Post by jeffolie on Jan 9, 2013 16:36:38 GMT -6
Solar panels on NJ power poles ?
my jeffolie view: the concept works, will New Jersey actually do this?
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World's largest distributed solar project is on... New Jersey pole-tops!
Jan 9, 2013
Why fuss with roof-top solar when you can use pole-tops instead? New Jersey's Public Service Electric & Gas will soon conclude the installation of 175,000 solar panels on its power poles in New Jersey. The $200-million project will eventually supply 40 MW for the utility.
"The beauty of the panels is that there are no capital costs - we already own the poles," said PSE&G President and COO Ralph LaRossa to the Wall Street Journal. The utility must generate 3.5% of its electricity from solar by 2021 to meet a requirement set by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Technology provider Petra Solar called the panels on poles "the largest distributed solar electric project being deployed in the world today." You can read more at NewJersey.com
www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Technologies_DG_Renewables/World-s-largest-distributed-solar-project-is-on-New-Jersey-pole-tops-5402.html/?fpt
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PSE&G to install solar panels on utility poles
Thursday, March 24, 2011
PSE&G will be installing solar units on utility poles in Lyndhurst and Rutherford, a company spokesperson said.
A PSE&G employee installs a solar panel on a utility pole. The company will be installing solar panels at various locations in Lyndhurst and Rutherford this spring.
Poles throughout the two towns are eligible for a solar unit if they meet the installation criteria.
"We can't predict exact locations before we begin work since the final surveying and installations take place at the same time," said PSE&G spokesperson Fran Sullivan.
Crews must first identify a pole that meets the criteria and a panel is installed. "A rough estimate would be about 400 to 450 in each town, for a total of 800 to 900," Sullivan said.
Each unit costs approximately $1,200.
As part of its Solar 4 All program, PSE&G is installing pole-attached solar energy units in over 300 municipalities. When the project is complete in late 2012, the pole-attached solar units will provide 40 megawatts of solar electricity—enough to power about 6,600 average size New Jersey homes annually, the company claims. Solar unit installations to date number at approximately 85,000 units, operating and producing clean energy from the sun.
Beginning later this month, PSE&G contractors will begin installing pole-attached solar units in Lyndhurst and Rutherford. They will be placed on utility poles that offer the following: Clear exposure to the southern sky, access to proper voltage electrical wires and where installation does not interfere with existing equipment.
The panels are approximately 2.5 feet high by five feet wide and will be installed about 15 feet off the ground.
The minimum requirements for each utility pole are as follows: "The pole must have secondary service, which is the 120 volt/240 volt service that runs into homes and businesses. The solar units are connected to these wires," Sullivan said.
Given the amount of existing equipment (cable, telephone) on utility poles, PSE&G ensures such installation will not interfere with existing equipment.
"If the installation of a panel would physically interfere with other equipment on the pole it does not meet our installation criteria and a solar unit will not be installed. Beyond that, the units should not cause any other sort of interference with equipment already on the pole," Sullivan said.
Sullivan explained how the panels will operate. "The solar panels generate electrical power that converts solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors," she said. "Each pole-attached unit also contains an inverter, which is an electrical device that changes direct current into alternating current. The panels are connected directly to the electric grid, so that energy is transferred into the wires for homes and businesses to use. The units do not store electricity. All of the solar units are monitored so we know exactly how they are performing – this allows us to identify units that need repair and repositioning."
The company estimates that when the full 40 megawatts of pole attached solar units are installed, they will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air by 31 metric tons per year, the amount of nitrous oxide by 58 metric tons per year and the amount of sulfur oxide by 135 metric tons per year. The company equates this with removing approximately 3,800 cars from the road for one year.
"These solar units bring the direct benefit of clean, renewable energy to all our customers since the electricity they generate is used in homes and businesses in the immediate neighborhood," said Al Matos, vice president for renewables and energy solutions for PSE&G. "We would need more than 175 acres of land to place 40 megawatts worth of traditional solar farms. By utilizing these utility poles, we take up zero land space, which is a great way to install a large amount of solar capacity in a crowded state like New Jersey while making solar available to all."
In July 2009, PSE&G received regulatory approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to invest $515 million in solar projects.
Neither Rutherford Mayor John Hipp nor Lyndhurst Mayor Rich DiLascio returned calls by press time to discuss the solar installations in their towns.
www.northjersey.com/news/118556724_Solar_panels_will_soon_be_popping_up_on_poles_.html
my jeffolie view: the concept works, will New Jersey actually do this?
=============================
World's largest distributed solar project is on... New Jersey pole-tops!
Jan 9, 2013
Why fuss with roof-top solar when you can use pole-tops instead? New Jersey's Public Service Electric & Gas will soon conclude the installation of 175,000 solar panels on its power poles in New Jersey. The $200-million project will eventually supply 40 MW for the utility.
"The beauty of the panels is that there are no capital costs - we already own the poles," said PSE&G President and COO Ralph LaRossa to the Wall Street Journal. The utility must generate 3.5% of its electricity from solar by 2021 to meet a requirement set by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
Technology provider Petra Solar called the panels on poles "the largest distributed solar electric project being deployed in the world today." You can read more at NewJersey.com
www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Technologies_DG_Renewables/World-s-largest-distributed-solar-project-is-on-New-Jersey-pole-tops-5402.html/?fpt
=========================
PSE&G to install solar panels on utility poles
Thursday, March 24, 2011
PSE&G will be installing solar units on utility poles in Lyndhurst and Rutherford, a company spokesperson said.
A PSE&G employee installs a solar panel on a utility pole. The company will be installing solar panels at various locations in Lyndhurst and Rutherford this spring.
Poles throughout the two towns are eligible for a solar unit if they meet the installation criteria.
"We can't predict exact locations before we begin work since the final surveying and installations take place at the same time," said PSE&G spokesperson Fran Sullivan.
Crews must first identify a pole that meets the criteria and a panel is installed. "A rough estimate would be about 400 to 450 in each town, for a total of 800 to 900," Sullivan said.
Each unit costs approximately $1,200.
As part of its Solar 4 All program, PSE&G is installing pole-attached solar energy units in over 300 municipalities. When the project is complete in late 2012, the pole-attached solar units will provide 40 megawatts of solar electricity—enough to power about 6,600 average size New Jersey homes annually, the company claims. Solar unit installations to date number at approximately 85,000 units, operating and producing clean energy from the sun.
Beginning later this month, PSE&G contractors will begin installing pole-attached solar units in Lyndhurst and Rutherford. They will be placed on utility poles that offer the following: Clear exposure to the southern sky, access to proper voltage electrical wires and where installation does not interfere with existing equipment.
The panels are approximately 2.5 feet high by five feet wide and will be installed about 15 feet off the ground.
The minimum requirements for each utility pole are as follows: "The pole must have secondary service, which is the 120 volt/240 volt service that runs into homes and businesses. The solar units are connected to these wires," Sullivan said.
Given the amount of existing equipment (cable, telephone) on utility poles, PSE&G ensures such installation will not interfere with existing equipment.
"If the installation of a panel would physically interfere with other equipment on the pole it does not meet our installation criteria and a solar unit will not be installed. Beyond that, the units should not cause any other sort of interference with equipment already on the pole," Sullivan said.
Sullivan explained how the panels will operate. "The solar panels generate electrical power that converts solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors," she said. "Each pole-attached unit also contains an inverter, which is an electrical device that changes direct current into alternating current. The panels are connected directly to the electric grid, so that energy is transferred into the wires for homes and businesses to use. The units do not store electricity. All of the solar units are monitored so we know exactly how they are performing – this allows us to identify units that need repair and repositioning."
The company estimates that when the full 40 megawatts of pole attached solar units are installed, they will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air by 31 metric tons per year, the amount of nitrous oxide by 58 metric tons per year and the amount of sulfur oxide by 135 metric tons per year. The company equates this with removing approximately 3,800 cars from the road for one year.
"These solar units bring the direct benefit of clean, renewable energy to all our customers since the electricity they generate is used in homes and businesses in the immediate neighborhood," said Al Matos, vice president for renewables and energy solutions for PSE&G. "We would need more than 175 acres of land to place 40 megawatts worth of traditional solar farms. By utilizing these utility poles, we take up zero land space, which is a great way to install a large amount of solar capacity in a crowded state like New Jersey while making solar available to all."
In July 2009, PSE&G received regulatory approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to invest $515 million in solar projects.
Neither Rutherford Mayor John Hipp nor Lyndhurst Mayor Rich DiLascio returned calls by press time to discuss the solar installations in their towns.
www.northjersey.com/news/118556724_Solar_panels_will_soon_be_popping_up_on_poles_.html