New Solar PV Array in Maynard, MA!

[NeilBlanchard]

This is really neat - they are installing a large solar photovoltaic array on the capped landfill, here in Maynard, MA. When it is up and running and connected, it will supply about 1/3rd of the electricity for the entire town! It is being installed at zero cost to the town, and we will be paying just 2.5¢ per kWh for the first 10 years, and for 11-20 years, just 7.5¢ per kWh.



I'll post more pictures as thing progress. Very cool...

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...fact check: how many days of 100% sunshine per year in that area?

By 100% sunshine, do you mean direct sunlight for twenty-four consecutive hours?

[Cobb]

Ive been told VA is too far Nawth to use or for solar panels to provide any return on your investment. I spent a grand on a little less than 600 watts and 2 grid tie inverters and some lumber. In 9 months out of the year it saves 50 bucks on my power bill. It produces power from dawn to dusk.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Ive been told VA is too far Nawth to use or for solar panels to provide any return on your investment.

People say the same thing about Germany, yet they are out producing the USA and are a tiny country.

[NeilBlanchard]

Germany is about as sunny as Alaska. It is plenty sunny here to make very good use of solar PV. I know several people would have system on their roof, and they get very good output even on cloudy and overcast days.

The company that is leasing the use of the space is paying for the installment and the maintenance, etc. Wicked Local has this info:

Landfill project moves forward in Maynard - Maynard, MA - The Beacon-Villager

I was not remembering the output correctly - it is less than I thought it is. The total capacity is ~1MW and the site is 14 acres. According to the article, the output is only enough for part (~25%) of the town's buildings. That doesn't sound right though - it should be enough for about 200 homes. If the town buildings are using as much electricity as 800 homes, I'd like to know why it is that much.

I also think that the article badly misstates the total annual output. A 1MW system can put out as much as 12MWh per day, so that would total ~4.3GWh per year. (Maybe my math is off?)

[NeilBlanchard]

Here's the 210kW solar PV array on the REI parking lot in Framingham: Solar carport powers REI building in Framingham - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News

Solar carport powers REI building in Framingham - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News

This array would be enough to provide electricity for about 42 homes. Every large parking lot should have a solar PV system canopy! They could directly power EV charging stations - and the highest demand is from A/C during the day, so we can offset that and have carbon free cooling...

[NeilBlanchard]

Okay, I've got a data point - an architect I know who lives in New Jersey has a 9.9kW solar PV system (44 225W Sunpower panels) and in 40 months of operation, he has averaged 750kWh/month, and that averages 75.75kWh per kW of maximum capacity per month.

So, the 1MW system (which is using 240W panels so that means ~4,167 panels in total) would have about 75MWh output per month by this estimate, or about 900MWh per year. So, the number in the 2010 Beacon Villager newspaper was probably correct - except for the units.

The article said 1,125 MW but they had to have meant 1,125 MWh or 1.125GWh.

[redneck]

NeilBlanchard

New Solar PV Array in Maynard, MA!

This is really neat - they are installing a large solar photovoltaic array on the capped landfill, here in Maynard, MA.

Landfill ???

They should consider augmenting the solar with this.

https://www.santeecooper.com/portal/...n/landfill_gas

It could be a win - win then.

>

[NeilBlanchard]

It is a small landfill - total of ~14 acres, and they did a feasibility study of collecting the methane, and decided against doing it. But because it is required to be maintained as open land (to keep the cap intact), it makes a perfect site for this kind of solar array.

We should probably do methane collection on all sewage treatment plants, and solar can be put on all flat roofed buildings, and over all large parking lots, and on southern facing roofs. And we need to mix in wind and wave and tidal and small hydro, too. All over NEw England (and many other places, as well) there are many unused dams that could have small hydro power systems.

[ksa8907]

Our local school corporation put in a 900kw wind turbine and generates about $20, 000 of electricity per month. A little over 2 mil. Innitial cost.