Ski Lift Running on Solar Power

SwingBeep,
Thanks for all that extra info. :D

What value did you put in, on that calculator, for 'projected plant size'?

I didn't know what it was, only that it generated 90,000 kWh in a year, so I simply divided 90,000 by (365 X 12) for the estimated daylight hours and got 20.55 kW.

So, I put 20.55 kW in, and 30/12/2010 for the planned operational date, and 'integrated' for the type of system and I got 0.67 Swiss Francs per kWh.

And in my costings I had assumed that the Swiss got paid at the same rate for the PV electricity they used themselves (for the drag lift), like we do here in the U.K. as well as what they sell to the grid.

Anyway, I have phoned for a PV solar panel installer to come and give me a free quote for a 2 kW system on our roof. If anyone wants to sponsor it I will put their names on the wall by the roof :wink:

I thought if the Swiss can do it, so can I :D

Ally

I have done some more thinking (and reading) about PV systems and I think there is an error on that energysavingtrust.org.uk website calculator.

Other articles and websites say that with a 1 kW system, in the U.K. you only get between 700 and 900 kWh per year. In other words you only generate an average of 18% of the potential electricity (presumably because it keeps raining). So the costings I got for my system with that calculator are completely wrong :shock:

I have no idea how efficient the one on that lift in Switzerland would be, but if that one was only 18% as well, they'd need about a 100kW rated system to produce an average of 20 kW of energy per hour. Hopefully, because of the altitude, theirs will be more efficient than that. And, unlike me, I expect they know what they're doing :lol:

I will wait and see what the PV engineer says when he comes round, but maybe it's not such a good idea after all!

Ally

Woops, sorry about that! I entered 90'000 kWh which is clearly wrong. I have now corrected my previous post to avoid further embarrassment. It would make things easier if the "Projected plant size" box in the online calculator was labelled kWp instead of kW.

Whilst getting the getting the data for the panels from the Sunways web site I noticed that they have a free Excel based configuration application: Sunways Sundim 5.19, the download link is located on the left hand side under "System planning for plumbers" http://www.sunways.eu/en/products/configurator/

I have now found out that the lift is only 450m long.

AllyG
As Grisons averages 300 sunny days a year, the PV installation at Tenna is bound to be more efficient than one at your location (the more you put in the more you get out). There are reports that installations in Grissons and Valais produce 30-40% more electricity than equivalent installations in central Switzerland. This is where the tracking system comes in, it will enable installations in southern Europe to reach "Grid parity" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_parity and installations in northern Europe to be more efficient. Obviously the PV installations need to be on a larger scale than you plan. How about doing a deal with a major supermarket chain whereby they let you install third generation Solar Wings (the ones with the mirrors) in their car parks in exchange for a proportion of the amount of electricity produced and supplying the national grid with the rest at the feed-in tariff.

SwingBeep,
Don't worry about it - 2 or 3 extra noughts are nothing between friends :D

It is very frustrating the way they make these things difficult to understand, and the calculators hard to use (and faulty!).

I will give Tesco's a ring tomorrow about using their car park :wink:

I have found another site that looks very clever, but a bit too clever for me :oops:

It's supposed to be a PV Potential Estimation Utility website, for use anywhere in Europe.

http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps3/pvest.php

But it doesn't seem to do anything simple,like tell you the hours of sunshine per year in different locations.

Ally

I have had an answer to the e-mail I sent to the tourist board for that area of Switzerland - www.safiental.ch.

This is what they said:

Dear Alison

The T-bar lift ist 500 meter long. The motor power is 36 kw.
That means the lift is using during the season 22'000 kwH.

The solar panels are producing 90'000 kwH per year. This is the energy for
about 15 one-family houses.

I attached two drawings.

We have still some weeks to find the missing 300 CHF. We are looking for
sponsoring and money sources. The whole projects costs 1,2 Mio CHF.

In July we have to order the new solar T-bar, because we want to open it
in december 2010

Best regards,
Felicia Montalta

So at least I am put out of my agony about the size of the drag lift - 36kW, but I still don't know the maximum power generated by the solar panels per hour, so I have sent her another e-mail asking this (and best wishes for their success).

I guess she means they are still short of 300,000 Swiss Francs for the project, if anyone is feeling generous :D.

Ally

The solar powered drag lift in Tenna seems to be a big success. It carries 800 skiers per hour.

http://inhabitat.com/tiny-swiss-ski-town-unveals-worlds-first-solar-wing-powered-ski-lift/

And we have now put a 4Kwh PV solar array in one of our fields by the house. It doesn't run a drag lift though :cry:

Ally