A 50 kilowatt distributed grid-connected photovoltaic generation system for the University of Wyoming

Abstract

The University of Wyoming (UW) campus is serving as the site for a 50 kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system. Three sub-systems were sited and built on the UW campus in 1996. The first sub-system, a 10 kW roof-integrated system of PV roof tiles is located on the roof of the Engineering Building. The second sub-system -a 5 kW rackmounted, ballasted PV system is on a walkway roof of the Engineering building. The third sub-system is a 35 kW shade structure system and is located adjacent to the parking lot of the university's football stadium. The three sub-systems differ in their design strategy since each is being used for research and education at the university. Each sub-system, being located at some distance away from one another, supplies a different part of the campus grid. Efforts continue at setting up a central monitoring system which will receive data remotely from all locations. A part of this monitoring system is complete. While the initial monitoring data shows satisfactory performance, a number of reliability problems with PV modules and inverters have delayed full functionality of the system.

Towards a Net Zero Building Using Photovoltaic Panels: A Case Study in an Educational Building

“…Globally, to adopt the concept of a sustainable green campus, a significant number of universities are planning relevant investments [10], various plans and policies have been formulated in many countries, and governments are providing subsidies to implement solar PV in buildings, which in many cases makes it more profitable to install a solar PV system compared to the conventional energy systems [11,12]. There are many successful examples of PV installation in educational buildings [13][14][15]. For example, Kawn and Hoffmann studied the feasibility of using a renewable energy resource in a city campus in Los Angeles, where a solar PV array is proposed to meet the campus total energy demand [16].…”

“…For example, Kawn and Hoffmann studied the feasibility of using a renewable energy resource in a city campus in Los Angeles, where a solar PV array is proposed to meet the campus total energy demand [16]. Chowdhary et al presented a detailed feasibility study of a 50 kW PV installation at the rooftop of a Wyoming University campus building [13]. Baitule et al showed the reduction of a carbon footprint by 73318.0 tonnes in their simulation of solar PV energy generation to meet 100 % of the energy demand of MANIT campus at Bhopal, India [17].…”

Designing An Innovative Laboratory To Teach Concepts In Grid Tied Renewable And Other Dispersed Resources

“…A 5 kW rack-mounted system was constructed on the roof of the University of Wyoming's Engineering Building [1]. The rack-mounted system did not require penetrations through the roof surface.…”