Daily Image
03-11-2008
Sucking Up (to) the Sun
| Submitter: | Arnold van Ardenne |
| Description: | Even the Great and the Good are dwarfed by the size of these solar panels. In the fringe of the latest SKADS meeting in Lisbon, dignitaries of the European SKA effort visited the largest solar PV in the world, at the Moura site in Portugal. When finished by the end of this year, it will deliver 46MW in the first full operational phase, especially when the panels are actually pointed at the Sun. It was built on-site in about 1 year, for a total cost of 260M€. Each element includes 1-axis solar tracking and is about 141 sqrm in size. The total area for this phase is about 320.000 sqrm, i.e. one third of the Square Km Array radio telescope! It can be upgraded with higher efficiency panels as they become available. The present panels are projected for a minimum of 10 years, with an efficiency decrease of 1%/year. For replacement panels, an increase in efficiency of at least a factor 5 is expected within 10 years. The panels now in use are from China, as this was the only source which had such a large number of Si-panels available. Obviously, this points to a possible role/contribution of China to the SKA. It will undoubtedly be taken into account by the proposed PITF EWG working group, which will be tasked to study the best and most cost-effective means of generating (and storing) energy for SKA. |
| Copyright: | ASTRON_AvA2008 |
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