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How solar power saved Thanksgiving

By David Worthington | November 25, 2012, 6:13 PM PST

Solar power made Thanksgiving dinner possible for hundreds of residents of Rockaway Island, a barrier island community in New York that was struck hard by Hurricane Sandy.

A road trip to showcase electric cars running on solar power took an unplanned stopover in New York’s Rockaway Beach for Thanksgiving, providing a local church with energy to serve up holiday meals to hundreds of residents who are remain without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science doctoral students Garrett Fitzgerald and Rob van Haaren planned a cross-country drive to celebrate their graduations. Over time, the idea evolved into a green project called Solar Journey USA, and the duo enlisted sponsors to pay for the creation of a solar equipped trailer to tow behind an electric vehicle for the 3,200-mile trip.

Solar Journey USA intends to demonstrate that a solar powered vehicle could be driven cross-country without ever “plugging in” by charging the trailer during the day and driving at night. The trailer wasn’t in use when Sandy struck, so Solar Journey brought it to Rockaway Island to assist with the relief effort. There was enough power for Saint Gertrude’s church to host a large Thanksgiving dinner.

The trailer is rated at 6.5 kilowatts, which is enough power for two homes, Fitzgerald said. Saint Gertrude’s is the size of half a city block, and is serving as a community shelter, so keeping the lights on there is important until Rockaway recovers. Many homes will remain without power for weeks and months to come; Solar Journey will support the community throughout, Fitzgerald noted.

Saint Gertrude’s Thanksgiving event also served as a town hall gathering where the community discussed how it would move forward without power. Maybe greater reliance on solar power should be part of that discussion.

Rockaway homes will require new electrical components even after power is restored to the island, extending the recovery effort by many months.

(Image credit: Solar Journey USA)

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About David Worthington

David Worthington is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

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How much does the trailer cost?

You have to add on the cost of a large battery bank to store and keep energy supply constant when no or little sunlight.
This has to feed an inverter unit to power mains voltage devices which are not built to use exact voltage from battery banks. The only problem with the petrol/diesel generator solution is fuel at about 5ltrs hour at 6kw (variable) and where to get and store it in emergency/middle of nowhere situation. Remember when the power fails the zombies/people after your food supplies will get you.

Posted by ronangel

26th Nov

Just
In

Cost

First Solar has published figures for cost of production: $0.72/Watt, which
would be roughly $65 per 90W panel. Solar Journey USA had trouble finding a
retail price number based on this, but it is probably in line with other
module $/W prices which would make it ~$80-90 ($1/W).

The OutBack Power FLEXpower 2 retails for $6899.00 and the OutBack Power
FLEXmax 80 retails for $849.00.

There's not too many other components aside from the batteries ($600) and
the flatbed trailer: $3100.

Posted by David Worthington

28th Nov

Show:

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I think the efficiency has just met my needs

If that trailer load of panels can power two conventional homes, then it should be just enough for my townhouse with one set facing east and the other west.

Posted by DWFields

26th Nov

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How much does the trailer cost?

It looks like there are 48 panels in this setup. What was the cost? One 7500 diesel generator could be had for under $1000, plus the diesel would be so much cheaper. It's going to take a long payback period to make this feasible.

Posted by philwhite42@...

26th Nov

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+1 Vote

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Cost

This system has 72 First Solar CIGS modules providing about 6.5 kWp during full sun conditions. This system was not designed for permanent installation and thus had a price tag higher than a typical residential roof mounted system. The beauty of this for power production during relief efforts is that it needs no fuel aside of a sunny day. During the aftermath of Sandy there was a huge fuel shortage and in fact in the tri state area there were fuel restrictions and lines for hours and around several city blocks developed. So fuel was not an easy thing to get and to have solar means your power is unaffected by fuel issues. It is true that this systems cost much much more than a diesel generator, however the cost point depends on how long you plan to use the system. if your running a diesel generator for several years to provide power you will end up spending more money on fuel than the cost of the PV.

As Ronangle suggested you do also have to add the cost of the balance of system. as a rough estimate for solar costs utility scale installations cost about 2-3$ per watt installed and residential cost 3-5 $ per watt installed, depending on location and incentives, so nominally a 6 kWp system could cost between 18 and 30 K.

Posted by SolarEnergyiscool

26th Nov

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However, for over a week after Sandy passed...

...getting diesel to run a generator was problematic to impossible in New Jersey and coastal New York. Something to consider in the world of disaster response.

Posted by JohnMcGrew@...

Updated - 26th Nov

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+2 Votes

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Storm

There really isn't any excuse for not being prepared. For a week we all knew it was coming. I don't know about you, but I went out and filled up a couple of cans with gas and a couple with diesel. It's called personal responsibility. We all don't have to be victims.

Posted by philwhite42@...

27th Nov

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I agree.

Although I don't know why, it still amazes me the number of people who with all of the information and resources available still get caught surprised, and then feel entitled to instant remediation when it all hits the fan.

Also, even most people who were somewhat prepared were not totally prepared in that they did not understand how much fuel a generator requires over a period of days. For most people, it's not practical to store more than a day's worth of fuel for a generator.

Posted by JohnMcGrew@...

Updated - 28th Nov

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Looking into that

thanks. it's not commercial, so I didn't bother including it

Posted by David Worthington

26th Nov

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Transportable, sustainable power supply for emergency

Very correct about the price, but you need to buy or find diesel to to run the generator first. Is a transportable self sustainable power solution in crisis or catastrophy situation like this. I have a stock a few foldable solar charger in a rugsac with my emergency kit at home, so it can charge up different device when the situation arises (hope I never need it though)

Posted by aktabo

26th Nov

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Cost

Posted by David Worthington

28th Nov

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+3 Votes

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How much does the trailer cost?

Posted by ronangel

26th Nov

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Battery is in the car.

In the case of this trailer the "large battery bank" is in the electric vehicle they are charging from the PV array.

Posted by riverat1

26th Nov

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+1 Vote

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Car

So that adds $30 to $40 thousand to the cost. You could truck in a lot of diesel for that price.

Posted by philwhite42@...

26th Nov

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+2 Votes

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6.5 kw= 2 houses?

Must be two pretty small houses for 6.5 kw. My backup natural gas fired backup generator is rated at 10 kw and can't power everything in my house (central A/C, oven, heated bathroom floor). Maybe one small house, or 2 New York studio apts?

Posted by xrayangiodoc

Updated - 26th Nov

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Very efficient houses

Most American homes are not very energy-efficient. Maybe enough for 2 state-of-the-art energy-efficient homes.

Posted by Greenknight_z

28th Nov

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