Monday 5 March 2018

Nelson Community Solar Garden








Quite conceivably the project as is now/there - since mid-June 2017 - won't survive another 10 years.


Not to get into deep-tech here - the average local can only find bewildering - this post keeps it short, simple and reasonable, based on the images presented - not necessarily in order of chronological pro/regression.
The general lack of awareness has been nurtured at/around City Hall with an unwillingness to open all relevant data, held close to the chest by Alex Love, Nelson Hydro; Carmen Proctor, Consultant and Kevin Cormack, CAO.

The following does not go into projected or realized financial results.
Good grief ... no!

The Garden's Improbability
1.
Council approving without understanding it - or trying to;
2.
The usual Nelsonites eager to see themselves/be seen at the forefront of daring new-whatever: Where do I sign, take my money! Please! 
3.
An unsuitable environment;
4.
Cost-cutting measures prompting flawed installation by an inexpert contractor: disregarding crucial engineering requirements.





Unsuitable Environment
a. Fog
Because of the dam fog is a given in the area during spring and summer. Lessening the yield of sunlight harvested in the Garden's solar panels - fog burned-off by about 11:00am.





b. Site
While not the original/only choice - this is too small. Where engineering plans stipulate a space of 6 meters between 2 rows of panels - the space here is cut by/to 3 meters. Meaning: one row casts a shadow on the next. The lower the sun - the more shadow.
Then - there's the dancing power-pole, preventing absorption wherever it dances!
The first/very-top image is from Dec 17, 2018/10:00am: with still no sun at the site, while already strong in the background. 

So - all-in-all - it's not that the sun isn't trying: the choice of location and installation is just not inviting it in.







Power-yield from the Garden-as-is-where-when - here transposed into sun-hours to make it visual:
Dec '17 - 10 sun-hours
Jan '18 - 12 sun-hours
Feb '18 - 27 sun-hours
The total, while this power can only be available in received fits and starts. Yet with prior due diligence - choosing an appropriate location/installation - there could be substantially more. Even during winter months.

Installation
In a private solar-panel set-up - not far from the Garden - installed on appropriate galvanized metal-mounting and concrete sono-tubes below the frost-line - the necessary alignment faces no frost-heaving or movement such as that occurring in the Nelson Garden. It also is completely open to the sun all around, all day long.





While the Garden's solar panels should be installed by experts on metal-mounting similar to that above - below it is done by a timber-working company on wooden frames, resting on concrete mount-blocks. 
These blocks are set on unsecured gravel-beds flattened with a basic hand-push plate-tamper, instead of the engineer-specified somewhat costly 1800 lb vibratory compactor.






Any misalignment of panels thus far - visually exemplified here in uneven spacing between them and at their bottoms - is due to mount-blocks settling individually, with warping of frames through that as well as moisture-saturation.
Causing pressure-and-pull on panels, their fastenings - each other - to probably have them fall off and/or explode.

There usually is no manufacturer's warranty on inexpertly installed panels. 

Because of the interconnect of all construction components: there is no way to stop the move down the gravel-pit.
Only starting all over again expertly in a suitable location would do.






An overall lack of visionary depth of the project, unreasonable financial projections and the poor - mostly cost-quashed - planning and installation are certain to prevent the Nelson Community Solar Garden from producing a bountiful harvest for investors - ever.

Oh well...




Without me "belonging" to any social media: number of visitors to this post -
2723.




Credits:
http://nelsoncommunitysolargarden.blogspot.ca
iconspng



Alex Love, Nelson Hydro
alove@nelson.ca

Kevin Cormack, CAO
kcormack@nelson.ca

Deb Kozak, Mayor
dkozak@nelson.ca

City Council
nelsoncouncil@nelson.ca  

7 comments:

  1. to be truly fully funded by those opting in, the solar power should only be valued at what Nelson hydro wholesale power cost is. The manager told me our dam makes power for 2c/kWh, we buy half our annual energy from Fortis for 4c/kWh making the average 3c/kWh Therefore Decembers solar power 525kWh x .03c/kWh = $15. Each of the 248 panel purchasers then would see a credit of .06 cents. And its not green as those who bought in believe, this project adds to the cities carbon footprint although the manager of hydro keeps saying it aligns with the cities Path to 2040 all about GHG and carbon reduction. But then he and the contractor in publications say it will payback in 10 or 12 years....I could go on and on

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  2. Maybe the BCUC can do what this council can't, clean up this mess at city management and hydro and force this city to actually be the "Corporation of the City of Nelson" and make business decisions. Beginning with new management.

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  3. They have on line data but the public can't see meaningful information. They have password protected access to weekly, monthly and lifetime energy. Why? I don't think its too difficult to understand, they published the monthly power output on the city website, Oct. 3900kWh, Nov 1100kWh, December 525kWh, January 600, total for 4 months when we need power the most, 6000kWh, enough for about 1/2 years worth for the average home. Do you believe the city estimate of $330,000 to build it? How about all future costs problems, thefts, vandalism, failures, snow plowing. Are there any charities, social programs that could have used this money? Well its gone.

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  4. Time for accountability, enough is enough, this city is unaffordable enough without incompetence like this, heads need to roll.

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  5. Looked into investing in this initially but after talking to one of the city electricians I fully backed away (the general consensus was it would fail). The only ones who pushed this and wanted it were the ones whose faces would reap the glory (failure). Waiting a year or 2 more would have also allowed better access to higher quality components for less money. The technology is advancing fast.

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  6. that's embarrassing and frustrating
    R. Short

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  7. heads should roll

    ReplyDelete