Potawot solar power education

[edit] Introduction

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Contents 1 Introduction 2 Understanding the Market 3 Project 4 Design 5 Costs 6 Interpretive Sign 7 Referances

Potawot and the United Indian Health Services (UIHS) in Arcata CA, are striving to run their facility off Solar PV panels. They started implementing the project by contacting Schatz Energy Resource Center (SERC) for an estimate of how much money the project will require. Potawot and UIHS has been working on this transformation since 2005. Because of the price of Solar PV panels the project requires a lot of money, it is also being paid for by grants and community fundraising.

The goal of the Potawot Solar Outreach Program is to promote "native values of being responsible community role models concerned for our land, air, and water we depend on." - Eric Johnson. Potawot and the United Indian Health Service (UIHS) is doing their part to minimize the need to the Klamath River hydro dams and the need for fossil fuels. Potawot and UIHS's goal is to educated and promote the use of alternative energies and to show that they are doing their part they have begun a process of converting all of their energy sources to Solar energy. It is an expensive and time consuming process but they are leading by example.

[edit] Understanding the Market

"In the United States, the (Solar) PV market grew by an impressive 57%" - homepower.com (Dec 2008)

As of November 2008 in the US, according to www.solarbuzz.com, a 125 watt Solar PV module costs about $4.85. "With the continual decline of manufacturing costs (declining 3% to 5% per year in recent years), uses of PV technology have grown to include home power generation, and grid-connected electricity generation." Many people are looking at Solar PV technology to reduce the need for coal or dam electricity. It will also help reduce the CO2 emissions that have been connected to "global warming."

[edit] Project

Potawot has purchased a 42-kilowatt photovoltaic solar array which produces about 25% of the energy needed for the Health Village. Potawot and UIHS are showing their patients and the community that solar power is a reliable alternative to "in the grid electricity." Some of the Health Centers patients "live off the grid" and or they don't want to depend on the hydro-electric dam on the Klamath River.

[edit] Design

Solar PV panels produce DC current from the suns energy. In order to convert DC electricity into AC electricity (AC is what is used to run appliances)an inverter is needed. Potawot and UIHS uses 6-kilowatt Sunnyboy inverters. There is also a battery needed, the battery is used when the solar panels are not producing as much electricity that is needed, the batteries are also used to run appliances at night. I you look at Fig. 2, there is a basic illustration of what the setup of the solar panels looks like. On the bottom left hand corner where is says "AC loads" that is where you would plug into the system with appliances.

[edit] Costs

"We started planning and raising funds for the project in 2005. We worked with Schatz to obtain a ballpark figure of what it would cost and then UIHS sent out letters to the tribes, local businesses and agency asking for support for the project. We raised about $3-4k (I believe) and then obtained a grant from the Will Reid Foundation in the amount of $20K. That was a huge stepping stone because it was the seed money for our large grant we received later. It showed our commitment to the project and we were then able to obtain the large grant from the California Health Facility Financing Authority from the State Treasurer's office in the amount of $250,000. We then started installing panels in 2007." - Eric Johnson, Traditional Land Management Specialist, UIHS

[edit] Interpretive Sign

Schatz Energy Resource Center (SERC) is Working on two Interpretive signs for Potawot Solar outreach. The first sign is including Health Reasons, how much solar power is already being used (about 25% of the electrictiy used by Potawot is produced through solar panels on location), connecting solar energy to health, and telling people that solar energy has been used for thousands of years but with technology they can now use it as electricity. The second interpretive signs explains a display screen that will be showing how much electricity the solar panels are producing at up to the minute time. The screen will also have section telling the readers how much CO2 emissions has been saved from the time the Solar PV's were installed at Potawot, it will also a section telling the readers how much money has been saved. The Interpretive sign will show the community what the UIHS has done with the publics money and state grants, they will also show the commununity why UIHS has been working towards running their facility of solar energy. SERC has not yet completed the Interpretive Sign as of November 2008, there were no images that they are allowing to be shown to the public.

[edit] Referances

• Eric Johnson, Traditional Land Management Specialist, United Indian Health Services, Inc. - Personal Emails (2008)
• Richard Engel, Shatz Energy Resource Center - Personal interview (2008)
• Home Power Magazine - homepower.com (Dec 2008)
• www.solarbuzz.com/Moduleprices.htm - November 20, 2008
• www.solarpanelsplus.com/solar-panel-types/ - November 20, 2008
• Fig. 1 - Potawot homepage on Appropedia, www.appropedia.org/Potawot
• Fig. 2 - www.njsolarpower.com/images/SI_faq_components/jpghttp://