Photovoltaic technology is advancing rapidly and now Chaffee County is home to one of the most advanced systems available. Over the last several weeks a large team lead by Peak Solar Designs has come together to install two SolFocus SF1100 concentrating solar arrays on a ridge below Methodist Mountain to power the home of Michael Ferree. These arrays are rated at 8.4 kilowatts each, making this what is believed to be the largest photovoltaic installation in Chaffee County. The Ferree home requires such a large amount of electricity, not because of its size, but because a large portion of the modest sized home is a log structure built in the later half of the 1800′s. The old wide chinking style of construction does not afford the efficiency modern construction does, making the electric heating system use a large amount of power to maintain the home’s temperature during the winter months.
The arrays consist of hundreds of convex glass mirrors precisely focusing the sun on smaller mirrors which direct the beam down towards the small PV cells PHOTO: M. Ferree
Concentrated solar refers to the use of mirrors and/or lenses to focus large amounts of light on a smaller area. In the case of the SolFocus system, concave mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight onto small high efficiency solar cells, this magnification is approximately 500 times the normal amount of light, often referred to as “suns” (i.e. 500 suns). Right now you are probably remembering those poor ants that you focused your magnifying glass on as a kid and wondering how the solar cells can take the heat. These are no ordinary cells and are the heart of what sets this system apart. These patented cells are designed to take the high heat created from the 500 suns focused on them, but more importantly according to SolFocus, they allow a concentrated solar array to use approximately 1/1000th the photovoltaic material used in a conventional system. The photovoltaic material in a solar array is expensive, driving a major portion of the cost and is difficult to recycle. Because the majority of these concentrating arrays are glass and aluminum they have a much greater recyclable content than ordinary arrays and require less energy to build, further adding to their environmental friendliness.
Assembly of the major components required a large crew as well as a crane and was carried out on Earth Day. PHOTO: M. Ferree
Just as you learned during your childhood experiments (okay some of us still play with magnifying glasses in the sun) alignment of the focused beam is important. Since the position of the sun is constantly changing throughout the day, concentrating solar arrays must move or “track” the sun across the sky. To accomplish this, the arrays are mounted on large poles and have computer controlled motors which slowly swing the arrays with the sun each day, keeping them aligned to within one degree of the sun as well as placing them into a protective horizontal position when extremely high winds are measured by the system’s anemometers.
As you can see from the images, these arrays are large and not typically installed for residential use. They are designed for large commercial or industrial installations. This installation for a residence is unique and came about because Michael Ferree is Vice President of Project Management for Cate Street Capital, an investment firm with interest in SolFocus. This particular installation will be used by Sol Focus to demonstrate the viability of their systems in our region and its performance will be measured against a more typical 9.66 kilowatt roof mounted photovoltaic system previously installed on the site by Peak Solar to power Ferree’s office building.
According to Tim Klco of Peak Solar, many area businesses and government facilities could benefit from these systems. Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center and Sangre De Cristo Electric have both shown interest in the system although neither has committed to the purchase.
Dave Beaulieu and Tim Klco of Peak Solar Designs affix an assembled array being supported by a crane to the large mounting pole. PHOTO: M. Ferree
This is the first system of it’s kind installed in Colorado, and a first for Salida based Peak Solar. This installation really demonstrates how green energy can benefit rural communities like Salida. Not only will fewer energy dollars be sent out of the valley during the lifespan of the installation (estimated to be more than 25 years), but the installation employed a lengthy list of local businesses and individuals; Peak Solar Designs, G/T Structural Engineers, Kane Builders, Koch Excavating, Marv’s Electric of Salida, Shavano Custom Log Works (crane service), RAC Transport Company and Hard Rock Paving & Redi-mix.
First and foremost, thanks go out once again to everyone who worked on the project, especially Kane Builders and Marv’s Electric who went above and beyond with the details of the project. Hats off to Micheal Ferree as well for bringing the technology to the valley.
The installation site of “off the beaten path” and not a drive by situation. If anyone would like a tour of the site please email info@peaksolardesigns.com to set up an appointment.
Very well written, technically accurate article. Often painful to read national news stories about PV systems “providing hot water” or producing “kW of energy”. Good to see the details presented correctly in a readable way. Being 1 mile closer to the sun will really light those mirrors up!
I felt the article was in great need of more technical information. To me the article sounded like nothing more than an advertising plug for the businesses involved.
A question –
Will this system on Mr. Ferree’s house be net metered to his electric utility provider and is this provider Sangre de Christo Electric? If he is doing net metering, is he satisfied with the buyback rate?
Chris,
Mr. Ferree will be connected to Xcel Energy’s grid and he will receive a $2.00 a watt rebate from Xcel’s “Solar Rewards Program.” He will also be awarded a REC payment of $55.00 per MWh for the actual AC production that the system produces. This will be paid in monthly installments for a period of 20 years. Between these 2 rebates, and the federal tax credit, it greatly reduces the overall system costs.
Balance…
I’m a strong supporter of building ‘Green’. When we visually share our ‘Green’ with the rest of the valley… well, how do we as a Salida community find balance between going Green and the visual impact of it’s by-product? I run the trails on S Mountain and each morning the new PV cells are really evident. Anyone looking south in the morning can see two white (fairly large) glows from Salida’s pristine mountain side. Fortunately the cells rotate so the visual impact is only the first half of the day/morning and may be less during the winter. While we proceed with our Green initiatives as vendors, homeowners, and community at large, we also need to consider the visual impact to our beautiful landscape. Fortunately Mr. Ferree has the funding to build a system that rotates with the sun and therefore has limited the visual impact. Will the next person do the same?
Going Green, finding balance between my footprint and my visual impact… all things I too will be considering as we live a great lifestyle in beautiful Salida.
Tracy you are completely right. Balance is the key.
The visual impact from this project does exceed the norm in the valley. This type of technology is designed for industrial/commercial applications where the visual impacts will be contained in those types of multiuse environments. Mr. Ferree has a unique case here because of his involvement with SolFocus so the technology has been installed in a residential situation.
Although the “Solar Access Law” in Colorado limits individuals and HOA’s from preventing renewable energy devices, it is the responsibility of us as humans to also respect our neighbors and their views. So, we have 2 philosophies on our Solar Installations. First and foremost, it must work to the best of its ability. Second it must look good. This being said, it must look good from the homeowners point of view as well as their neighbors. We would always prefer to tuck our stationary pole mounts into a backdrop of trees rather than out in the middle of a field or ridge with a tracking unit. In this particular case though, the terrain of the property greatly limited where the system could be installed and the end result was on the ridge top.
When I look at this system from the trials I also see the white glows, but my eyes also look beyond them to the massive electrical transmission lines the run the whole length of the mountain. Their visual and physical impact far exceeds Mr. Ferree’s system. Looking at the situation as a whole, it is proof of where we have come and where we are going with energy. Keeping the balance in check though will always be an issue. Case in point:
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100428/NEWS/4280326