grading analysis is used. A coordinate list provides the X, Y, and Z position of each post together with its required height above ground.

With PVcase Ground Mount, Schletter has reduced layout setup from two to three days to less than one day — an estimated improvement of up to 60–70%. Applying Schletter parameters in the same environment also removes the need to redesign an EPC layout from scratch when project data is already supplied in PVcase format.

Hundreds of project days saved annually

Across approximately 350 projects each year, reducing setup by one or more days per project can return hundreds of working days to Schletter's teams. That capacity supports faster iteration, allows more opportunities to be evaluated, and can contribute to a higher project win rate.

One design instead of two

Around 20–25% of incoming project data already arrives in PVcase format, and that share is growing. For those projects, Schletter can work from the existing layout and apply its mounting-system expertise without repeating the full design effort between the EPC and Schletter.

Quicker proposals

PVcase enables the team generate proposals much faster. Where drafting an initial proposal used to take significant time, they can now produce a first version quickly — significantly faster than with their previous provider.

Earlier visibility into constructability

Because the layout reflects actual Schletter table and post data, teams can identify impractical post lengths, clearance issues, and difficult terrain earlier. Quantities and pile coordinates then remain tied to the mounting system intended for structural planning and installation.

Turning a late utility constraint into an updated layout

During the webinar, Schletter demonstrated how the workflow responds when a site's conditions change after planning has begun.

A buried water line was initially believed to sit three to four meters below ground. Later, the team learned it was only around 1.5 meters deep, creating a risk that driven posts could strike it.

Instead of rebuilding the project manually, the affected corridor could be added as a new exclusion area in PVcase Ground Mount. The layout could then be regenerated around it, followed by an updated interior/perimeter classification and terrain review.