What Does the Solar Industry Mean to Eastern North Carolina?

Transcription

1 What Does the Solar Industry Mean to Eastern North Carolina? Dr. Herbert M. Eckerlin Professor Emeritus Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

2 My Background/Commitment to Solar Energy Designed and built NCSU Solar House 1988 Founded the Solar Center Served as Faculty Chair for the Solar Center 1980-Present Conducted seminars and workshops on solar energy across NC/US

3 Solar Energy Many Applications Passive space heating Active solar water heating Daylighting natural light Solar Electricity roof-top, fielderected

4 Public perception of Solar is changing 1980 solar perceived as heat 2018 solar perceived as electrical In truth all solar is important

5 What is common to all Solar Systems Green Reduces dependence on fossil fuels Passive, active, solar PV, daylighting (all require back-up energy supply)

6 What is a Solar Photovoltaic System A power plant that uses the sun s energy to produce electricity This system can take one of two forms: A roof-top system (Usually rated in Kilowatts) A field erected system (Usually rated in megawatts (MW)...can cover hundreds or thousands of acres)

7 How does the Sun influence Solar Power The distribution of sunlight is a very limiting factor Wilmington, NC gets: 111 sunny days (31%) 104 partly sunny days (29%) 150 days with no sun (40%) Average annual sunlight in Wilmington, NC

8 Dealing with Clouds and Nightfall Clouds interrupt the sun s rays Solar power system shuts down immediately Traditional power (gas turbine) must come on immediately to avoid power interruption Traditional power company provides spinning reserve (special gas turbines) to provide reliable service and avoid intermittency created by Mother Nature Generation at night falls solely to the traditional power company

9 Typical Solar Power System Sizes Residential Roof-Top Systems 4, 6 or 8 KW Commercial, Industrial Systems depends on roof area Field Erected systems depends on land area leased 5 MW system covers 40 aces 100 MW system may cover acres, depending on terrain

10 Solar Farm Construction and Operation Construction time for 5 MW solar farm is days (pretty quick) Solar power plants operate by themselves Some hire a night watchman a few nights a week Main employment is construction

11 Rating Power Plants A 100 Megawatt Traditional Power Plant Energy Generated in One Hour

12 Rating Power Plants A 100 Megawatt Solar Power Plant Energy Generated in One Hour What megawatt rating would you give this solar power plant? a.) 0 MWH b.) 50 MWH c.) 100 MWH

13 Rating Power Plants A traditional 100 MW power plant can deliver 100 MW- Hours morning noon and night. The generating capacity of a solar plant changes continuously depending on: the weather, the location of the sun in the sky, Under these conditions, it is difficult to give a solar power plant any MW rating, because its output is always changing. What would a MW rating mean? and the season of the year.

14 What is the Driving Force Behind Solar? Clean Energy Senate Bill 3 utilities must get 12.5% from green sources by 2021 Tax Credits (30% Federal) Attracting Investors LLCs County Tax Revenue

15 Some Land Questions Where to locate? Purchase or lease the land? Opportunities for landowners? Impact on community property value?

16 Some Business Questions Each solar farm has its own LLC 20-year life of a solar farm Decommissioning Impact on community

17 Some Future of Land Questions Reuse of land Soil contamination Soil remediation multiple lime applications Green plants absorb CO2

18 Regional/Community Questions Agriculture largest industry Future of farming Agribusiness Unemployment concerns Food stamps

19 I want Clean Solar Energy, but Mother Nature is not cooperating 40% of the time, solar is not available

20 I want Clean Solar Energy, but I want to save the land for food production I want to save plant life to absorb CO2 Consider placing solar panels on roofs rather than on land

21 Conclusions: Societal Reliable electricity is essential to our society If solar power is to be utilized, it will have to be backed up with traditional power

22 Conclusions: Economic Tax credits and Senate Bill 3 - major governmental drivers of the solar power program Generally, solar power installations do not increase job opportunities Turnover in solar farm ownership can create legal and financial issues for the landowner

23 Conclusions: Environmental Placing solar power in competition with agriculture does not bode well for North Carolina Land taken out of cultivation for 20 years will require extensive soil remediation Eliminating CO2 absorbing green plant life to accommodate solar panels impacts environmental air quality and global warming Placing solar panels on roofs is far preferable to covering land

24 A Final Question What megawatt rating would you give this solar power plant? a. 0 MW b. 50 MW c. 100 MW