Last week I put out a post based on a CBC article about a school in Saskatchewan which generated a lot of interesting discussion about the economics/merits of a solar flower vs rooftop solar.
I had noticed the reporter used the term microgrid in describing this project but thought that was perhaps creative license because of the solar flower battery option. However, in rereading and finding another article I realized that in fact the intent was to teach the students about microgrids. Suddenly the $158,000 cost made a little more sense because of the cost of electrical work and equipment to switch part of an existing building to a microgrid.
Wikipedia defines microgrids as starting at 100kW and up but a couple months ago, I was privileged to see a smaller 10kW or so microgrid that Arcadian Projects is involved in. They were installing microgrids in mobile research labs built out of shipping containers which will be deployed in Canada’s north. A complete lab consists of two shipping containers, one for sleeping the other for the lab and microgrid. Extremely cool idea and makes a lot of sense! The photo is of an earlier version.
Can’t remember the exact ratings but 10+ kW of fixed solar arrays, two small wind turbines, ample battery storage. Heavy duty and robust and a true reliable microgrid. Something students would absolutely love and geeks like me!
So again if the goal is to teach students about creating a reliable, economical microgrid shouldn’t they have sourced a reliable durable solution from a local firm?
The rating on the solar flower is 2.5kW and although they don’t list the rating of the battery on their website, an earlier article suggested it was 5.5kWh. For comparison, a Tesla Powerwall is 13.5kHw and you need at least 2 or 3 for a typical house. The solar flower solution can probably only power two or three microwaves in comparison!
I geolocated using the photo where the solar flower was installed and you can see how it would be shaded at times during the day both in the morning from the building and later by growing pine trees in front. They choose that location probably for visibility reasons not for optimizing output! Contrast that with an equally visible 25kW of roof mounted panels that would last for at least 25 years. I don’t design these things but Lithium-Ion batteries are averaging about $150US kWh.
I appreciated the comments on the other post from people who know the design details better but I’m suspecting for that same budget they could have locally sourced a microgrid using stock components with at least 10 to 15 times the capacity. The students would have a robust, modular solution for their lab that would last 25 years instead of 2! That would be a great contribution to teaching our students more about what is required to transition to a clean energy future.
When I was in high school a math teacher managed to get our school the first personal computer in all of Waterloo Region. That computer changed my life! I would like to see more students exposed to solar power and microgrids. But let’s not do this by sourcing the core component from a company who advertises it with the motto “”Be iconic. Make a solar statement with the sculptural, intelligent Smartflower”. I have no problems with people buying their product for that particular reason, we live in a free country. I just wouldn’t suggest trying to then build a microgrid with it.
I was having a conversation with Buffalo Solar this morning and they are connected with Northland Workforce Training who are considering putting in a microgrid to provide hands on access to the people receiving training. We all agreed something like a solar flower would be a complete waste of money for this purpose. I applaud them for creating training opportunities and exposing students to this technology because there is a real need out there for people to fix the existing systems and new systems that will need servicing. This is a challenge right now for many companies!