Water Cooled Solar | Green Energy News

July 18, 2004 – Vol.9 No.17

WATER COOLED SOLAR AND OTHER PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECTS.

Solar cells baking in sunlight get hot. Unfortunately heat build-up in the cells increases their internal electrical resistance and reduces their efficiency.

The solution? Find ways to keep the solar cells cool.

In its latest installation - the 566-kilowatt solar system at the South Feather fresh water treatment facility in Oroville California - Sun Power and Geothermal Energy has installed a water cooling system along with other cooling enhancements.

In the 2.2 acre above-ground solar array a water misting system was integrated into the steel supports for the panels. When temperatures climb to over 90 degrees (32 degrees C) water is sprayed in the space between the panels and the ground to move stagnant air and break up the convective effect.

Further, a secondary water spray cleaning system also helps in efficiency. A sprayer above each panel cleans off dust which can block sunlight from reaching each solar cell.

The water cooling system improves the performance of the system by up to 6 percent. The pressurized water comes from the treatment plant.

The solar power plant, which provides all of the electric power in daylight hours for the water treatment facility, is grid-connected with excess electricity sold back to the utility, PG& E. The 3060 panels in the system were provided by Sharp Solar. Visit Sun Power and Geothermal Energy at http://www.sunpowergeo.com/ , Sharp Solar at http://www.sharp-usa.com/solar .

When installed on a roof top a photovoltaic (PV) solar system can ease the load on a building’s air conditioning system. The 113-kilowatt system atop a manufacturing and warehousing facility of Earth Island Natural Foods in southern California was designed to produce 75% of the building’s electrical energy needs.

However, acting like a sunshade, the solar array has reduced air conditioning demand to the point where the solar system produces 100 percent of the building’s electricity needs when credits from the utility for excess energy generated in sunnier months are included.

The system was designed and installed by Permacity Corporation using RWE Schott Solar modules and mounting system. Funding for the system was assisted in a rebate program offered by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). Visit Permacity at http:www.permacity.com/ , RWE Schott Solar at http://www.rweschottsolar.com/ .

Sometimes the installation of solar power is driven by the realities of business (the need to earn money) mixed with a desire to contribute to a cleaner environment.

A 51-kilowatt system has been installed on the tenant parking garage of an apartment complex in Buena Park, California. The system, designed and installed, by SolSource Energy provides 50 percent of the electrical energy needs of the complex.

Aside from providing green energy for the tenants, the complex owner benefits from reduced financial overhead, in this case, electricity. California rebates and federal cost sharing helped finance the system and thus contributed to the building owner’s improvement in his bottom line.

The PV system used 324 Kyocera Solar modules. Visit Kyocera Solar at http://www.kyocerasolar.com/ and SolSource Energy at http://www.solsourceenergy.com/