NEDO 1 MW
Photo Voltaic PROJECT
Overview
The project was a research and design effort in conjunction with Japanese manufacturers Hitachi, Toshiba Corporation, Kyocera, and NGK, along with Los Alamos National Laboratories and the Los Alamos County. The project consists of approximately 4,000 PV panels, combiners, inverters, primary transformers, data collection and power storage. The PV array covered 10 acres (+/‐) of an existing closed landfill.
The battery site included 1 MW of lead‐acid battery storage and 1 MW of sodium‐sulfur (NAS) battery storage. The PV array consists of several 10 KW arrays with various manufacturers. All equipment was confidential data and handled as such.
design scope
The racking system was a collaborative effort between engineers from Testudo Engineering, Affordable Solar and Quiroga-Pfeiffer Engineering. The County requested that the racking system be able to withstand a 3’ sink hole. To that end the ballasted racks were selected since they could span a subsiding area and still keep the rack operational until the ground is repaired. Each set of 10 to 20 panels are tied together electrically and 3’ Whip is in place to allow for settling of the system. This is along the length of the panels and a similar whip is installed between panel rows.
The entire system is protected from lightning strikes and grounding plates were designed in to the landfill cap rather than ground rods so that the closure membrane was not compromised.