Bill Brown // Current

Advantages of Solar Electric Power - Part III - draft by Bill Brown

"Small solar photovoltaic arrays are versatile in terms of their potential to be located in a variety of urban, suburban and rural settings where they can be easily tied into existing grids.
Solar photovoltaic arrays can use the existing electrical infrastructure so no new, specialized infrastructure is required. For converting DC battery power into AC as required for many appliances, or for feeding excess power into a commercial power grid, the arrays require an inverter or grid-interactive inverter. An inverter is an electronic circuit that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). Inverters are used in a wide range of applications, from small switching power supplies in computers, to large electric utility applications that transport bulk power.
[A grid-tie inverter is an electrical device that allows solar power users to complement their grid power with solar power. It works by regulating the amount of voltage and current that is received from the direct current solar panels (or other D.C. energy source) and converting this into alternating current. The main difference between an electrical inverter and a grid-tie inverter is that the latter also ensures that the power supplied will be in phase with the grid power. This allows individuals with surplus power (wind, solar, etc) to sell the power back to the utility. This is sometimes called "spinning the meter backwards" as that is what literally happens.]
There is a great deal of design flexibility for placing solar electric arrays. Solar panel arrays can be placed on nearly any otherwise unused surface such as open ground, rooftops of structures, highway, pipeline, or power transmission line right-of-ways, and many other locations.
Solar electric arrays can begin producing power quickly. A community-sized or even much larger solar photovoltaic power plant can be up and running within a year or less, compared with a time to operation of 10 to 15 years for new power production from fossil fuel, nuclear, and other types of power plants.
The demand for solar photovoltaic power as a clean energy source continues to increase dramatically. The demand will be heightened for transportation applications with the proliferation of plug-in hybrid vehicles or all-electric vehicles that require electrical charging. [Such vehicles can also provide battery storage of electricity that can be fed back into the grids when the vehicles are not in use.]
Solar photovoltaic power will help meet local, state, and federal requirements for clean energy production and greenhouse gases emissions reductions. At the local level, the clean energy supply can be used in anticipation of state and federal mandates for clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions targets. The solar PV power supply will aid public utilities in meeting requirements for providing a specified percentage of clean energy. Communities that anticipate such mandates are likely to be financially rewarded via current and expected state and federal incentives.
Economics of Solar Electric (Solar Photovoltaic) Power
Solar photovoltaic panel arrays are simple to install and will provide clean energy regardless of fluctuations in electricity markets.
Solar PV power favors mass production of panels, and systems are less expensive when produced in quantity.
Locally produced solar PV power can dynamically balance the supply and demand for electric power by producing more power during periods of high demand and high grid prices, and less power during periods of low demand and low grid prices. This "hybridized grid" allows both small systems and large power plants to operate with greater energy efficiency and cost effectiveness than either could alone.
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References/Source Information to be included with later drafts.
Search current.com -"Advantages in Solar Electric Power" for Parts I, II, IV, & V.
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TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
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Albuquerque, New Mexico
"Since 1990, the City of Albuquerque has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from city operations by 58% and from city landfills by 73%. Albuquerque achieved First Place Honors from the U.S. Conference of Mayors' 2007 Climate Protection Awards. Albuquerque achieved these impressive reductions by increasing energy efficiency, implementing renewable energy projects, capturing landfill methane, and utilizing alternative fuels. 20% of the City's energy is derived from wind power; the City fleet ranks fourth in the nation on SustainLane's 2006 list of the 50 largest US cities whose city fleets use alternative fuels; five city swimming pools are installing solar heating systems; and the city landfill converts landfill gas into energy. Albuquerque established the nation's first municipal capital budget set-a-side specifically dedicated to energy reduction and renewable energy implementation. The City is currently working to reduce emissions even further: The City's new Energy Conservation Code requires new buildings and existing buildings undergoing significant alterations to be at least 30% more energy efficient, and Mayor Chavez recently issued an Executive Order ensuring that all new municipal buildings meet green building standards, and established a special forestry program to combat climate change by reducing the heat island effect, sequestering carbon dioxide, and buffering the effects of rapid climate change. "
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Greetings, All -- Albuquerque, New Mexico receives a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Protection Award for its impressive greenhouse gases emissions reductions. Arlington County, Virginia and Austin & Dallas, Texas also demonstrate leadership in climate protection.

Full details on all the award winners are available at: http://www.epa.gov/cppd/awards/2008winners.html

-- Bill Brown
www.nmglobalwarming.org

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From TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com.
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Advantages of Solar Electric Power (Part II) - Draft by Bill Brown at NM Global Warming

Part II
Advantages of Solar Electric Power
draft by Bill Brown
www.nmglobalwarming.org
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"Grid-connected solar PV systems require no storage equipment (i.e. batteries). The crucial issue relative to grid-connected PV Systems is the technical aspect of tying into the electricity grid. In these applications, grid-tied inverters must be used that meet the requirements of the utility company. They must not emit "noise" which can interfere with the reception of equipment (e.g. televisions), switch off in the case of a grid failure and retain acceptable levels of harmonic distortion (i.e. quality of voltage and current output waveforms). This type of system tends to be an optimum configuration from an economic viewpoint because all the electricity is utilized by the owner during the day and any surplus is exported to the grid. Meanwhile, the cost of storage to meet night-time needs is avoided, because the owner simply draws on the grid in the usual way. Also, with access to the grid, the system does not need to be sized to meet peak loads.

When grid-connected, solar electric generation can displace the highest cost electricity from other sources during times of peak demand, especially in areas with the greatest amounts of average annual sunlight. [Taos, New Mexico lies within an area of the USA’s highest solar power potential that extends from southern California eastward through southern Nevada, southern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas.

When grid-connected, solar electric generation can reduce grid loading and can eliminate the need for local battery power for use in times of darkness and high local demand. Net metering encourages this application, and time-of-use net metering can be highly favorable to small solar photovoltaic systems.

[Net metering is an electricity policy for owners of generally small, clean energy facilities, such as wind or solar power, or those who use vehicle-to-grid systems. "Net", in this context, is used in the sense of meaning "what remains after deductions" -- in this case, the deduction of any energy outflows from metered energy inflows. Under net metering, a system owner receives retail credit for at least a portion of the electricity they generate. The ideal has the owners’ existing electricity meters spinning backwards, effectively banking excess electricity production for future credit.]

Once the initial capital costs of building a solar electric power plant have been spent, operating costs are extremely low compared with nuclear and fossil fuel power technologies.
Compared to fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources, very little research-money has been invested in the development of solar cells, so there is much room for improvement. Nevertheless, experimental high efficiency solar cells already have efficiencies of over 40% and efficiencies are rising rapidly while mass production costs are falling steadily. ______________________
References/Source Information to be included with later drafts.

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from TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
Part II Advantages of Solar Electric Power draft by Bill Brown www.nmglobalwarming.org _____________ "Grid-connected... more