World's Largest Solar Array - 290 Megawatts Output

[contraman 29,039]

Not all are "unsightly".

 

http://www.dowpowerhouse.com/

 

Solar shingles.jpg

Just a matter of opinion, I think they are ugly

[Paul 55,114]

You can barely notice the panels on the image he posted. 

 

Changes, they are a comin'.

[contraman 29,039]

You can barely notice the panels on the image he posted. 

 

Changes, they are a comin'.

Maybe so

But how many look like that ?

Most are big and ugly (like me)

[Irenicus 8,255]

You can barely notice the panels on the image he posted. 

 

Changes, they are a comin'.

 

Yup.  

 

We moved back to Dumaguete last week and I am already missing the solar array of the house we were renting.  The batteries were in rough shape but our last months elec there was 590 P compared to the 4600 P one we will get this month.

 

Alas........

[contraman 29,039]

Yup.  

 

We moved back to Dumaguete last week and I am already missing the solar array of the house we were renting.  The batteries were in rough shape but our last months elec there was 590 P compared to the 4600 P one we will get this month.

 

Alas........

Agree the benifits can be great

But does your set up look as neat as the ones in post #16 ?

I still maintain that most set ups are ugly

[Paul 55,114]

But how many look like that ?

 

For me, it doesn't matter what they look like. While solar really isn't cheaper than mains power, it is a damned sight more reliable - in SE Asia anyway. Had a solar array providing lighting and some appliances at the farm, since late last year. Not one power cut yet, and not even one dip in voltage.

I for one, am very happy to see such an array go online. I hope many more follow in the near future. There could be a serious improvement on that 1% of all power supplied by solar, in the US.

 

For those of you who still live in the US, you don't have to have the added expense, the highest cost of a solar array install - the batteries. You can simply sell power back to the power company, or, "store" it until you need it during higher usage times. I know guys in the US who never have a power bill, and are running air-conditioning systems, as well as the rest of their homes, off a solar array. 

 

For me, I am just glad to live somewhere I can run a solar array to provide power that is clean, quiet, and reliable. 

Edited May 11, 2014 by Paul

[Knowdafish 1,772]

 

 

I know guys in the US who never have a power bill, and are running air-conditioning systems, as well as the rest of their homes, off a solar array. 

 

Me too. It sure beats an expensive electric bill. 

[contraman 29,039]

I agree that storage is certainly a major issue

In cases where surplus can be sold back, that is great also.

I have a 12 acre holding in Australia with solar power (Ground Array)

But the Utility Companies have a trick up their sleeves.

They will only offset the equivalent to actual power ussage

For example, in Australia, the major part of your power bill is charges.

Not the amount of power you use.

In some cases, even if you used no power, you would still have a substantial bill to pay.

There is little or no Off Grid advantage.

In my case, because the power lines run past my boundary, it will never be totally free as all charges still have to be paid.

[spooks 1,729]

For me, it doesn't matter what they look like. While solar really isn't cheaper than mains power, it is a damned sight more reliable - in SE Asia anyway. Had a solar array providing lighting and some appliances at the farm, since late last year. Not one power cut yet, and not even one dip in voltage.

I for one, am very happy to see such an array go online. I hope many more follow in the near future. There could be a serious improvement on that 1% of all power supplied by solar, in the US.

 

For those of you who still live in the US, you don't have to have the added expense, the highest cost of a solar array install - the batteries. You can simply sell power back to the power company, or, "store" it until you need it during higher usage times. I know guys in the US who never have a power bill, and are running air-conditioning systems, as well as the rest of their homes, off a solar array. 

 

For me, I am just glad to live somewhere I can run a solar array to provide power that is clean, quiet, and reliable. 

Paul do you have an estimate of how much the total system cost for you including getting water pumps shipped in

[Paul 55,114]

Paul do you have an estimate of how much the total system cost for you including getting water pumps shipped in

 

Mike Mike, I document most everything I do, in my Paul's Off-Grid Projects Forum.

 

The water pump costs are here. $150 USD, to me.

 

The initial solar array cost me under $900 USD. But, I got the batteries for a song. You could do it for less, if you do the installation yourself. It's not really that complicated. But, I am too big, and too old to be climbing around on a "Cambodian style" roof - which I know wouldn't hold me anyway. 

 

Added to that, the rainwater harvesting, plumbing to the pump, etc., I am all in for JUST those two systems, under $1,500 USD, not including the voltage inverter. 

 

Bear in mind, this does not include the water storage tanks already on the property, or the concrete pad I had built for those tanks.

 

ADVICE: If I had it to do over again, I would go with a 24vdc system, 24vdc pump, 24vdc voltage inverter, etc. 12vdc is just too low of voltage, requiring too large of wires. It is just as easy to wire everything in 24vdc, as it is at 12vdc. If a very large array is what you are planning, definitely look at 48vdc as your system voltage. 

 

 

Would you be doing rainwater harvesting as well? I currently have 55 m² of collection area. I do not have nearly enough storage capacity to keep up with the volume of water it can route to those tanks, during rainy season. 

Edited May 11, 2014 by Paul

[spooks 1,729]

Paul

 

We do not have the land area to construct anything like that which you have going for you there

 

Should I be able to persuade my inner city slicker gal to down grade to provincial life then it may be a go.

 

As I am older than you and do not do heights. I will not be up a ladder let alone on a roof.

 

Power bills are just freaking crazy, 37% increase in one month with not one additional appliance or change is hours used.

[Paul 55,114]

Paul

 

We do not have the land area to construct anything like that which you have going for you there

 

Should I be able to persuade my inner city slicker gal to down grade to provincial life then it may be a go.

 

As I am older than you and do not do heights. I will not be up a ladder let alone on a roof.

 

Power bills are just freaking crazy, 37% increase in one month with not one additional appliance or change is hours used.

 

If I am correct, you are still on Luzon? If so, I would look at the topic we had going a while back, regarding a Grid Tied system. That, in my opinion, would be the best route for you. 

 

You have electricity, fairly reliable I am assuming? If you want to just kill your power bill, that is the route I would go. You would generate power during the day, from an array on your roof, which would be fed back into the mains. At night, you would draw that power back from the electric provider. 

[contraman 29,039]

http://pda.sciencealert.com.au/news/20141105-25501.html

Perhaps you alternative power gurus would like this?

Just a thought

[Paul 55,114]

http://pda.sciencealert.com.au/news/20141105-25501.html

Perhaps you alternative power gurus would like this?

Just a thought

 

[arentol 1,093]

"At present, Americans use about half as much energy per dollar of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – the total market value of all the goods and services produced in a country during one year – as they did in 1970. Were it not for this development, the U.S. energy bill would be hundreds of billions of dollars per year higher. Energy-efficiency investments and structural shifts in the economy away from energy-intensive industry and toward service and information-based jobs have both contributed to the phenomenon. So have engineering improvements in scores of systems, from automobile engines to building insulation to electric power-generating facilities. This trend is expected to continue. The EIA projects that by 2030 Americans will be using only slightly more energy per capita than they did in 1980 – but less than half as much per dollar of GDP."

from http://www.nap.edu/reports/energy/supply.html

...and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand

...so less use = less demand = higher supply (improved technology) = lower prices

 

Cheers,

Aren

---

 

"that utilities will pass those savings on to consumers"

 

Yes, and pigs might fly.