Back in February, we told you about the huge solar project New Jersey utility PSE&G was planning: 120 MW divided among four different programs, all to be completed by 2013. Well, the project has just received approval from the state's utility board, but the approved version is a little different from the original.
The so-called Solar4All Program will now top out at a capacity of 80 MW across two separate programs. The cost of the project has dropped to $515 million from close to $800 million and it will now make up 4.4 percent of the state's renewable energy requirement (22.5 percent by 2020), down from 7 percent. The 2013 target remains in place.
Half of the installed capacity will be in the form of small solar panel installations (under 200W) on utility poles across the state. The other half will be larger installations between 500kW and 25 MW, including solar gardens and rooftop arrays on PSE&G facilities and other privately-owned sites.
With this project, the state will be doubling its existing solar capacity and continue to hold its second-place ranking behind California in installed solar power.
via Treehugger
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written by Alissa Frederick, July 30, 2009
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written by no one, July 31, 2009
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written by Bob Wallace, July 31, 2009
There is a small problem of bat kills at a few farms and solutions are being developed. The solutions being used are...
1) Turning off the turbines at one farm where bats tend to congregate for a couple of weeks a year. (I would assume turning off only at night.)
2) Turning off turbines at some farms at night when the wind speed is very low. Only at those low wind speeds can the insects which the bats feed on fly. (I assume very little power is lost as the wind is low.)
3) Using sounds that interfere with the bat's sonar system, making it difficult for them to hunt close to the turbines. (Can't catch dinner here, hunt elsewhere.)
Hydro messing with fishes. As for wave/tidal energy harvesting, I've heard nothing about that. Got a link?
There is a problem damming streams for hydro. Sometimes it's possible to engineer around the problem with things like fish ladders.
The reason that we are putting solar farms out in the desert is because that's where there's lots of sun. Here in California there's a lot less sun on the coast due to coastal fog. Inland gives us more bang for the buck. And we'll use only a very small percentage of desert and not the "best" parts.
As the price of solar PV and thin film falls we'll see lots more rooftop installation close to the coast.
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written by Bob Wallace, July 31, 2009
Putting panels on poles is a pretty common technique for using solar in rural/remote areas to power things like traffic signals and keep the panels from traveling to someones home.
I pass two or three such installations on my drive to/from town. One is on an area where there are frequent small rock slides/falls, another on an area where the a section of the road is slipping away and there is an abrupt downslope in the road.
Oh, yeah. There are a couple/ten installations in the area where the panels power vehicle speed warning systems.
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