Advantages of Solar Electric Power - Part III - draft by Bill Brown

"Small solar photovoltaic arrays are versatile in terms of their potential to be located in a variety of urban, suburban and rural settings where they can be easily tied into existing grids.
Solar photovoltaic arrays can use the existing electrical infrastructure so no new, specialized infrastructure is required. For converting DC battery power into AC as required for many appliances, or for feeding excess power into a commercial power grid, the arrays require an inverter or grid-interactive inverter. An inverter is an electronic circuit that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). Inverters are used in a wide range of applications, from small switching power supplies in computers, to large electric utility applications that transport bulk power.
[A grid-tie inverter is an electrical device that allows solar power users to complement their grid power with solar power. It works by regulating the amount of voltage and current that is received from the direct current solar panels (or other D.C. energy source) and converting this into alternating current. The main difference between an electrical inverter and a grid-tie inverter is that the latter also ensures that the power supplied will be in phase with the grid power. This allows individuals with surplus power (wind, solar, etc) to sell the power back to the utility. This is sometimes called "spinning the meter backwards" as that is what literally happens.]
There is a great deal of design flexibility for placing solar electric arrays. Solar panel arrays can be placed on nearly any otherwise unused surface such as open ground, rooftops of structures, highway, pipeline, or power transmission line right-of-ways, and many other locations.
Solar electric arrays can begin producing power quickly. A community-sized or even much larger solar photovoltaic power plant can be up and running within a year or less, compared with a time to operation of 10 to 15 years for new power production from fossil fuel, nuclear, and other types of power plants.
The demand for solar photovoltaic power as a clean energy source continues to increase dramatically. The demand will be heightened for transportation applications with the proliferation of plug-in hybrid vehicles or all-electric vehicles that require electrical charging. [Such vehicles can also provide battery storage of electricity that can be fed back into the grids when the vehicles are not in use.]
Solar photovoltaic power will help meet local, state, and federal requirements for clean energy production and greenhouse gases emissions reductions. At the local level, the clean energy supply can be used in anticipation of state and federal mandates for clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions targets. The solar PV power supply will aid public utilities in meeting requirements for providing a specified percentage of clean energy. Communities that anticipate such mandates are likely to be financially rewarded via current and expected state and federal incentives.
Economics of Solar Electric (Solar Photovoltaic) Power
Solar photovoltaic panel arrays are simple to install and will provide clean energy regardless of fluctuations in electricity markets.
Solar PV power favors mass production of panels, and systems are less expensive when produced in quantity.
Locally produced solar PV power can dynamically balance the supply and demand for electric power by producing more power during periods of high demand and high grid prices, and less power during periods of low demand and low grid prices. This "hybridized grid" allows both small systems and large power plants to operate with greater energy efficiency and cost effectiveness than either could alone.
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References/Source Information to be included with later drafts.
Search current.com -"Advantages in Solar Electric Power" for Parts I, II, IV, & V.
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TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com