One shopkeeper uses a single solar panel, mounted to the top of his shop, to power his printer. He runs a small-scale photography studio in the bazaar. Prior to the large-scale solar energy project, electricity was scarce in Nawa. Shop owners had to provide their own generator or solar panel to have electricity. Photo by Cpl. Meredith Brown

A single solar panel is mounted above a shop, a wire runs from the panel into the shop and attaches to a car battery, providing the only source of power for the shopkeeper. The storeowner operates a small photography studio, where he takes photos in his shop and prints them out for his customers.

Situations like this are common for the shopkeepers in Nawa district who do not have a central power source.

Many residents throughout the northern half of Helmand receive their energy from the hydroelectric power plant located at the Kajaki dam. However, the power supply does not reach Nawa, which is located in the southern portion of Helmand province.

Now, with the help of a solar energy project in the district, there is a new opportunity for the shopkeepers in the Nawa bazaar. Nearly 150 shops in the bazaar will be able to receive steady power from the project.

Capt. Brandon Newell, Expeditionary Energy Liaison Officer for Regional Command Southwest and a native of St. Amant, La., says this is the first type of large-scale solar hybrid project in Helmand to date.

“We’re not just trying to introduce something that’s sustainable into their community,” explained Newell who also holds an electrical engineering degree from Louisiana State University. “We’re taking something that they understand at a smaller level and trying to provide them an opportunity at a much larger, more centralized capability, which will be much more reliable.“

Two long rows of solar panels were put together, mounted and welded to the roof of the Nawa district governor’s compound and wires were ran to a large storage container where the power is converted into consumable energy. The energy runs to different meters throughout the bazaar.

Solar panels used to collect energy emitted by the sun are mounted to the roof of the Nawa district governor's compound, Dec. 29. Shop owners in the Nawa bazaar will be able to buy electricity on a pre-paid card for individual consumption in their shops. Photo by Cpl. Meredith Brown

At this point, shop owners can wire the electricity to their individual shops, where they will install a separate meter. The district governor will issue the shopkeepers pre-paid cards that they insert into their specific meter. The amount of wattage that the storeowners buy dictates the amount of electricity that they can use. However, once a certain amount of electricity is bought, there is not a time limit on when they must use the power.

Two local Afghans serve as maintenance operators who are responsible for keeping the system up and running once everything is installed. The money raised from selling the power, pays the operators’ salaries and the left-over money accumulates for later maintenance or expansion.

“We’re not trying to dictate what the end product is for them,” said Newell. “We’re trying to facilitate an opportunity for them to take ownership and run the system, to use it for the benefit of individual shops and the benefit the entire community,”

After walking through the bazaar and talking with the local Afghans, Newell said sewing, lighting and running fans in the summer were common uses for the power.

Once the batteries arrive in Afghanistan, the shop owners will also have the opportunity to stay open later. Because batteries cannot be transported through the Pakistan border, power will only be available during daylight. Once the batteries arrive, they will serve as a storage system for extra power collected during the day that can be used throughout the night.

Sarwar Akbari, a renewable energy engineer who has been working on the project over the past few months, said the project is important because it gives the locals a chance to reasonably use electricity.

“Before they were using generators and single panels,” said Akbari. “The shopkeepers in the bazaar are very poor people. They can’t prepare fuel for the generators and purchase individual panels. They are very happy with us that we are finishing our project and are about to install the meters.”

The project is expected to be completed within the next two weeks.

Story by Cpl. Meredith Brown
DVIDS

One of the most inconvenient aspects of renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar power is that the energy is produced with no regard to the actual needs of the electrical grid being supplied the power. The grid, even in the United States, has times when it cannot accept the energy produced by solar panels or wind turbines. The excess supply over demand often results in the temporary shutdown of production.

Part of the problem of excess power is that electrical grids are not efficient distributors of power. The U.S. has one of the largest, in miles and capacity, electrical grids on the planet but even here excess electricity from California has little chance of filling a need for electricity in New York City. The grid, actually a series of partially interconnected grids, just doesn’t operate that way.

The Main Interconnections of the U.S. Electric Power Grid and the 10 North American Electric Reliability Council Regions. Click on the map for more information.

Poor interconnection is one reason excess electricity cannot be moved across country. Electricity is moved via high voltage lines. For a variety of reasons, primarily political, these lines have become increasingly difficult to construct.

US electrical power grid transmission lines

One solution that allows solar and wind sources to continue to produce electricity is to store the energy until it is needed. Storage also would allow these energy producers to provide electricity to the grid at night or when the wind is not blowing. The concept of storage and the reality of storage are far apart, however, as battery design and engineering continues to lag the rest of the technology.

One utility company in New Mexico has brought a project online that may provide a solution to the storage issue. The PNM Prosperity Energy Storage Project can generate 500 KW of electrical power using 2,158 solar panels. The excess electricity produced is stored in 1,280 lead-acid batteries and the process is controlled by high tech smart grid controls.

PNM is using the smart grid controls to supply electricity to its grid from storage when the solar array is producing at a decreased output, night or clouds overhead. When electrical demand is less, the solar power is diverted to storage by the smart grid controls.

Other electrical production methods have little ability to control output in increments. This project demonstrates that the right technology combined with a green energy source can provide a constant supply of electricity while responding to changes in demand.

Exelon has completed its $60 million solar panel project that began operation in December at 1201 W. 120th St. photo credti: John J. Kim/Sun-Times

The Chicago Sun-Times has a great article on a new use for an old industrial site – a solar power farm.

As Exelon celebrated completion of the nation’s largest urban solar-power plant, the next-door neighbors in West Pullman celebrated a new life for a former polluted industrial site.

The plant began operating in December, with all 32,292 panels tested and in service in March, and final site work just completed. [snip]

The former International Harvester property — now the solar plant — had become an eyesore, a health hazard and a dumping ground for other communities’ old tires and other debris.

Most cities in the Northeast and Midwest have these sites. They are multi-acre collections of decaying buildings, trash and the occasional hazardous material dump. The buildings would require millions of dollars in renovations and upgrades just to be attractive to a buyer or renter. This is a great solution, and one with little overhead.

This site is 41 acres. It will generate 14K megawatts of power. The cost was about $60 million. I’m sure all the appropriate tax credits and such will be utilized. Regardless of the level of government support, it represents a clever use of the site.

A medical provider at Ghazaliyah's recently-opened solar-powered clinic treats a child, Sept. 16, during the opening of the clinic. Photo by Pfc. Kimberly Hackbarth

The sun has been known to work overtime in Iraq by creating dry, hot summers and long, sun-drenched days.

In order to help the Iraqi Ministry of Health provide for the citizens of the Ghazaliyah neighborhood, located in northwest Baghdad, the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team “Dagger,” 1st Infantry Division, Multi-National Division—Baghdad decided to take advantage of the sun’s rays.

The solar-powered New Iraqi clinic in northern Ghazaliyah, which provides for about 300 people a day, was reopened in a ceremony, Sept. 16.

The clinic, which used to receive an average of two hours of power per day because of the strain on the national power grid, gets its energy from the sun and receives power all day and all night.

“It’s important because this system that we’ve installed will power this clinic continuously whether or not the national grid is working,” said Bristol, Conn. native, Maj. Andrew Attar, joint project management officer, 2nd HBCT. “It gives the community here that utilizes this clinic healthcare 24/7.”

The clinic is the third and final solar-powered clinic project for the Dagger Brigade, which is scheduled to redeploy to Fort Riley, Kan. this month.

“It actually started well over a year ago when the brigade that preceded us ended up trying to put a power clinic in Ameriyah, a location that was isolated. It was a great clinic there but it needed consistent power,” said Col. Joseph Martin, commander of the Dagger Brigade. “From that we have learned and placed two separate systems in the Dahkel Clinic in Hurriyah and this one, the New Iraq Clinic in Ghazaliyah.”

Because the clinic is totally powered by the sun, vaccines can stay refrigerated and the air conditioner can take away some of the stress of the heat while patients are waiting to be treated.

“Even if it’s cloudy for the next three days, the system that we have emplaced here will still allow this clinic to have power 24 hours a day,” Martin said. “It allows the doctors to focus on their patients instead of focusing on what is supporting them in the system.”

Because the solar-powered clinics were well-received by the people, the Dagger Brigade placed solar-powered street lights in northwest Baghdad and Abu Ghraib to keep markets opened longer and are working on a solar-powered courthouse in Abu Ghraib.

Attar said there has been much success with the solar-powered streetlights.

“The street lights we’ve found to be extremely effective. It keeps families and people out at night shopping, socializing and it promotes safe neighborhoods,” he said. “When you have light at night the change is remarkable. People are out eating out at restaurants, they’re out shopping at night; kids are out playing in the streets. It makes the streets safer.”

As the government of Iraq continues to build a more efficient relationship with the people of Baghdad, solar-powered technology remains as an advantageous way to do business.

“The people of Baghdad have benefited greatly from our learning with this technology,” said Martin. “This allows them to have a continuous amount of power throughout the day or night.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Dustin Roberts

Solar power is an option, even in the Northeastern United States.

Kevin Flynn and Ryan Wig fasten solar panels on the roof of the 99th Regional Support Command headquarters building on Fort Dix, N.J., June 1.

Officials unveiled a new solar-panel array atop the 99th Regional Support Command Headquarters during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Fort Dix, N.J., Sept. 3.

The 1,204 solar photovoltaic panels atop the building will produce an estimated 310,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year while eliminating 2,177 tons of airborne toxins and saving more than $160,000 annually.

This financial savings can, in part, be invested in the nation’s Citizen-Soldiers, according to Maj. Gen. William Monk III, commanding general, 99th Regional Support Command (RSC).

“As we continue to meet the Army’s needs for relevant, ready forces to fight the long war, the money that the Army Reserve saves here can be used instead to provide the equipment and other resources needed to ensure its Soldiers are trained and equipped to the highest standards,” Monk said.

These solar installations are part of a $17.6-million program that will decrease energy consumption on Fort Dix by almost 10 percent and water use by more than five percent. The post will finance the program through energy and operational savings guaranteed by contractor Honeywell International under a performance contract with the Army spanning the next 23 years.

“Fort Dix has always excelled at any mission it has ever been assigned,” said Col. Patrick J. Slowey, installation commander, “and today’s mission of employing renewable energy sources, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and helping to preserve our environment is no different.”

Moving toward renewable energy sources such as solar power – and away from non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels – offers several benefits, according to U.S. Rep. John Adler, 3rd District, N.J. “Today is a small but significant victory for America’s national security,” Adler said, explaining that over-reliance on foreign-produced fuel sources limits U.S. negotiators in matters of foreign policy.

“It’s also a great victory for our national economy,” he added, noting that the New Jersey based Honeywell International installed the 99th RSC HQ solar array, along with a similar array at a controlled-humidity warehouse on Fort Dix.

These projects are the first of several energy upgrades planned by Fort Dix and Honeywell that include boiler controllers, replacement of current heating and air conditioning systems, replacement of current lighting with energy efficient ballasts and lamps, water reuse for golf course irrigation, and an energy monitoring control system.

“Working with the leaders and energy experts at Fort Dix, we identified the retrofits and renewable energy source that would help the post meet its efficiency and climate targets, and provide the greatest return on investment,” explained Kevin Madden, vice president, Honeywell Global Sales.

“The return on investment will be good for the taxpayer,” said Jean M. Fox, president, New Jersey Board of Utilities. “We’re proud to highlight projects like the Fort Dix project. It’s a role model for other facilities.”

U.S. Army
By Shawn Morris, Fort Dix Public Affairs