Solar Energy Publication News

The solar energy experts at Denver-based Conergy Americas and officials at California’s South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) have installed what is believed to be the world’s first single-axis solar tracking system featuring thin-film photovoltaic cells. It is the second phase of a 1.6 MW solar energy solution that will save the irrigation district nearly $400,000 a year in utility costs, allow it to reap millions of dollars in state cash incentives and stabilize customer costs in the midst of a state-wide water crisis.

The project — known as the Robert O. Schulz Solar Farm — will also provide a unique cost-benefit analysis on how two distinct solar energy solutions — crystalline panels and thin-film — perform under a range of climatic conditions.

SSJID is located in Manteca, between San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. SSJID provides irrigation water for 55,000 acres in the surrounding area. The trend in enterprise solar emphasizing the economic benefits of photovoltaic technology is particularly important for water authorities like SSJID. “The project’s main goal was to stabilize electrical costs, which can spike substantially in summer months given local time of use (TOU) metering;” said SSJID Utility Systems Director Don Battles. In addition to the project’s $400,000 annual electric bill savings, the solar energy systems provide the district with a hedge against rising utility costs. SSJID is also receiving $6 million in cash incentives from the California Solar Initiative program, designed to stimulate solar markets by providing cash incentives of up to 30% of system costs for businesses, public agencies and home owners who go solar.

Phase 1 features 6,720 Conergy 175-watt crystalline modules mounted on a single axis solar tracking system. Tracking systems can optimize peak-time output by as much as 15% over similarly-sized fixed-mount systems. This project optimizes its solar tracking capabilities using software whose origins are based in military tracking technologies. According to Conergy’s Western U.S. Project Director David Vincent, market-tested First Solar thin-film modules were selected for the Phase 2 tracking solution because they perform at a lower cost-per-watt than traditional crystalline. To help SSJID monitor system output, Conergy installed equipment on the inverters that sends power generation information to monitoring and reporting company Fat Spaniel Technologies. A bonus is that through the Fat Spaniel Web site, they’re also able to compare the 1 MW, Phase 1 SSJID tracking system with several systems, among them a 1 MW fixed-axis roof-mount system on a fruit-packing house in nearby Hanford, California — a system that Conergy also installed.

The availability of data has generated a friendly competition. The Conergy- SSJID team’s innovative approach to renewable energy and the Robert O. Schulz Solar Farm case study are providing illuminating new data that will open the floodgates of solar opportunity for water authorities and agri-businesses across the U.S. Learn more at www.conergy.us.

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