Posted by Morris Dovey on July 30, 2007, 1:12 pm
What little solar-related expertise I have is pretty much limited to
thermal applications, but I've been asked (and agreed) to address a PV
situation in the South Pacific, and although the scope of the problem
is a bit wider than I've seen addressed here, this does seem like a
good resource to tap into...
Conversation thus far has been with a city district administrator
person who wants to supply electricity for (initially) 100 low-income
single-family residences.
That's all I know so far. I've been building a list of questions that
I hope will guide a capabilities determination that, I hope, will
provide enough information to begin examining specific options - which
the administrator hopes will lead to a project plan.
I'd be grateful for questions to ask in this first phase.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
Posted by Anthony Matonak on July 30, 2007, 2:43 pm
Morris Dovey wrote:
...
> Conversation thus far has been with a city district administrator
> person who wants to supply electricity for (initially) 100 low-income
> single-family residences.
>
> That's all I know so far. I've been building a list of questions that
> I hope will guide a capabilities determination that, I hope, will
> provide enough information to begin examining specific options - which
> the administrator hopes will lead to a project plan.
You could start with the basics...
Do these residences have grid electricity now?
What kind of power use is expected for those residences?
Do they need power 24/7?
Do these residences have unshaded roofs?
Are there often severe storms or hurricanes?
What kind of budget is there? (Solar PV is expensive.)
This kind of project might be better served by wind turbines.
Islands often have very good wind resources and a couple large
turbines could easily power 100 homes.
Anthony
Posted by Morris Dovey on July 30, 2007, 3:38 pm
Anthony Matonak wrote:
| You could start with the basics...
| Do these residences have grid electricity now?
I should have mentioned that they aren't on the grid - sorry.
| What kind of power use is expected for those residences?
This, of course, is one of the big questions.
| Do they need power 24/7?
Probably not, since they don't have power at present - but, being
human, will probably discover a 'need' for more once it's installed.
:-)
I'll ask.
| Do these residences have unshaded roofs?
The photos I pulled up from Google showed nearly all had unshaded
corrugated tin or tile roofs.
| Are there often severe storms or hurricanes?
Typhoons - but I don't know how often. Is this a panel attachment or
an electrical concern (or both)?
| What kind of budget is there? (Solar PV is expensive.)
I'm not sure that there is any kind of budget in place, nor do I have
any handle on what kind of funding might be made available. One of the
possible outcomes is that there are no affordable solutions - although
I would expect that there should be some way to power at least a light
for kids' reading/studying and a radio even with a minimal 12VDC
system.
| This kind of project might be better served by wind turbines.
| Islands often have very good wind resources and a couple large
| turbines could easily power 100 homes.
The query specified PV - but I'll mention the possibility (though
maintenance and repairs might be an issue). Your point is well made.
You've also just prompted me to ask about seismic stability which may
affect turbine towers.
Thanks.
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
Posted by kd6532 on August 6, 2007, 2:54 am
> Anthony Matonak wrote:
> | You could start with the basics...
> | Do these residences have grid electricity now?
> I should have mentioned that they aren't on the grid - sorry.
> | What kind of power use is expected for those residences?
> This, of course, is one of the big questions.
> | Do they need power 24/7?
> Probably not, since they don't have power at present - but, being
> human, will probably discover a 'need' for more once it's installed.
> :-)
> I'll ask.
> | Do these residences have unshaded roofs?
> The photos I pulled up from Google showed nearly all had unshaded
> corrugated tin or tile roofs.
> | Are there often severe storms or hurricanes?
> Typhoons - but I don't know how often. Is this a panel attachment or
> an electrical concern (or both)?
> | What kind of budget is there? (Solar PV is expensive.)
> I'm not sure that there is any kind of budget in place, nor do I have
> any handle on what kind of funding might be made available. One of the
> possible outcomes is that there are no affordable solutions - although
> I would expect that there should be some way to power at least a light
> for kids' reading/studying and a radio even with a minimal 12VDC
> system.
> | This kind of project might be better served by wind turbines.
> | Islands often have very good wind resources and a couple large
> | turbines could easily power 100 homes.
> The query specified PV - but I'll mention the possibility (though
> maintenance and repairs might be an issue). Your point is well made.
> You've also just prompted me to ask about seismic stability which may
> affect turbine towers.
> Thanks.
> --
> Morris Dovey
> DeSoto Solar
> DeSoto, Iowa USAhttp://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/
It sounds like energy storage (battery, flywheel, etc.) will be a big
issue for this project due to its stand alone nature. Also, if you
plan on using a hybrid system (i.e. PV and wind, PV and diesel
generator, etc.), NREL has estimation software that can be used for
these kinds of systems.
http://analysis.nrel.gov/homer/
Kris
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> person who wants to supply electricity for (initially) 100 low-income
> single-family residences.
>
> That's all I know so far. I've been building a list of questions that
> I hope will guide a capabilities determination that, I hope, will
> provide enough information to begin examining specific options - which
> the administrator hopes will lead to a project plan.