Page 367 - Handbook of Energy Engineering Calculations
P. 367

and  storage,  ornamental  fountain  water  pumping  and  recirculation,  laundry
               wash  water,  etc.  The  whole  key  to  successful  solar  power  for  pumps  is
               selecting  a  suitable  application.  With  the  information  presented  in  this
               procedure the designer can check the applicability and economic justification
               of proposed future designs.

                  In today’s environmentally conscious design world, the refrigerant must be
               carefully chosen so it is acceptable from both an ozone-depletion and from a
               thermodynamic  standpoint.  Banned  refrigerants  should  not,  of  course,  be

               used, even if attractive from a thermodynamic standpoint.
                  This procedure is the work of the editorial staff of Product  Engineering
               magazine  reporting  on  the  work  of  Battelle  Memorial  Institute  and  the
               Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. The installation described is located
               at  MMLI’s  Gila  River  Ranch,  southwest  of  Phoenix,  AZ.  SI  values  were

               added by the handbook editor.
                  Designers of solar-powered pumping systems recently found a new way to
               collect energy from the sun to convert to electricity for the pump’s electric

               motor.  The  new  way  of  collecting  energy  from  the  sun  uses  closed  and
               capped municipal landfills as sites for solar farms.
                  New York City, and other large cities and municipalities, are studying the
               possibility  of  installing  such  solar  farms.  Doing  so  makes  economic  sense
               since the city or municipality already owns the land; hence, it is free. Further,

               landfills  are  usually  far  from  residential  areas  and  so  there  are  few  visual
               pollution complaints.
                  A private company would lease the landfill, install the solar panels, and

               operate the electrical system. It is estimated that a 250-acre landfill solar farm
               could produce 50-mW of electricity. New York City is reported to have 3000
               acres  of  landfills.  Using  closed  and  capped  landfills  for  solar  farms  is  a
               winwin for any city or municipality because the cost is small and vacant land
               is put to beneficial use for the city residents. Further, the solar farm will not

               interfere  with  any  other  power  generated  by  the  landfill  using  gas  engines
               running on methane and other gases from the landfill.
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