On my way home from Indiana recently, I passed Carlisle, Pa.’s school district’s solar array on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Curious, I went to a local who took me to the site, and had a chance to talk to a Henkels & McCoy employee, who explained the configuration.
As psyched as I was to see this implementation on my return home to Fair Lawn, I found that Public Service Gas and Electric PSE&G were implementing solar units in my neighborhood. The units being manufactured by Petra Solar of South Plainfield, N.J., are about five feet wide by two-and-a-half feet high, weigh about 60 pounds, and attach to the pole about 15 feet from the ground. They are also positioned at an angle to minimize the impact of snow.
For those who don’t know, I am constantly looking at “my” phone poles (I am such a bell head) and lamenting the state of wiring -- trombones and splices that make me think the copper is not long for this world and that phone splicing vandals are in our midst. I also wonder about all the fiber coils, which, I have been told, are excess for when splices are needed. I will accept the answer, but if we need that much excess in the case of splices caused by environmental problems, then maybe fiber is not as durable as we think.
Sorry for the digression, but it shows how intrigued I am by these solar poles.
Now I have 220 watts of (dc) current being generated per pole in my neighbourhood, and someone is wiring in fresh and efficient ways. Don’t get me wrong, I think the telco’s have a role in providing smart grid services; but in this neighbourhood and in more than 300 other towns, PSEG is installing on their own and then working with a wireless operator.
Per a press release, this is the largest solar installation of its type in the world and is used to support all of PSE&Gs customers. “Each pole- attached solar unit placed in service generates value from the sale of its electricity and capacity into the wholesale electric grid, the valuable Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) it produces and the federal investment tax credits that PSE&G attracts. PSE&G monetizes all of this value and the dollars are returned to customers by offsetting the overall cost of the program.”
The panels are all connected to a monitoring system at a central location. However, other than in the event of severe environmental damage, the panels are relatively maintenance free and are expected to last 20 years. The press release did not give a dollar amount on the savings or the equivalent of what it represents.
Petra Solar’s CEO Shahib Kuran pointed out in a recent address at GreenTech that while most energy production generates a negative view, many people certainly worry about cell towers by their homes (while complaining about coverage). In my humble opinion, no one feels bad seeing a solar panel near their home, and in my case, it’s inspiring us to get a price out.
Stay tuned.
Carl Ford is a partner at Crossfire Media.Edited by
Tammy Wolf
