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February 7, 2012 | Leave A Comment

In the tiny town of Tenna in Switzerland local residents came together to replace the old and dilapidated ski lift at their local mountain resort. Instead of simply replacing the lift they decided to break some new ground and funded the world’s first solar powered ski lift.

The system produces 90000 kilowatt-hours per year or nearly 3 times the amount of energy needed to run the lift. The modules also are able to track the sun and shed snow when necessary.

So, when is Mt Hood going to follow suit and solarize its lifts?


Posted in Commerical Solar, Community Solar, Pacific Northwest Solar, solar design, Solar Technology | Tags: , ,

December 19, 2011 | Leave A Comment

Unique solar energy designs

Design is the adaptation of means to a pre-conceived end. The end can be purely for aesthetic purposes or to improve efficiency, functionality or a combination of all three. It has been said that the genius of Steve Jobs of Apple fame was his ability  to combine technology and design.  The seemingly benign and ubiquitous vacuum cleaner was revolutionized by Sir James Dyson, who after over 5,000 failed attempts
designed the “cyclonic” cleaner for a more beautiful and powerful product.
When considering the “design” of a solar energy system, whether for residential or commercial purposes, it is hard to envision anything other than a linear concept, that is, straight lines of solar panels arranged next to each other. However, recently several experimenters thought outside the box and came up with solar system designs that are anything but linear.

Seventh grader discovers more efficient solar design

First, Aidan, a 13 year old seventh grader from New York entered a contest sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History in an attempt to win the “Young Naturalist Award.” On a winter hiking trip in the Catskill Mountains of New York, he noticed that contrary to his belief that tree branches were nothing more than a tangled mess, he saw a pattern in the way tree branches grew. His research project studied the complex design of trees and how they “are more efficient than humans in collecting solar energy.” The more that young Aiden learned and experimented, the more he thought about creating a new way to arrange solar panels. In trying to understand the spiral nature of branches on different types of trees (i.e. oak vs. maple) Aiden concluded that the pattern of the branches followed the “Fibonacci” sequence as did many other forms of nature. He states: “I designed and built my own test model, copying the Fibonacci pattern of an oak tree……In place of leaves, I used PV solar cells hooked up in a series that produced up to 1/2 volt, so the peak output of the model was 5 volts. The entire design copied the pattern of an oak tree as closely as possible.” Aiden placed his solar Fibonacci tree model and a linear array in his backyard for two months. He found that the Fibonacci tree array captured 20% more electricity and collected 2 1/2 times more hours of sunlight during the day. Here is a more detailed review of the project. You can read more about Aidan’s project here as well. However, this claim of young Aiden has not been without controversy as it flies in the face, as some people believe, of common sense. For a review of the controversy surrounding Aiden’s project see this link.

Solar Origami

Jeffrey Grossman is an MIT power engineering professor. He states that standard flat solar panels are only “optimized to capture sunlight at one point of the sun’s trajectory-otherwise they need automated tracking systems to follow the sun.” In his attempt to increase the efficiency of the design itself of a solar array he turned to the ancient art of origami. He found that folded solar cell systems could produce constant power throughout the day and didn’t need tracking. He claims that his new designs are “up to 2 1/2 times more efficient per comparative length and width than traditional flat arrays.” ” Like young Aiden, Grossman was inspired by the way that trees spread their leaves in all directions to maximize their exposure to the sun. He worked with MIT graduate student Marco Bernardi to create a computer program that mimics the process of evolution. The computer program would randomize patterns of exposed surfaces and then choose the most efficient one to start the next generation — how Darwinian.
What resulted were gorgeous sun-capturing shapes that resemble origami. In some structures the surfaces also reflect upon each other, intensifying the sunlight and increasing energy gain. Grossman noticed that the larger the shapes, the more effective the arrays were — sometimes they reached 120 KWh per day when a traditional array would generate 50 KWh. He is continuing his research to find the most effective folding patterns and has teamed up with Professors Vladimir Bulović and David Perreault of EECS to create a prototype system.”
I don’t think that we’ll be seeing these designs in the backyards of urban areas as traditional flat panel arrays seem more appropriate. However, I can envision some of these designs springing up in our future cities, where Fibonacci Solar Trees or Origami Solar Constructs represent a bold message that the 21st century will be the age of renewable power.


Posted in solar design, solar panels, Solar Technology | Tags: , , , , ,

December 12, 2011 | 3 comments so far

Solar Farms are Sprouting Up Across the Country

The following appeared in the Vancouver Sun on December 2, 2011: “The sun does, however, have superpower potential. It is free, clean, and bathes the Earth with about 100,000 terawatts (trillion watts) of energy per year, which far exceeds the 15 terawatts humanity now consumes.”  That is a whopping 6,666 times more than we use and only begs the question why don’t we utilize this free and clean energy source. Although not widely reported in the main stream media, it appears that an inexorable movement has begun towards utilizing this energy source thanks mainly to the various policies instituted by federal, state and local governments. Also, market forces have driven the cost of solar down to the point the grid parity can be achieved in large scale projects. One particular policy of note are mandates that utilities produce a certain percentage of their energy portfolio from renewable energy sources. The result is the birth of solar farms, large solar arrays on commercial buildings, and aggressive rebate programs to entice homeowners to invest in solar energy.

There is no exact definition of what constitutes a “solar farm.” However, it is the kind of thing that you know it when you see it.  The following list represents true “solar farms” that no one would dispute. They are referred to as “photovoltaic power stations” (this list taken from Wikipedia).

“As of December 2011, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Golmud Solar Park (China, 200 MW), Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant (Canada, 97 MW), Montalto di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station (Italy, 84.2 MW), Finsterwalde Solar Park (Germany, 80.7 MW), Ohotnikovo Solar Park (Ukraine, 80 MW), Lieberose Photovoltaic Park (Germany, 71.8 MW), Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant (Italy, 70 MW), Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 60 MW), and the Strasskirchen Solar Park (Germany, 54 MW).[1]
There are also many large plants under construction. The Desert Sunlight Project is a 550 MW solar power plant under construction in Riverside County, California, that will use thin-film solar photovoltaic modules made by First Solar.[2] The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic station under construction in Riverside County, California. The Agua Caliente Solar Project is a 290 megawatt photovoltaic solar generating facility being built in Yuma County, Arizona. The California Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant, which is being built by SunPower in the Carrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley.[3] The 230 MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch is a First Solar photovoltaic project which is under construction in the Antelope Valley area of the Western Mojave Desert, and due to be completed in 2013.[4]” This trend of ever increasing large commercial solar farms will only accelerate as we move forward.

Warren Buffet invests in solar

Consider the Topaz Solar farm project presently under construction in California which will be the second largest solar farm in the world. It will produce 550 megawatts (a megawatt is 1,000,000 watts) and it is estimated that it will be able to power 160,000 homes. It is being constructed on the Carrizo Plain on the eastern edge of San Luis Obispo County and is scheduled to be completed by 2015. The solar farm was a project by First Solar, a large publicly traded manufacturer of thin film panels. However, the project was struggling to secure the necessary financing. Several days ago, Warren Buffett through MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.—part of Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway—announced that it had entered into “definitive agreements” with First Solar to take over the $2 billion, 550-megawatt photovoltaic power plant. When a person of Buffett’s stature gets involved, solar energy is turning a corner. The Topaz project  is a risk-free stable stream of  profitable income for 25 years, exactly the kind of investment the  likes of Buffett require. What is interesting to note is that “the project will be decommissioned and restored to habitat after 35 years of operation.”  This trend towards solar farms will continue as “tax credits for wind in the U.S. expire at the end of next year, while solar ones run till 2016.”

Large scale Oregon projects

Large scale solar projects are being built here in Oregon too. Consider a project that came to life in Aurora, Oregon. Under Portland General Electric’s solar payment option program, which buys electricity produced by customers and transfers it to the electric grid, the 500 kilowatt system is also Clackamas County’s largest ground-mounted solar array, practically hidden on some of the area’s oldest farmland. It cost $2,000,000.00 and was 50% financed by Umpqua Bank. It generates $20,000.00 a month for the owner and will be profitable after seven years. For further information on a project of this size or smaller contact jesse@futurecitysolar.com.


Posted in Commerical Solar, Pacific Northwest Solar, solar farms, solar install oregon, solar installs oregon, solar panels | Tags: , , , ,

November 17, 2011 | 3 comments so far

Here are some photos from recent solar installations in the Portland metro area. These installs are using Solarworld modules and Enphase micro inverters. [nggallery id=5]

 


Posted in Photos, Project Profiles, Residential Solar, solar install oregon, solar panels, solar panels portland, solar power oregon | Tags: , , , , , , ,

May 16, 2011 | Leave A Comment

In May 2011 Future City Solar installed a 10kW solar array at AlexEli Winery located in Molalla, Oregon.

The owner, Phil Kramer, has a strong commitment to grow grapes sustainably and the addition of a solar array to offset the winery’s electric usage was a choice that supported the larger long term vision for the winery. The solar array will offset roughly 25% of the winery’s yearly electric usage and as an added benefit will help to keep the building cool where the wine is being stored.

System Specs: 9.9kW Solar Electric System

44 SolarWorld 225W Solar Modules and 2 SMA Inverters

On April 1, 2011 AlexEli was successfully enrolled in Oregon’s Feed-in tariff program offered through PGE and Pacific Power. Feed-in tariff program participants are paid a premium rate of $0.46/kwh for the electricity they generate. This rate is locked in for 15 years and can provide a steady annual income for the contract term. AlexEli Winery also applied for a REAP grant which is a 25%  grant offered through the USDA for renewable energy projects in rural areas.

 

 

 


Posted in Commerical Solar, Oregon Feed-in tariff, Project Profiles, solar install oregon, solar power oregon | Tags: , , , , , ,