systems

Olafur Eliasson’s monumental lighting installation in Munich

Olafur Eliasson‘s latest project,’ Sonnenenergie 22 ‘, is formed as a large reflecting circular surface. Hovering above the rotunda Pinakothek der Moderne play with a large installation, at a strategically placed angle lightan element that plays an important role in the artist’s projects.

With the use of mirrors and a projection surface, the result is an amazing spatial experience that immerses visitors in a dreamy world with a blue sky as a background. More precisely, a series of round, distorted mirrors and special color effect filters installed on the ceiling transmit daylight to the mass screen. In addition to mirrors, rings made of reflective glass hang around the room to add to the sensory experience with dynamic projections.

‘Sonnenenergie 22 Pinakothek der Moderne’nin center turns into an energetic solar observatory in the art space. As visitors move to the upper floors of the rotunda, the image of light is seen from new perspectives, and the mechanisms responsible for its reflection become clear. The title of the work draws attention to the crucial importance of alternative energy in modern times. curator Dr. Said Michael Herring.Photos © Studio Olafur Eliasson

uses sunlight as an energy source

The surface uses sunlight to work, and Eliasson creates what he calls an “analog film.” This means that once it is cloudy or dark, Sonnenenergie 22 remains foggy and inactive. However, after the sun appears, the alternative projections of light make the invisible rotation of the earth feel almost physically for the viewer.

‘From spring to autumn 2022, the sun and the earth are working together to create Sonnenenergie 22. As the earth’s position in relation to the sun changes, the screenplay is constantly evolving. The opening story amplifies the movement of the earth, thus making the invisible movement visible. When you encounter a work of art on a sunny day, it is your own movement that you see as you travel through space on Earth in this spaceship. Olafur Eliasson said (See more here).

Information about the exhibition:

ad: Solar Energy 22, Rotunda Project Part II

artist: Olafur Eliasson

event: Pinakothek der Moderne

curator: Dr. Michael Hering, Director of the Munich State Graphic Collection

dates: April 15 – September 4, 2022

christina petridou I designboom

April 16, 2022

OBSERVER Photo: MJ Stafford People look at and discuss area plans for a proposed solar farm off Farel Road. In the center, in a suit, city deputy Jeffrey Passafaro.

The Pomfret Town Council voted 4-1 this week to approve the solar farm on Farel Road after a long, wide and sometimes bizarre public hearing.

John Sedota was the only “no” vote to approve RIC Energy’s plan to build solar panels on a 45-hectare site previously used for cabbage planting.

RIC Energy responded to complaints from nearby residents by increasing equipment failures offered by property lines and changing the site’s configuration to make it less visible.

The hearing lasted an hour and 12 minutes on Wednesday, and many of the same residents who had expressed their concerns at previous city meetings attended. However, at this hearing, some people supported the project.

Marcia Westling spoke to renewable energy sources to “encourage this council to be part of the movement.” He said solar energy would have “positive effects on the environment and politics.”

A letter of support was read from Michael Bobseine, who praised the community’s participation in the project and the changes it has brought. He said more renewable energy developments were needed to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

A woman who says she lives on the Farel Way said that occasional glances at solar panels would make her feel part of Pomfret’s renewable energy movement. This was an open response to another neighbor who complained that he could see the panels from his front windows.

The other two spoke in support of the solar project – but there was a lot of concern.

RIC Energy representatives who attended the hearing answered questions such as lines of sight, tree planting, the area’s decommissioning plan, and “white noise” from solar panels.

Kevin Bliss of RIC Energy said 21 panels from the solar farm would emit about 60 decibels of sound when measured from a distance of 100 feet. This can be compared to a normal conversation, he said, adding that the nearest house would be more than 300 feet away from the panels.

Bliss also said that the entrance to the farm was removed from the plan after neighbors complained.

He added that due to problems in the supply chain, construction of the project will not begin until the spring of 2023.

At one point in the hearing, a woman was worried that solar energy could cause harmful radiation. RIC Energy officials, city officials and the crowd tried to convince him that solar energy is transmitted through regular power lines and does no more harm than electricity generated from another source.

Another city resident criticized the city official, claiming that he had mailed a copy of the site permit in his name, even though he did not want his name to be used. Vento refused to ship the item, and it turned out that RIC Energy had in fact mailed the document. The man angrily instructed RIC Energy to remove his name from his documents.

Bliss later said he was investigating the possible effects of solar panels on dogs in response to neighbors’ concerns and because he was also a dog owner. He spoke to a dog behaviorist who was confident the panels would not harm the animals.

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The first generation of community solar has actually created more access to solar energy in the United States. Through innovative subscription programs and policies, the community offers solar energy to many residential customers, including tenants, those living in multi-family residential buildings, and those without a suitable roof to use solar energy, to access clean energy and reduce the energy burden. With new and expanded programs from New Mexico to New York to Washington, the community is accelerating for solar energy.

But the community has the potential to do more with solar energy. Additional innovation, creativity, and integrated planning can enable states and local governments to use community solar energy to meet their ambitious climate action goals more strategically and fairly. In our new report, Community Solar +: How a New Community Solar Generation Can Unlock New Value Streams and Help Communities Implement Unified Decarbonization, RMI presents our review for Community Solar + (CS +): Community Solar Projects Intentionally Planned and Strategically Implemented to Cover Additions pursue the goals of value flow and sustainability and equality at the community level.

Welcome to the world of Community Solar +.

“Sometimes a problem cannot be solved, not because it is too big, but because it is so narrow that its borders do not cover the options, degrees of freedom and synergies needed to solve it. CS + aims to fix this by expanding borders. ” —Amori Lovins | RMI Co-Founder and Honorary Chairman

Ensuring a Integrated Systematic Approach to Sustainability at the Community Scale

In addition to access to clean energy, community solar projects have the potential to bring more benefits to communities. Our report highlights six value streams that, when developed and implemented in tandem with a community solar project, turn it into a CS + project:

Accelerate investment in electricity recharging infrastructure Increase energy sustainability for critical assets and vulnerable communities Adapting emerging networks and customer needs for an electrified future Creating a fairer energy system Ensuring indoor parking and weather protection Reducing the impact of urban heating island

The innovation here is twofold: 1) CS + can strategically add value to achieve community-wide climate and equality goals, and 2) CS + aims to expand local solar power in population centers. These elements directly reinforce each other.

By creating and acquiring added value, CS + project managers can more strategically finance and develop projects in community centers where land is scarce and electricity demand is usually highest. Similarly, by scaling up in population centers, projects can create and achieve value-added and economic efficiency that smaller urban projects cannot.

Community Solar + Active

This approach is not only theoretical. Our report highlights four examples from three cities covering CS + approaches: Denver, San Antonio, and Washington, DC.

In December 2021, the Denver City Council approved funding for Phase 1 of the Renewed Denver Initiative – approximately 4.6 MW of community solar power installed on municipal roofs, parking lots and vacant lots. Solar energy will be distributed among cities and residents – at least 20 percent of the energy generated by solar arrays will be allocated to affordable housing and low-income residents to help ease the energy burden.

This project is moving forward to create community assets. Solar-powered parking covers will offer the public open, free home charging and indoor parking. Communities will also have direct access to staff training and education linked to the schools where the projects are located. In this way, given the scale of Denver, it increases the total project cost for the community – the total capacity of the next project phase is expected to reach 15 MW.

“This initiative is an opportunity to improve our climate, reduce the effects of climate change and invest in our society… and is a way to help residents reduce electricity bills by leading climate issues… [and] be located in conjunction with electric car charging stations that are accessible to the public. —Michael Hancock | Mayor of Denver

In 2019, the Pepco Resiliency Center in Washington, D.C., installed 62.4 kW of community solar power combined with storage, micro-network and generator capabilities. It offers cost savings, clean energy and energy sustainability for this multi-family, affordable residential complex. Housing builder Jubilee Housing worked on the city’s Solar For All initiative to bring clean energy to the community, emphasizing the added value of having backup power in an area facing power outages due to hurricanes, snow and ice and other events. The project provides up to three days of backup power for critical loads on stairs and corridors, including lights, refrigerators for food and medicine, several outlets for medical equipment and mobile phones, water pumps and floor fans. In addition, it creates a fundamentally fairer energy system by reducing the energy burden on residents.

“Sustainability is especially important for sensitive communities that are already experiencing great uncertainty in the course of their lives.” -Jim Knight | President and CEO of the Jubilee House

Finally, two other projects highlight the added value of placing CS + projects in public and private parking facilities. In 2020, both the Washington Transit Agency and the City of San Antonio signed a contract for community solar projects to help implement communal-scale community solar projects. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration (WMATA) has announced that it will partner with SunPower Corporation and Goldman Sachs Renewable Power LLC to install 12.8 MW solar umbrellas in parking lots and garages. Leasing land for solar power at WMATA-owned facilities has enabled the transit agency to generate about $ 50 million in new revenue by 2047 to support WMATA’s transit operations, while also providing indoor parking for hundreds of transit drivers each day. About 1,500 DC and Maryland households served by the Pepco utility will soon be able to subscribe to the electricity generated by the project.

Similarly, CPS Energy, a municipal utility in San Antonio, contracted with Big Energy Solar to generate 5 MW of community solar energy in 12 locations. Through the program, between 500 and 600 utility customers will receive panels from Big Sun Solar and receive a fixed-interest production loan for electricity.

Similarly, CPS Energy, a municipal utility in San Antonio, contracted with Big Energy Solar to generate 5 MW of community solar energy in 12 locations. Through the program, between 500 and 600 utility customers will receive panels from Big Sun Solar and receive a fixed-interest production loan for electricity. The Big Sun Community Solar project combined value-added by designing systems to be ready to fill homes and generating new revenue from indoor parking in private parking lots.

“In my community, traditional community solar models are still unaffordable for most households due to cost. With Big Sun Solar, we have expanded the value pool of generational assets. Indoor parking in central Texas makes sense because people value the shade. Additional capital for the construction of parking lots is compensated by income from closed and protected parking. ” -Jason Pittman | President, Big Sun Solar

How States, Municipalities and Utilities Community Solar + can be adopted

The US Department of Energy has set a goal of providing 5 million homes with solar energy by 2025, an increase of more than 700 percent over the next four years. Our report offers numerous recommendations and resources to help states, local governments, and utilities transform these community solar projects into CS + projects.

In addition to defining market conditions that will provide and accelerate the community’s solar energy, heads of state can create programs that openly stimulate the inflow of value-added and enable low-income residents to participate in and access benefits such as the Massachusetts SMART program.
Local leaders can effectively plan and structure projects to ensure flexibility in design. These include simplifying permits for solar energy projects, socializing market opportunities to stimulate local innovation, reassessing the value they can use of both public and private parking facilities, and acting as an anchor or provider for community solar projects. increase the scale and reduce the risks for the project developer.
Utilities By integrating CS + into their business models, they can further support their customers and build projects for success by socializing market opportunities to promote local innovation and designing systems to simplify compliance, payment and subscription changes.

Finally, our challenge for both the public and private sectors is to expand the boundaries of solar projects. Think about your broader goals, such as electrifying your car fleet, expanding local resilience, and reducing heat. Or think creatively about your local “assets” and the types of sites that can benefit from the creative use of solar energy.

Given the challenges of implementing a fair energy transition in the context of a climate crisis, CS + provides value-added flows that benefit both society and the network – promoting a more electrified, sustainable and equitable future.

The next generation of community solar energy is here. It’s time to adopt the Community Solar + program.

For more information on community solar energy, see the full Community Solar + report here and our resource portal CityRenewables.org.

Matthew Popkin, Madeline Tyson

© 2021 Rocky Mountain Institute. Published with permission. Originally published in the RMI Outlet.

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The Triopia School District will undergo an assessment to determine if solar panels will be installed to provide electricity to the school.

The council approved a contract with Clean Energy Design Group to assess whether the district and the company would benefit from installing a solar farm.

Supervisor Adam Dean said the district will lease some land for the project, which will be located on an area of ​​about one acre near the football field.

“They will do the engineering, it’s free for us,” Dean said. “We have to see that it’s good for us and good for them.”

According to the placement, the Dean said there may be some concerns about the establishment of the entire infrastructure to get electricity to the school.

“They need to see how it works,” Dean said. “If it’s going to be expensive to get energy from panels to school, investors may not see the value in it.”

If both the company and the board decide to continue the project, the panels will be installed and the costs will be borne by investors. The district will not be responsible for any of the initial costs.

Investors will get their money back by buying the energy they get from the school.

“If we wanted to spend a significant amount of money, we could do it ourselves,” Dean said. “Investors are taking the first blow.”

If approved, it is expected to be a 180-kilowatt project with a 20-year lifespan.

Once they start production, the district will pay for the energy produced.

“We are estimated to save $ 7,000-8,000 a year in energy costs,” Dean said.

Since the farm will be on one acre of the school’s FFA plot, the dean said that if they move forward, the FFA unit will normally plant and harvest this fall and then construction will begin.

The dean said that this was the next step in greening the district.

“We have a geothermal system and we like to be at the forefront of renewable energy,” Dean said. “Adding a solar area is another way to do that.”

Many decisions have to be made regarding the installation of the solar system. There are big questions such as what type of panels to buy, at what angle to install the panels, who to trust to place them there, and whether it is generally possible to get solar energy.

But even after listing all of this, the issue of measurement is still under discussion, and the bigger the better. To help you narrow down what you’re looking for, Canstar Blue researches 500-watt solar panels and whether they’re best suited to your needs.

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How big is a 500 watt solar panel?

The 500-watt solar panel has an output – you guessed it – 500 watts, and most residential solar panels sit at about 370 watts. As a result, 500-watt solar panels have greater productivity and are larger than physically designed residential panels, measuring approximately 2.4 × 1.2 m, compared to the average size of residential home solar panels 1.5×1 m.

Due to their size – both physical and output power – 500 W solar panels are mainly made for commercial needs or at least for those with a large roof area. If you want to get solar energy in your commercial property, check out our commercial solar energy guide to learn what else to look for.

How much can a 500 watt solar panel produce?

Ideally, a 500 W solar panel can produce up to 500 watts of power, but it doesn’t always, because how much a solar panel can produce depends on several factors, including how much sun it is exposed to. As a general rule, a 500-watt solar panel can produce 3-4 kWh of energy per day, which can power several appliances and save some money on your energy bill.

Compare Solar Energy Plans

Here are some of the cheapest solar deals from retailers in our database. These costs are based on the Ausgrid network in Sydney, but prices will vary depending on your circumstances. We first rank one product for each retailer according to the lowest price. The annual price estimates assume a total energy consumption of 3,900 kWh for a residential subscriber with a single tariff. Price estimates do not include tariff loans for solar energy. These are the products of recommended partners †. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, so please check your retail sites for the latest information.

Here are some of the cheapest solar deals from retailers in our database. These costs are based on the Citipower network in Melbourne, but prices will vary depending on your conditions. We first rank one product for each retailer according to the lowest price. The annual price estimates assume a total energy consumption of 4,000 kWh for residential consumers with a single tariff rate. Price estimates do not include tariff loans for solar energy. These are the products of recommended partners †. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, so please check your retail sites for the latest information.

Here are some of the cheapest solar deals from retailers in our database. These costs are based on the Energex network in Brisbane, but prices will vary depending on your circumstances. We first rank one product for each retailer according to the lowest price. The annual price estimates provide for a total energy consumption of 4,600 kWh for residential consumers with a single tariff. Price estimates do not include tariff loans for solar energy. These are the products of recommended partners †. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, so please check your retail sites for the latest information.

Here are some of the cheapest solar deals from retailers in our database. These costs are based on the SA Power network in Adelaide, but prices will vary depending on your circumstances. We first rank a product for retail at the lowest price. The annual price estimates assume a total energy consumption of 4,000 kWh for a residential subscriber with a single tariff. Price estimates do not include tariff loans for solar energy. These are the products of recommended partners †. Our database may not cover all deals in your area, so please check your retail sites for the latest information.

Where can I get a 500 watt solar panel?

At the time of writing, only two brands in Australia, including Trina Solar and Jinka Solar, offer 500W solar panels, and final costs depend on a number of factors. As a relatively new innovation in the solar market, 500-watt solar panels, designed primarily for the small commercial market, take up slightly more space than traditional residential solar panels, meaning there is no wide range of options.

You may also be interested in:

Is it worth buying a 500 watt solar panel?

The size of your solar panels can play an important role in how efficient your system is and how much energy you can save on your energy bill, but whether a 500 W panel is best for you depends entirely on your circumstances. If you have a smaller roof or only a roof that receives a limited amount of sunlight, a 500-watt solar panel may not be the best purchase, but if you have a larger residential or commercial facility that wants to turn green, then 500 W. may be worth exploring further.

Given that solar energy is already a huge investment, it is a good idea to take some time to do some research before installation. This way you will know where you stand in terms of price and whether there are any potential problems. Start by clicking on the link below.

Compare solar installers

Photo credit: Thinnapob Proongsak / shutterstock.com, Terelyuk / shutterstock.com, Elena Elisseeva / shutterstock.com