The Charbonneau Villager
Page 15
January 2014
Solar Array Project
Completes Construction Phase
By Mike Bondi
During the week of December
9 - just one month after beginning
work - most of the construction
on the Solar Array project at the
North Willamette Research and
Extension Center (NWREC) was
completed. During this time, 172
steel posts were driven into the
one-acre site. Racking, or framing, was assembled for the fourrow array; 868 solar panels were
hung and all the trenching and
electrical wiring was installed to
connect the panels. An inverter
that will convert the direct current
to alternate current was installed.
The final steps of the project
will be the placing of a transformer by local power utility,
PGE, and the testing, evaluation
and monitoring of the system
to ensure power flows back to
the grid properly. It is projected
that the 220-kilowatt solar array
will generate about 85 percent
of the entire power utility needs
of the 160-acre agricultural research center, including all of the
greenhouses, wells and irrigation
pumps, the office, outbuildings
and meeting rooms.
It was amazing to see how
quickly this project came together. Even though the weather
was very wet the first week in
November when we were doing
the site preparation and setting
up the road access, equipment
and storage for the construction,
we enjoyed mostly clear, dry and
cold weather the remainder of the
construction time. So, work progressed quickly.
Besides the final steps of placing the transformer, hooking to
the grid and testing, the remaining tasks will include installing
a perimeter fence around the array for safety and access control
and planting additional vegetative screening for drivers on Miley Road and for neighbors to the
west of the array.
We are waiting for all of the
construction to be finished before
completing the landscaping. A
400-foot row of arborvitae was
planted along Miley Road before
construction began. Additional
shrubs will be planted this winter.
I expect the array will be producing electricity sometime in January.
The solar array project is a collaborative effort between public
universities around the state and
the solar energy company, Solar
City. Oregon State University is
the primary institution participating with five installations (three
on campus in Corvallis and two
off campus). Solar City owns all
of the equipment and has funded
all of the installations. NWREC
is hosting the project for a 20-year
agreement period. Solar City
maintains, monitors and operates the arrays. NWREC receives
the power they produce, plus has
an agreement to purchase future
needs at a reduced kilowatt price
compared to current costs.
Check out the solar array photos on NWREC’s website (http://
oregonstate.edu/dept/NWREC/)
home page for a closer look at the
project and to follow its progress
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The solar panels at the North Willamette Research and Extension
Center were installed recently. The crew worked hard to get the
panels set up. The installation was followed by tweaking everything
to make sure it worked properly.
in the coming months. Once the
solar array is operational, web-access will be available for monitoring the daily production of energy
from the system.
For questions, contact Mike
Bondi at [email protected].
Marty & Sallie Paulson
Paulson Real Estate, Inc.
'The Charbonneau Specialist'
503-694-6700
www.paulsons.com
e-mail: [email protected]
30789 SW Boones Ferry Rd., Suite L
Wilsonville, OR 97070
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