A question about small-biz solar installations

[RainDog]

Can someone point me to good sites that have information about installation of solar panels for small biz buildings? And a place to calculate costs per sq ft and estimates on power generated?

This place is in a temperate climate with clouds in winter, but with wind. However, the bldg is not in a place where a tall windmill could be attached because of height restrictions in the buildings' location.

I thought I saw something about smaller versions that were available for homes too, but I'm not sure.

thanks for any help and I'll pass it along to my small biz friend.

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. Where is the business located?

(There are different companies in different regions.)

[MercutioATC]

2. I'd wait a bit and look at this technology...

Solar is making BIGF advances in technology lately....costs and availability should be much more attractive in a year or two.

www.nanosolar.com

[TheMadMonk]

3. What are your/his power requirements?

Does his state/supplier allow sale of excess power back to the grid? If so, he doesn't need a storage battery and can either save a fair bit on costs, or use the savings for a higher capacity system, perhaps enough for it generate a nett positive revenue.

Is he on freehold land, or a strata title? (This can make a huge difference to what he may or may not be allowed to do.)

For the basic conditions you describe work on roughly 100 sustained watts per square meter of collector and costs of $20-25 per sustained watt. Peaks (on a good summer's day) are roughly 250 W/m2 at an installed cost of $8-10 per watt. (All figures are for daylight hours.)

Please note the above figures are very rough, but they should be good enough to let your friend decide whether it's worth talking to a consultant.

Assuming we've decided to go ahead. Aim for as much overkill as can be afforded with the inverter and don't be too fanatical about meeting all needs with the panels. There are several technologies poised to come onto the market which have the potential to lower the cost per watt considerably over the next year or two. Extra panels can be added to the system fairly easily, particularly if your friend has the physical support infrastructure constructed with such expansion in mind. A smart thing to do, since that side of the system is the cheapest part. A bit more steel and heavier motors for the sun tracker is all that's needed.


One potential beauty of such an installation is that your friend (as better/cheaper panels come onto the market) can purchase older panels at a depreciated rate from his own business for domestic use at home.

[TheMadMonk]

5. Cost per watt is a rather misleading figure.

Generally panel efficiencies are quoted for the best case, ie under midday summer sun. (or roughly 1000W/m2 multiplied by the efficiency of the solar cell). To figure out your real costs, you need to know your complete annual insolation profile and then decide what level of independence from the grid you wish or can afford.

Obviously the most expensive option is total independence and isolation from the grid. Something one would only choose if connecting to the grid was impossible or prohibitively expensive.

With the option of selling power back to the grid, the most realistic would be aiming for zero balance or better over the course of the year, using credits earned in good times to cover for the lean. With of course any number of variants ranging from energy mogul to salving your guilt by covering for the air conditioning in summer and the lights in winter.



Oh, and something I just thought of, for conditions that have a lot of scudding cloud, sliver cells http://www.originenergy.com.au/environment/files/factsheet_sliver.pdf are a good bet, since they can deliver power even when partially shaded, in addition to their other advantages. (The PDF says they should already be available, but I believe that there have been problems with automating production and ramping it up to economical levels.)

[RainDog]

4. thanks for the replies

I was away from the computer for a while.

the biz is near Indianapolis, in a smaller town. the area does let the meter run backward and credits customers, or rather reduces their energy bills. The sun shines a lot in the summer and fall, winters can have long periods of gray sky, and spring has lots of rain. The structure is on a town square and the building has some restrictions because it's on a list of buildings to preserve... how to structurally support solar panels on a roof is an interesting issue.

The person is a she, my old employer. She doesn't like to use the "internets" but she loves the idea of saving money. I'll pass along the info posted here. I knew if I asked this question in this forum there would be some interesting answers. Thanks!

I'm also interested in the idea of small-scale energy providers, but more of the idea of neighborhoods having "energy associations" that share the costs of technology. -- I'd love to see windmills on telephone poles, and bulk purchases of solar equipment at the neighborhood level. I can't see how they could be any more intrusive and annoying than a satellite dish.

Solar panels on the roofs of malls and covered parking areas...

I also like the idea of solar energy farming in Nev. on the old test site for a-bombs. something about that just seems so... right.

[skids]

6. Get a consultant...

They can help you run the numbers and often even know the scoop about tax incentives (which is why it is worth running the numbers even though the technology may be getting cheaper -- when it does, there may not be as good tax breaks.)

This list here:

http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byGeo/US/byS/IN/byP/solar/solar.shtml

Lists a couple consulting companies in Indiana (the rest of the companies seem to be retail/export):

Morton Energy, LLC

* Business type: Renewable Energy Products and Services
* Product types: Solar PV systems, wind-powered turbines, solar hot water, solar pool heating, solar golf carts, solar construction trailers and more..
* Service types: consulting, design, installation, project development services, site survey and assessment services, contractor services
* Address: 4620 Weaver Road, Evansville, Indiana USA 47711
* Telephone: [phone]
* FAX: [phone]

SAVER

* Business type: retail sales, wholesale supplier, exporter
* Product types: solar system packages,advanced power systems, solar electric power systems, photovoltaic systems, generators, renewable energy system batteries, wind energy systems (small), DC to AC power inverters, water filteration & conditioning, energy saving refrigeration, energy saving washer & dryers, hybrid power stations.
* Service types: retail sales,consulting, engineering design, project development services, financial services
* Address: 350 Woodland Trail Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana USA 46239
* Telephone: [phone]
* FAX: [phone] press 2

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. As a first step, switch to green power through IPL

http://www.iplpower.com/ipl/index?page=IPLGeneral&Menu=01050300&DocID=0205016c986701096a4e9803007c1f

Green Power Option for Renewable Energy

At IPL, we understand that an increasing number of our customers would like to purchase electricity generated from clean, renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, geothermal or biomass generation (including landfill gas). The Green Power Option allows you to specify an amount equal to 100%, 50%, 25% or 10% of your monthly electricity to be generated by these environmentally friendly, renewable resources.

If you choose to enroll in the Green Power Option, you will pay a small premium in addition to IPL’s standard, regulated rate. This premium reflects IPL’s cost to purchase the renewable energy. The premium may vary depending upon the purchases made. The current Green Power premium is only $0.001913 per kilowatt-hour (less than 2/10th of a cent) and represents renewable energy purchased from a Minnesota wind farm and Indiana landfill gas generation plants. At this premium, a typical residential customer using 1000 kilowatt-hours in a month and enrolled at the 100% level would pay an additional $1.91 on their IPL electric bill.

The Green Power Option is available to both residential and commercial/industrial IPL customers.

[FogerRox]

8. PV on a house will generate about 125% of electricity used per year

A friend here in NJ, a few blocks up the road has Pv on the roof, he generates 125% of what his house uses, the extra 25% is sold to the grid. Thats with PVs @ 18% efficiency, covering only 1/2 the roof.