100 KW System

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Hunter
    Junior Member
    • May 2018
    • 15

    100 KW System

    I'm looking to buy solar panels for my 100 KW solar project. I was looking at the SolarWorld 350 watt panel. Should I be looking at a different panel? What is the cost per panel and where do I buy it? Thanks for any help you guys can provide.
  • NewBostonConst
    Solar Fanatic
    • Nov 2018
    • 113

    #2
    Where are you located? I think you are trying to power a small city? Our electric company limits us to having 12k systems.

    Comment

    • Hunter
      Junior Member
      • May 2018
      • 15

      #3
      Originally posted by NewBostonConst
      Where are you located? I think you are trying to power a small city? Our electric company limits us to having 12k systems.
      Yes that's exactly the plan. I'm located in southeast MN. The limit here is 40KW or smaller per meter. I have two meters on my property and intend to max them both out. 50KW on the DC side to account for some loss and what not. There is a business located on the property as well.
      Last edited by Hunter; 11-16-2018, 01:08 PM.

      Comment

      • Mike90250
        Moderator
        • May 2009
        • 16020

        #4
        A 100 KW project is way outside my skill set. You are going to need a professional engineer and work closely with your local building dept and Electrical grid company.
        Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
        || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
        || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

        solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
        gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

        Comment

        • Hunter
          Junior Member
          • May 2018
          • 15

          #5
          Originally posted by Mike90250
          A 100 KW project is way outside my skill set. You are going to need a professional engineer and work closely with your local building dept and Electrical grid company.
          Any help on where you would look to buy solar panels from? The project right now will either be 100KW or 50KW just trying to work from the ground up to find prices for everything.

          Comment

          • JSchnee21
            Solar Fanatic
            • May 2017
            • 522

            #6
            You're going to build this yourself?

            Comment

            • Hunter
              Junior Member
              • May 2018
              • 15

              #7
              Originally posted by JSchnee21
              You're going to build this yourself?
              No I will have a few qualified people there.
              Last edited by Hunter; 11-16-2018, 01:19 PM.

              Comment

              • J.P.M.
                Solar Fanatic
                • Aug 2013
                • 14939

                #8
                Originally posted by Mike90250
                A 100 KW project is way outside my skill set. You are going to need a professional engineer and work closely with your local building dept and Electrical grid company.
                To the OP: I bet SK & I could team up. As a SWAG, figure ~ $500-$1,000/hr. for engineering + expenses for both of us + (for me anyway) reactivation/licensure in MN.

                Seriously, +1 on Mike's opinion for help. Besides homework to understand what may be needed for permitting, the OP needs professional help for a project that size.

                Best advise I can give: Get informed about what you want and what's required from more than a forum, and if that unsets you, be careful what you ask for.

                Comment

                • Hunter
                  Junior Member
                  • May 2018
                  • 15

                  #9
                  Originally posted by J.P.M.

                  To the OP: I bet SK & I could team up. As a SWAG, figure ~ $500-$1,000/hr. for engineering + expenses for both of us + (for me anyway) reactivation/licensure in MN.

                  Seriously, +1 on Mike's opinion for help. Besides homework to understand what may be needed for permitting, the OP needs professional help for a project that size.

                  Best advise I can give: Get informed about what you want and what's required from more than a forum, and if that unsets you, be careful what you ask for.
                  In the most repectful way possible, all I'm asking is if you guys know any good online places that sell solar panels for a reasonable price. I have discussed this project already with a client who happens to be a certified solar installer and electrical engineer. I worked with him on a 50KW install this summer for a few days and that took a week and a half to complete.
                  Last edited by Hunter; 11-16-2018, 01:31 PM.

                  Comment

                  • JSchnee21
                    Solar Fanatic
                    • May 2017
                    • 522

                    #10
                    There are a number of electrical distributors that carry solar power equipment. You'll need to select a larger one that would carry the size inverters you'll need. What does the site look like? Is this ground mount or roof mount? What kind of inverters (String, Optimizer, Micro) will you use? Given that the system will be split between two meters, you'll need at least 2 or more inverters depending on their size.

                    What is your goal for this installation? I'm not sure what incentives (if any) are available for Solar Power in MN, but this will be a very expensive project. Probably at least $1.50 to $2 per kW DC if you are supplying your own labor. So that's $150K to $200K investment.

                    Offsetting your grow lamps? How much do you pay per kWH now? How many MWh do you use per month?

                    Check out Renvu dot com, for example. I have no affiliation. They have some nice online tools to plan your project and get quotes.

                    -Jonathan

                    Comment

                    • JSchnee21
                      Solar Fanatic
                      • May 2017
                      • 522

                      #11
                      Is your service feed 480V 3-phase or 208 3-phase? Renvue has a few different commercial inverters (Solar Edge and Canadian Solar) in the 40-66kW range. They are surprising inexpensive. The SolarEdge solution will require that you purchase Optimizers as well. The string inverter may also require panel level rapid shutdown adapters depending on your State and Local NEC and code requirements.

                      Renvue also has the:

                      HANWHA Q CELLS Q.PEAK DUO L-G5.2 385W 35MM SILVER FRAME MONO

                      At $0.68/W minimum quantity 290 panels
                      290*385W = 111,650W

                      Comment

                      • J.P.M.
                        Solar Fanatic
                        • Aug 2013
                        • 14939

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Hunter

                        In the most repectful way possible, all I'm asking is if you guys know any good online places that sell solar panels for a reasonable price. I have discussed this project already with a client who happens to be a certified solar installer and electrical engineer. I worked with him on a 50KW install this summer for a few days and that took a week and a half to complete.
                        In the most respectful way possible, Google is your friend.

                        Comment

                        • NewBostonConst
                          Solar Fanatic
                          • Nov 2018
                          • 113

                          #13
                          I just picked up some 7k of panels from (WorldWideWeb).altestore.(com) .... Their online prices were the best I could find and their installer prices were even better. They have been great to deal with and located in Maryland. Best place I could find on the east coast.

                          Comment

                          • JSchnee21
                            Solar Fanatic
                            • May 2017
                            • 522

                            #14
                            Yes, I second that vendor (AltE) as well. The owner makes some fantastic, informational, YouTube videos. Renvue also has some nice 305W Hanwha at like $0.72/W in smaller quantities.

                            Comment

                            • Hunter
                              Junior Member
                              • May 2018
                              • 15

                              #15
                              Originally posted by JSchnee21
                              There are a number of electrical distributors that carry solar power equipment. You'll need to select a larger one that would carry the size inverters you'll need. What does the site look like? Is this ground mount or roof mount? What kind of inverters (String, Optimizer, Micro) will you use? Given that the system will be split between two meters, you'll need at least 2 or more inverters depending on their size.

                              What is your goal for this installation? I'm not sure what incentives (if any) are available for Solar Power in MN, but this will be a very expensive project. Probably at least $1.50 to $2 per kW DC if you are supplying your own labor. So that's $150K to $200K investment.

                              Offsetting your grow lamps? How much do you pay per kWH now? How many MWh do you use per month?

                              Check out Renvu dot com, for example. I have no affiliation. They have some nice online tools to plan your project and get quotes.

                              -Jonathan
                              Here come the details. The project will be a ground mount of course. Space definitely isn't a problem, I have a large open area with a couple of trees that are coming down to prevent shading. The racking system will either be iron ridge or I will be talking to my client who is an engineer to discuss a better racking option. My local utility used to offer a $10,000 incentive but took that away when some guy installed over a 1MW total on several different locations. My power, unfortunately, is single phase, so yes I know many inverters. We will be using SolarEdge with optimizers. I believe the project I worked on had 4 but I can't remember exactly. Now the cost of the system is what I will be working on with my father as we both happen to be accountants. The plan is writing this off as a business expense, on top of the 30% tax credit, and some possible deprecation we can use. Our power usage varies on a month to month basis drastically, but monthly we use approx 3500-4000KW a month.

                              Comment

                              Working...