Solar Array Ground Issues: Why Ground Mounts Move
Ground mounted solar arrays depend on the soil around every post. Epp Foundation Repair installs helical pier foundations for new solar arrays, sized from the geotechnical report and installed to the engineer of record's specification.
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Solar Array Ground Issues: diagnosed and explained.
Solar array ground issues are movement in the posts or piles that hold up a ground mounted array. Posts can lift, settle, or lean when the soil around them changes. In the Midwest, two common causes are frost and water. Soil that freezes can grip a post and push it upward, and wet clay or loess can lose strength and let a post settle. When posts move by different amounts, the racking can twist and rows can fall out of line. The answer usually starts with the soil, which is why the geotechnical report for a site matters so much when the foundation for a new array is chosen.
Watch for these across a ground mounted array.
- 01
Rows out of line
Rows that no longer sit straight or level can mean some posts have moved more than others.
- 02
Posts higher after winter
A post that sits higher than its neighbors in spring may have been lifted by frost.
- 03
Leaning posts
A post that tips away from plumb may be in soft or saturated soil.
- 04
Twisted or strained racking
Racking that looks bent or strained can mean the posts under it are no longer at the same height.
- 05
Water standing around posts
Water that collects around posts can soften the soil that holds them.
What causes solar array ground issues in Midwest homes.
- 01
Frost Heave
When moist soil freezes, it expands and can grip the sides of a post. Over repeated winters this can lift a post a little at a time.1 Posts that do not reach below the frost depth are more exposed to it.2
- 02
Soft or Saturated Soil
Clay and loess soils can lose strength when they stay wet. A post in soft soil may settle or lean under the weight of the array.
- 03
Wind Loads
Panels catch wind, and that force is passed down to each post. Posts in loose soil can work loose over time under repeated wind loading.
- 04
Soil That Changes Across the Site
Soil can vary a lot across a large site. Posts in one area may hold well while posts in a low or wet area move.
How commercial specialists actually fix solar array ground issues.
Solving solar array ground issues means addressing the underlying soil, pressure, or settlement cause. Not just patching the visible damage. Below are the engineered solutions we install most often for this symptom in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri homes.
Engineered commercial solutions for this problem.
Each method is matched to a specific failure mode and soil profile. Browse the toolkit we draw from when diagnosing your home.
How do soil and climate in Nebraska and Iowa affect buildings and slabs?
Buildings and slabs rest on the soil under them, so when that soil gets wetter, drier or colder, they can move.
Based on NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Lincoln Municipal Airport and Omaha Eppley Airfield.
What kind of soil is around Lincoln and Omaha?
Based on USDA soil survey data for Lancaster County (Lincoln) and Douglas County (Omaha), clay is the main soil type in both counties. The survey rates Lancaster County high and Douglas County moderate for shrink swell. Clay can swell when it gets wet and shrink as it dries, so a slab or foundation on clay can move up and down with the seasons. The soils that cover the most ground in Lancaster County are Wymore and Aksarben, and in Douglas County they are Contrary and Marshall.
Loess, the wind deposited silt common in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, can lose strength and settle when it gets wet. Water can reach it from runoff, a plumbing leak or a downspout that empties next to the house.
How does freezing weather affect footings and basement walls?
In Lincoln and Omaha, soil near the surface can freeze and thaw many times between fall and spring. Each city's building code sets a frost line depth, which is the minimum depth below finished grade for a footing. It is 36 inches in Lincoln and 42 inches in Omaha. Supports that sit above that depth, such as some porches, stoops and chimney footings, can move as the ground freezes and thaws.
Horizontal cracks in a basement wall are more often linked to pressure from the soil outside the wall than to settlement. Wet soil pushes harder against a wall than dry soil, and soil that freezes against the wall can add to that pressure.
Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020, LINCOLN MUNI AP (USW00014939) and OMAHA EPPLEY AIRFIELD (USW00014942), retrieved September 30, 2026. Soil: USDA NRCS Soil Data Access (SSURGO), county survey for Lancaster County and Douglas County. Frost line depth: Lincoln Municipal Code 20.12.140 and Omaha Municipal Code Sec. 43-127.
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Answers to common questions about Solar Array Ground Issues.
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Sources
- Adfreezing and Frost Heaving of Foundations (Canadian Building Digest 128). E. Penner and K. N. Burn, National Research Council Canada, 1970. Also: Frost Jacking Phenomena of Solar Panels Piled Foundations Investigated by Centrifuge Scaled Models. G. Guida, A. Viglianti, F. Casini, Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 2026. Back to text
- Frost Jacking Phenomena of Solar Panels Piled Foundations Investigated by Centrifuge Scaled Models. Proceedings of the 21st ICSMGE, 2026. Also: New Construction Criteria for a Changing Arctic and Subarctic (ERDC/CRREL SR-25-1). US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, 2025. Back to text
Other commercial warning signs to watch for.
If you see one, it's worth checking for the others. Most foundation problems show up as more than one symptom.
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