Neighbors are taking a wait-and-see attitude abut the proposed landscaping to mask the on-the-ground solar panels the Sonoma Valley Unified School District has installed on Railroad Avenue and at Adele Harrison Middle School.
At the last school board meeting on Aug. 9, neighbors from both sites complained that they didn't know the units were going in and weren't informed about what sort of mitigation the school district was going to do.
Deputy Superintendent Justin Frese and a landscape architect met separately with neighbors from both sites the following week, and there will be at least one more meeting with each set of neighbors.
About 15 neighbors from the vicinity of the district office met with Frese and were more interested in learning the whys and whats of the project than in the mitigation.
"This was the first opportunity for some of those people to voice their concerns," Frese said.
That sentiment was echoed by Anne Phillips, one of the neighbors who also attended the school board meeting.
"It seems that the others were more concerned with issues other than the landscaping," Phillips said. But she said the neighbors did meet again as a group on Aug. 27.
Phillips lives across Railroad Avenue from the solar panels and showed pictures to the school board of the reflections off the panels at around dusk.
She said proposed landscaping plans were emailed to her and the neighbors. "But I still feel that it didn't solve the problem that we need solved - the reflection," she said.
"The say they've got $20,000 to do the landscaping," she added. "I don't think that's enough money."
And Phillips said in addition to the panels, storage of equipment and materials in the field across the street by the construction company doing the installation has created "an eyesore."
Phillips is also interested in what sort of permits the school district needed for the projects.
"Did they do a soil test," she asked. "Over the years, the district has brought in dirt from other sites. What's in that dirt? And the dust has been horrible."
The district presented three plans that will have a combination of shrubs, bushes and trees, Frese said. The trees would eventually be 12-feet-to-15-feet tall.
"We're not going to use a solid hedge or have vines on the fence," Frese said. "We're going to come in with revised plans at the next meeting."
Phillips said she received only three letters from the school district - one last year saying there would be a cover crop planted for the garden, the second in May with no particulars saying the solar project was starting and the last one was about the Aug. 15 meeting with Frese and the landscape architect.
"We're not against the solar project," she said. "Only how it was handled."
And she said a real estate agent told her their property values dropped 20 percent.
Nancie Ligon, one of the neighbors from the Adele Harrison site, said the district had made promises in the past when the school was built. "I'll hold my breath and wait," she said.
She said the proposed landscaping isn't going to block their view of the nearby panels, but admitted it might mitigate some of the damages.
When told that the landscaping would take two-to-three years to mature, she said "I'll be satisfied when I see the results."
In addition to the view, she's also concerned about the flooding that could occur when a retention pond that the panels are in floods.
"They're telling us it won't flood," she said. "They promised excavation to make the pond bigger." She added that when the pond was built, the district promised to put plants and trees around it and make it a green area, but that was never done.
Ligon also doesn't think the district can landscape the two areas for $20,000. "That's ludicrous," she said.
Despite her misgivings, Ligon said she "has to believe what they're telling us will happen."
Frese said the district also won't use a single hedge at Adele, that it will use a combination of things. "We're looking for something that won't mature in 18 months," he said. "We're looking at things that will mature in three-to-five years and be there for a long time."
2011年9月5日星期一
2011年6月1日星期三
Solar Energy Systems
In a single hour, more sunlight strikes the earth than all the energy consumed by humans in an entire year. Over 120,000 trillion kWh of energy strikes the earth every day. There are thousands of companies around the globe manufacturing products that harness that power and turn it into a viable energy source.
Marc Doyle is global business director at DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions. Dupont has more than 25 years of experience in photovoltaic (PV) materials development, applications know-how, manufacturing expertise and global market access. “Our products are key to the manufacture of both crystalline silicon and thin film solar cells and modules. They include films, resins, encapsulation sheets, flexible substrates and photovoltaic metallization, performance seals for solar cell manufacturing equipment, wet-etch additives for semiconductor texturing and metallic sodium,” Doyle said.
DuPont intends to increase the efficiency and lifetime of crystalline silicon and thin film PV solar modules, and reduce overall photovoltaic system costs so that solar power is more cost-competitive with other forms of electricity. Doyle explained that, “Key challenges where materials matter lie in raising the efficiency of solar cells and modules, extending the reliable power output of modules for 25-plus years, and lowering overall system costs to help PV power. The solar industry is growing fast. We estimate there was 132 percent growth in 2010 versus 2009 and 20 percent growth per year over the next several years is expected.
“DuPont continues to expand R&D and manufacturing capabilities to support this trend. We’ve made a $295 million dollar investment to expand production capacity for DuPont™ Tedlar® polyvinyl fluoride film, a critical material for PV back sheets, and we’re doubling capacity for DuPont Solamet® photovoltaic metallization pastes.”
OPEL Solar Inc.
OPEL, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets high-concentration photovoltaic panels and dual and single-axis solar trackers for related photovoltaic and concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems for solar energy applications worldwide. Michael Mount, director, reported that OPEL Solar’s advanced trackers increase the energy production of any type of PV panel by following the sun’s path. The additional energy can be up to 45 percent more than a fixed PV installation.
Mount said, “We’re a small but rapidly growing company with installations throughout Europe, North America and Asia. We develop solar power on brownfields, using OPEL Solar trackers and PV panels, as we believe that landfills provide an excellent opportunity to turn sites of limited development potential into green power projects. We’re working on brownfield projects in four states.”
According to Mount, the solar industry has benefited from a number of national and regional incentives which have created unprecedented industry expansion in the last few years. “Incentives have been designed to encourage development of green energy, and in particular, solar energy, but the incentives vary in amount, duration and by country and region.
“Although the industry has experienced notable expansion recently, industry growth would have expanded faster under better economic conditions. A lack of energy legislation passage has also been a challenge for the solar industry. After the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), there was significant progress in Congress toward clean energy legislation, but the fossil fuel lobby proved formidable; and, once again, diminished the potential of the passage of a Clean Energy Act. If a Federal Clean Energy mandate were to occur, then the solar industry might become instantly ‘bankable,’ and we would see spectacular growth in the industry’s revenues and job creation,” said Mount.
He added, “The PV industry has been focused on reducing the price of energy production to a cost at or below that of conventional generation technologies, i.e., ‘grid parity.’ In recent years, cost reductions have been driven by reduction in the price of PV panels, which have dropped to less than half of what they were five years ago. Equipment manufacturers also continue to provide small increases to the solar equipment efficiencies, but PV trackers can provide a superior method to greatly improve the energy production of PV systems in moving solar power costs closer to grid parity. Solar trackers have been successfully used for many years in the European solar industry but solar trackers have only recently become the standard for large utility scale projects in the United States. Large commercial projects in the States and Canada are now adding solar trackers to improve their project economics.”
Solyndra LLC
According to David Miller, corporate communication director, “Solyndra makes a unique solar panel system for large commercial and industrial rooftops composed of 40 tubes that collect light around a 360 degree surface and benefit from reflective cool roofs. Simple installation and lightweight products equals projects that are completed quickly and at a low cost.”
Miller also said that their 200 Series products require no tools for installation. “The lightweight panels install without penetrations or array grounding, making this the easiest and fastest-to-install rooftop solar system yet. The product is ideal for older or ‘value engineered’ buildings, as the low, distributed roof load is 2.8 pounds per square foot. Snap-together mounts dramatically lower labor costs and shortens project times for large rooftop solar installations. This reduces business disruption and makes moving the system for future roofing; retrofit or ownership changes a simple process. Rooftops can pose a variety of challenges for solar installations and Solyndra systems are designed specifically for the rooftop environment with superior performance in wind, with soiling and in snowy climates,” he said.
“The commercial rooftop market is a huge, untapped market that allows commercial building owners to monetize otherwise wasted assets−their rooftops. As utilities race to meet renewable energy targets, more folks are turning to rooftop solar, which provides tremendous benefits as a source of clean, distributed power. Rooftop systems go in fast and don’t require the expensive transmission network and permitting issues from solar out in the desert for example. Solyndra is committed to a green manufacturing cycle, our products are designed for the environment from start to finish and we participate in a recycling program that ensures our products are fully recycled at end of life,” Miller said.
Marc Doyle is global business director at DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions. Dupont has more than 25 years of experience in photovoltaic (PV) materials development, applications know-how, manufacturing expertise and global market access. “Our products are key to the manufacture of both crystalline silicon and thin film solar cells and modules. They include films, resins, encapsulation sheets, flexible substrates and photovoltaic metallization, performance seals for solar cell manufacturing equipment, wet-etch additives for semiconductor texturing and metallic sodium,” Doyle said.
DuPont intends to increase the efficiency and lifetime of crystalline silicon and thin film PV solar modules, and reduce overall photovoltaic system costs so that solar power is more cost-competitive with other forms of electricity. Doyle explained that, “Key challenges where materials matter lie in raising the efficiency of solar cells and modules, extending the reliable power output of modules for 25-plus years, and lowering overall system costs to help PV power. The solar industry is growing fast. We estimate there was 132 percent growth in 2010 versus 2009 and 20 percent growth per year over the next several years is expected.
“DuPont continues to expand R&D and manufacturing capabilities to support this trend. We’ve made a $295 million dollar investment to expand production capacity for DuPont™ Tedlar® polyvinyl fluoride film, a critical material for PV back sheets, and we’re doubling capacity for DuPont Solamet® photovoltaic metallization pastes.”
OPEL Solar Inc.
OPEL, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets high-concentration photovoltaic panels and dual and single-axis solar trackers for related photovoltaic and concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems for solar energy applications worldwide. Michael Mount, director, reported that OPEL Solar’s advanced trackers increase the energy production of any type of PV panel by following the sun’s path. The additional energy can be up to 45 percent more than a fixed PV installation.
Mount said, “We’re a small but rapidly growing company with installations throughout Europe, North America and Asia. We develop solar power on brownfields, using OPEL Solar trackers and PV panels, as we believe that landfills provide an excellent opportunity to turn sites of limited development potential into green power projects. We’re working on brownfield projects in four states.”
According to Mount, the solar industry has benefited from a number of national and regional incentives which have created unprecedented industry expansion in the last few years. “Incentives have been designed to encourage development of green energy, and in particular, solar energy, but the incentives vary in amount, duration and by country and region.
“Although the industry has experienced notable expansion recently, industry growth would have expanded faster under better economic conditions. A lack of energy legislation passage has also been a challenge for the solar industry. After the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), there was significant progress in Congress toward clean energy legislation, but the fossil fuel lobby proved formidable; and, once again, diminished the potential of the passage of a Clean Energy Act. If a Federal Clean Energy mandate were to occur, then the solar industry might become instantly ‘bankable,’ and we would see spectacular growth in the industry’s revenues and job creation,” said Mount.
He added, “The PV industry has been focused on reducing the price of energy production to a cost at or below that of conventional generation technologies, i.e., ‘grid parity.’ In recent years, cost reductions have been driven by reduction in the price of PV panels, which have dropped to less than half of what they were five years ago. Equipment manufacturers also continue to provide small increases to the solar equipment efficiencies, but PV trackers can provide a superior method to greatly improve the energy production of PV systems in moving solar power costs closer to grid parity. Solar trackers have been successfully used for many years in the European solar industry but solar trackers have only recently become the standard for large utility scale projects in the United States. Large commercial projects in the States and Canada are now adding solar trackers to improve their project economics.”
Solyndra LLC
According to David Miller, corporate communication director, “Solyndra makes a unique solar panel system for large commercial and industrial rooftops composed of 40 tubes that collect light around a 360 degree surface and benefit from reflective cool roofs. Simple installation and lightweight products equals projects that are completed quickly and at a low cost.”
Miller also said that their 200 Series products require no tools for installation. “The lightweight panels install without penetrations or array grounding, making this the easiest and fastest-to-install rooftop solar system yet. The product is ideal for older or ‘value engineered’ buildings, as the low, distributed roof load is 2.8 pounds per square foot. Snap-together mounts dramatically lower labor costs and shortens project times for large rooftop solar installations. This reduces business disruption and makes moving the system for future roofing; retrofit or ownership changes a simple process. Rooftops can pose a variety of challenges for solar installations and Solyndra systems are designed specifically for the rooftop environment with superior performance in wind, with soiling and in snowy climates,” he said.
“The commercial rooftop market is a huge, untapped market that allows commercial building owners to monetize otherwise wasted assets−their rooftops. As utilities race to meet renewable energy targets, more folks are turning to rooftop solar, which provides tremendous benefits as a source of clean, distributed power. Rooftop systems go in fast and don’t require the expensive transmission network and permitting issues from solar out in the desert for example. Solyndra is committed to a green manufacturing cycle, our products are designed for the environment from start to finish and we participate in a recycling program that ensures our products are fully recycled at end of life,” Miller said.
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