Designing a Mega Watt Solar site will require a host of things to be in place and these typically include a Site Survey, Preliminary Engineering Design, identifying the correct PV Module, Inverter and BOS Equipment, PV system design and specifications, the output of the solar system and a finally a break even analysis. The following tasks listed below provide the basics of the design methodology :
1. Conduct a Site Survey.
2. Analysis of the Environment and other Certificates to be obtained.
3. Site Engineering Analysis
4. Determine PV System Size, drawing board Design and Specifications.
5. Initial Costing of the PV farm.
6. Conduct a Break Even Analysis and other Working Economics of the farm.
7. Project Report.
In this post I will try and analyse the first point in the above list, that is the site survey, and take the other points later in other posts, there are possibly a million things to survey if the mega watt site is located within or close to the city premises. As you would be aware, a retrofit always more difficult to handle than say, putting up the PV farm in a desert. The following points are important when the PV farm site is a retrofit :
1. Is the site approachable by road ?
2. Is the site approachable by foot ?
3. The density of the trees and bush landscape on the site?
4. Location of utility services like police stations, hospitals etc around the site ?
5. Load carrying capacity of Distribution lines around the site ?
The electricity generated by the PV park would have to be fed back into the grid, having low capacity distribution lines around the park would imply an upgrade and having no distribution lines would mean installation of the right capacity distribution lines.
6. Will the site need to be cleared and graded ?
7. Is south facing areas of the site clear of shading ?
8. Which side will provide more public relations benefit to the promoters ?
It would be more interesting to provide a front side view of the panels to any road traffic close by and would make for good public relations, a green technology is welcomed across the world.
9. Which location on the site will give the park more adequate access to security ?
10. If there is a forest around the site what location will not disturb the "urban forest" beauty ?
11. What is the slope of the site ?
1. Conduct a Site Survey.
2. Analysis of the Environment and other Certificates to be obtained.
3. Site Engineering Analysis
4. Determine PV System Size, drawing board Design and Specifications.
5. Initial Costing of the PV farm.
6. Conduct a Break Even Analysis and other Working Economics of the farm.
7. Project Report.
In this post I will try and analyse the first point in the above list, that is the site survey, and take the other points later in other posts, there are possibly a million things to survey if the mega watt site is located within or close to the city premises. As you would be aware, a retrofit always more difficult to handle than say, putting up the PV farm in a desert. The following points are important when the PV farm site is a retrofit :
1. Is the site approachable by road ?
If the site has access to by road, then the job of the Installer and the Economist becomes much easier, the delivery of the panels and other equipment to site is handled by road transport and a huge logistical problem taken care of by an approachable road.
2. Is the site approachable by foot ?
Almost all retrofit sites will have been designed for some other purpose and subsequently are being looked at for conversion into a PV farm, for example old land fill sites, old parking bays or mountain slopes etc. When the site is approachable by road and thereafter has bushes or trees which make the work of the installer and grader difficult there is a cost involved to clearing up the site per acre or hectare of land being used.
3. The density of the trees and bush landscape on the site?
4. Location of utility services like police stations, hospitals etc around the site ?
5. Load carrying capacity of Distribution lines around the site ?
The electricity generated by the PV park would have to be fed back into the grid, having low capacity distribution lines around the park would imply an upgrade and having no distribution lines would mean installation of the right capacity distribution lines.
6. Will the site need to be cleared and graded ?
7. Is south facing areas of the site clear of shading ?
8. Which side will provide more public relations benefit to the promoters ?
It would be more interesting to provide a front side view of the panels to any road traffic close by and would make for good public relations, a green technology is welcomed across the world.
9. Which location on the site will give the park more adequate access to security ?
10. If there is a forest around the site what location will not disturb the "urban forest" beauty ?
11. What is the slope of the site ?
Taking care of these generic questionnaires will give common sense answers to locating a retrofit site for PV park, and as mentioned earlier, where the Desert Solar Parks are concerned, with their high irradiation, and no shading, some of the questions above will change to reflect the landscape and irradiation.
I am looking to benefit from the experience of people who have conducted such site surveys over prolonged period of time, I myself am in the process of writing the book on Solar Sales, would love to meet these people and take their opinions on the site surveys and present them in a logical manner in the book with adequate references to them, with their names getting publicised in the book.
For any questions or comments do write in to me at info@freshenergy.co or maninder.s.kumar@gmail.com
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