Timeline: Solar Test Bed Project at the Fayetteville Public Library
- The project will begin in the fall of 2009. Students in the senior design class at the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering will design, construct and install with the latest “off the shelf” technology for a grid-tied solar application, including an inverter and 48 solar arrays capable of generating 10 kilowatts of renewable energy. The initial setup will include a Xantrex GT30 inverter and 48 solar arrays from Kyocera. The solar arrays will be mounted on a rotating frame designed by electrical engineering students to follow the sun throughout the day and maximize energy output.
- After six months of monitoring, the library will add a silicon carbide (SiC) inverter being developed locally by Arkansas Power Electronics International, a small business located in the Arkansas Research and Technology Park incubator. The SiC inverter’s performance will be compared with the standard inverter to demonstrate the improvements in efficiency. Additional solar arrays added over time using thin-cell solar technology being developed at the University of Arkansas will allow real-world testing of thin-cell solar technology.
- The Arkansas Energy Office has pledged $8,500 toward an education kiosk at the library to display real-time energy data from the solar arrays and time-lapse images to illustrate solar tracking, as well as literature on the importance of renewable energy and how the process works. The kiosk feature will make the Solar Test-Bed project accessible to the library’s more than 2,000 daily visitors. A project website will provide information and real-time data. Tours will be provided to stakeholders, students and investors for evaluation and education.
- The solar test bed at the library will provide power to the library, reducing energy use and carbon footprint. The higher efficiency of SiC translates into energy savings yielding financial and environmental benefits.
- The Fayetteville Public Library is providing assistance with installation, partnership coordination, books and DVDs on the subject matter, educational events, promotional materials and support for the website and kiosk. The City of Fayetteville is providing partnership coordination and support to further the project.
- The partners for this project are Fayetteville Public Library, City of Fayetteville’s Office of Sustainability, the University of Arkansas Department of Electrical Engineering’s National Center for Reliable Electrical Power Transmission, Arkansas Energy Office, Fayetteville Economic Development Council and AEP / Southwestern Electric Power Company.
For more information, visit www.icma.org