Orta Solar, a developer and electrical maintainer of solar power stations, has announced that it has purchased two of the very first all-new 2012 Ford Rangers to arrive in the UK.

Only 20 of the pick-up trucks had arrived in the UK when Orta took collection from Hendy Ford in Southampton yesterday.

Facing a challenging task of maintaining 30MW (150,000 solar panels) of up to 33,000 volt solar power stations in all weathers travelling over a mixture of rough, steep, slippy & extremely boggy ground carrying heavy payloads, Nick Pascoe, Orta Solar’s managing director, carefully considered Orta’s choice of vehicle.

“We test drove several brands of truck and read all the reviews and comparative tests that we could find," he said. 

"In one drive I took one competitor pick-up 100yards off road down a gentle slope and found myself stuck with all four wheels spinning.

"I drove the exact same route in the Ford last night without any drama whatsoever.”

One of the routine service tasks that Orta Solar carries out on behalf of the solar power stations owners is to wash the 25,000 solar panels per park.

Usually this would be done with a tractor pulling a water bowser to feed jet wash and brushes.

“Having fitted the trucks with Cooper Discoverer STT supplied after considered advice from the UK Cooper distributor Silverline tyres in Warwick, we can now put a 1 tonne cube of water in the back of the pick-up and both drive to the solar parks and then drive around them in the same vehicle to wash all the solar panels,” said Pascoe.
 

More articles on: