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Solar panels on City of Hill buildings and properties will save thousands of dollars in energy costs

Solar panels at the Johnson County Hills Water Treatment Plant. (Courtesy of City of Hills)

Solar panels at Hills Sewer Lagoon. (Courtesy of City of Hills)

Solar panels are pictured on the roof of the Hills Fire Station. (Courtesy of City of Hills)

HILLS – After starting the project last year, the city of Hills, south of Iowa City, has completed installing solar panels on the city’s fire station, community center and office building.

The panels save the city $500 a month in energy. They are projected to save more than $300,000 over the next 25 years, according to Friday’s news release. Average monthly fees now range from $10 to $20 per building.

“The money from the local option sales tax was used for the installation,” Mayor Tim Kemp said in a news release, “and we quickly began to see savings on our energy bills for these three buildings.”

Sales tax revenue also allowed the City of Hills to build a community stage, splash pad and additional playground equipment. Last year, the municipality also launched a ten-year plan to repave all the city’s streets.

Solar panels were also added to the Hills Water Treatment Plant and Hills Sewage Lagoons sites last month thanks to a power purchase agreement with Dubuque-based Eagle Point Solar.

Solar energy projects at the waterworks and sewage lagoons produce 34.7 and 56.7 kilowatt hours, respectively, during peak generation periods. Within a month of installation, the panels have already reduced energy costs between the two locations by more than $2,000.

The panels at the fire station, community center, and office building can produce 12.04, 11.55, and 12.04 kilowatt hours, respectively.

“It’s a win-win for the City, we’ll enjoy lower energy costs while being more environmentally conscious,” Kemp said.

The city did not provide a price for any of the solar panels.

Brittney J. Miller is The Gazette’s environmental reporter and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on issues that have not been covered.

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Solar Energy Farmers Pumping Sets Soon Under PM KUSUM Scheme – Sunil Kumar

Udupi: “Karnataka will soon start providing solar-powered pump sets to farmers, reducing the subsidy burden on the department,” Energy, Kannada and Culture Minister V Sunil Kumar said during a Meet the Press at Udupi Patrika Bhavan on October 22. .

Addressing the media, Minister V Sunil Kumar said the government would provide solar power to agricultural pump sets under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan. The Power Department planned to install 1,100 exclusive solar powered feeders to ensure uninterrupted power supply to irrigation pump sets across the state.

Minister Kumar further said, “We will provide solar power to feeders so that farmers can use them in pump sets. 1000 MW power feeders will provide quality energy supply to farmers. Farmers were earlier provided with solar irrigation pump sets, but this was found to be inadequate where the groundwater table has declined drastically. Those pumps could not raise water from a depth of 800-900 meters. The new system will provide farmers with quality energy.”

Minister Kumar also said, “Department of Energy was paying more attention to transparency in its work. During the 100-day Belaku Scheme, 2.5 lakh houses were energized. More than 200 transformer banks and 210 transformer repair stations have been established since he headed the department. From the heads of the electricity supply companies to the line workers, all employees were involved in the transformer maintenance campaign. He also fulfilled his promise to provide 75 units of free electricity to the homes of people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the Amrutha Jyothi scheme.

In order to solve the energy issues faster, the Energy Department has proposed to hold “Vidyut Adalat” on the third Saturday of every month. The department has planned to address all energy issues especially in rural areas through this monthly ‘Vidyut Adalat’. Kumar explained that while the tenders for setting up 1,108 electric vehicle charging stations were being finalised, ESCOMs were holding Vidyuth Adalat every third Saturday to address electricity-related grievances on the spot.

Assistant Executive Engineers (AEEs) and other officials of Power Corporations have been asked to visit even the last village in their respective taluks. Officials should take the initiative to solve energy problems and other issues on the spot or quickly.

Speaking about the Department of Kannada and Culture, Sunil Kumar said that he took the initiative to select the Rajyotsava awardees on the recommendation of the common man. Nevertheless, the Department received 28,000 applications for the award, and 67 were to be selected. The department would ensure that unsung heroes are selected for awards.

District Working Journalists Union President Rajesh Shetty Alevoor, Secretary Nazir Polya, Treasurer Umesh Marpalli, Pathirka Bhavan Convener Ajith Shetty, Co-convener Ankith Shetty were present.

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Farmers have called on Liz Truss’ successor as UK prime minister to abandon plans to ban solar power from most of England’s farmland, arguing it would cut a vital income stream and harm food security.

Truss, who resigned on Thursday, and her environment secretary Ranil Jayawardena hoped to ban about 41% of England’s land area, or about 58% of agricultural land, from using solar energy, the Guardian revealed last week.

They planned to do this by reclassifying less productive farmland as “best and most valuable” by making it harder to use for energy infrastructure.

Members of the Country Lands and Business Association (CLA), which represents 33,000 landowners, told the Guardian that having solar power on their less productive land would allow them to subsidize food production in less successful years, as well as provide cheap electricity for their properties and homes across the country. gives their local area.

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CLA president Mark Tufnell grows oats, wheat and barley on his Cotswolds estate. He said: “We have members who, if the need arises, these are temporary places, and then they can concentrate on growing more food on their other land.

“The sun would be on their less good land, and … if they choose to do it, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do it?”

He added that the land was not used for agriculture because locusts were easy to remove and the area could be grazed by sheep. “There is no reason why the area below this should not be grazed by sheep, but it can also provide very good habitat for agricultural birds and increase biodiversity to help the environment.

“I don’t see them saying that we will set aside these lands with the stroke of a pencil, I don’t see that it helps, and I think that it is not possible to help food security in any case.”

The real problem with the government’s solar strategy, he says, is how difficult it is to put solar power on rooftops.

Tufnell said: “There’s so much they haven’t been able to do, like encourage rooftop solar, change the planning system to allow it. I already have 49kW and would like to have another 100kW in my premises but the hardest thing to do is to connect to the grid affordably. They are very slow, the cost is incredibly high and in my case I might have to put in a mini substation which is very expensive.

“My job is to put solar panels on the building that I am converting into an office and workshop, and if there is any surplus, I would like to use it on the houses in the village. “But it’s so difficult and expensive that it’s very unpleasant, and if I hadn’t been so persistent, I honestly thought I couldn’t be bothered.”

Harry Teacher, a fruit and arable farmer in Kent, has a large solar park on his land, which helps bring in income when his farm has a bad year.

He said: “We built a park in 2014, putting ground-mounted panels on frames on about 61 hectares. We are a fruit and arable farm, but we are quite diversified and any farmer was encouraged to find sources of income other than farming and solar panels were part of that diversification. It is a constant source of income for us. This gives our business even more strength.”

Not understanding all the fuss, the teacher added, “As a suggestion, they are easily hidden by a large hedge. They do not make noise, there are no moving parts. Carbon is now a serious thing we all have to consider, solar panels should be a part of it. If the argument is loss of land for food – you know planning applications for solar parks are made on a temporary basis – ours is for a 25 year period. If for any reason, which is not uncommon, we run out of food, we can collect it all and return it to agriculture.

“We definitely make more money from our solar panels than from farming. People have a gut reaction to any kind of greenfield development, and it’s more of a reaction to people’s reaction to seeing solar parks – I don’t think it’s a real fear for food production.”

Recom’s newest solar panels boast an efficiency of up to 21.68% and a temperature coefficient of -0.24% per degree Celsius. The company offers a 30-year power output guarantee for 91.25% of the original output.

October 21, 2022 Emiliano Bellini

Recom’s Lion HJT PV module

Image: Recom

The French company Recom has developed an n-type bifacial heterojunction solar panel with half-cut elements and a double-glazed design. The new product is suitable for large-scale array and rooftop solar applications, he said. Certified to IEC61215 and 61730 standards.

The Lion series includes five different panels with power ratings from 375W to 395W and efficiencies from 20.59% to 21.68%. The open circuit voltage is between 44.2 V and 45.2 V, and the short circuit current is between 10.78 A and 11.06 A.

The panels have an IP 68 rated junction box and an anodized aluminum alloy frame. Both sides of the modules are covered with 2.0 mm tempered and low iron glass. Their operating temperature is between -40 C and 85 C and the temperature coefficient is -0.24 % per degree Celsius.

The panels can be used in PV systems with a maximum voltage of 1500 V. The manufacturer offers a 30-year energy output guarantee for 91.25% of the original efficiency.

“With a duplex ratio of up to 90% (compared to 70% industry-standard modules), Lion modules gain up to 20% more energy efficiency in low-light conditions, in the morning and evening, and in cloudy skies,” the manufacturer said. “Thanks to N-type technology, energy losses are significantly reduced and there are no PID and No LID effects, providing the lowest LCOE.”

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It’s a dull day in late October. It’s about, ironically, generating electricity from the sun, bringing back memories of meeting a man years ago who was ahead of his time.

In the 1980s, electrician Martin Murphy installed solar panels on the roof of his home in Rathmore, County Kerry. I wrote a story in this newspaper about a very unusual event for the time, in the face of universal concerns about global warming or the need to find renewable energy sources.

Solar panels in Rathmore, County Kerry in 1985

Martin, who is an electrical manager at the Cadbury factory in Rathmore, was intrigued by how he heats water for home use from panels. “It’s the way of the future, and it can also save people money,” he assured us and anyone else who would listen.

He died earlier this year, aged 91. And if he didn’t brag, he should have been quietly pleased with his actions at least 35 years ago.

New houses are being built with solar panels. Photo: Dan Linehan

Given our humid climate, the idea of ​​generating electricity from the sun’s rays was once considered a joke by some. We have also been among the most difficult countries to plan panels. Now the obstacles are being removed and the goal is to install one million panels.

Encouragingly, the Government is following the example of other EU countries by easing planning restrictions to encourage people to use solar energy for power generation.

But Ireland is better known for wind and wave energy, so it has a long way to go. According to the Sustainable Energy Organization, only 1% of our renewable energy comes from the sun, while wind produces 59% of total renewable energy.

Solar farm

Advances in solar technology and reduced costs now make it an attractive system for household electricity generation here. Even on cloudy days, the technology works at a lower capacity.

In the first eight months of this year, solar applications have doubled to 10,400 grants available. Rising gas and oil prices clearly increase this growth.

A report by Sidharth Josh and Paul Deane for the Solar Energy Association of Ireland says that a typical home can save around €400 a year on electricity and a solar system pays for itself in seven years.

EU policy aims for all new housing to have roof panels by 2029. Business and industry will likely follow. Farmers can also save money by getting electricity from the sun.

Experts such as UCC’s Paul Deane believe solar energy will play an even more important role alongside other renewable energy sources as the world focuses on meeting climate change targets.

CLIMATE FRIENDLY ROAD…

Heat our homes

Gas or oil fired boilers contribute to climate change.

Switching to electric heating systems such as heat pumps can reduce emissions from heating your home.

For a heat pump system to work efficiently, you need a high level of insulation.

Turn your thermostat down a degree to reduce your energy use.

Install thermostatic controls on your radiators.

Insulate your attic and check your windows and doors to make sure you’re not losing heat through them.