solar farm

[silverfox8028]

I'm a Twp Commissioner 30 mi west of Philadelphia. Developer wants to install a stationary panel solar farm on 45 ac of the leeward side of the Rt 30 valley. The ground is currently forested with steep slopes densely surrounded by homes, commercial and industrial developed property.I'm not in favor of it as located...outside the valley, I'll help him put it up. So I need backup data. Is there any danger of visible or invisible light normally absorbed by vegetation reflected from the panels endangering the population? Developer says rain will clean the panels over 25 year life...I doubt it as the windshield of a 10 year old junk car is impossible to see thru. There will be 15.86 actual acres of panels...can they generate 10mw...for how long... at this latitude?
Does the US DOE or other nationally recognized have a cost comparison between coal, gas, nuclear, wind and solar to generate electricity? Any other issue I'm missing?

 

[jghrist]

Most of your concerns are valid. I don't think there is any danger with reflected light, however. It's just sunlight.

Unless the slopes are toward the south, they could make efficient aiming of the panels difficult. Personally, I'd rather have forests than solar panels from an environmental perspective.

Your skepticism on useful life, output, and rain cleaning is valid. Be skeptical of cost comparisons. Much of what is out there is very biased towards installation of solar and wind.

 

[redfurry]

Solar is pretty safe and quiet. There shouldn't be any problems caused by it due to the solar panels.

Yes, solar is much more expensive than most other forms of generation, but with enough government money, it's often worthwhile for a developer.

The developer is going to have to consider cleaning and snow clearing on those panels if he wants to maximize their power production. He's also going to have to keep the vegetation around the panels under control so they don't grow up and block them or cause maintenance problems.

If these panels are going to be placed on a slope, my biggest concern would be rain runoff and erosion issues (because there won't be any/much vegetation there).

 

[jraef]

Solar panels have to be cleaned or the output drops off. He may elect to not do it, but his ROI will move out significantly over time. So that being the case, if environmental issues are a concern, you must consider the environmental impact of cleaning solutions. There are some very benign ones, but everything is relative. "Very benign" to me may be very toxic to someone else.

Decent FAQs on the subject here:

http://www.solarpanelcleaningsystems.com/solar-panel-cleaning-services.php#pl

"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six sharpening my axe." -- Abraham Lincoln
For the best use of Eng-Tips, please click here -> faq731-376

 

[jfpe]

Solar panel cleaning in the northeast is very rare. I've worked on some large photovoltaic installations, but never seen one washed regularly. There is sufficinent precipitation year round to keep the solar modules clean or at least clean enough. It is a different situation out west where there is a rainy season and a dry season.

Regardless, I wouldn't get my information on module washing from someone trying to sell me a module washing system. Seems like a conflict of interest