blinded by the light?! [RE-wrenches]

[Joel Davidson]

Dear John,
Approximately how much does it cost to build in FCC compliance for a 100 kW
inverter at the factory?
Best regards,
Joel Davidson

John Berdner wrote:

> Wrenches:
>
> The whole reflected light issue is a red herring.
> Just fly into LAX and look at the seas of car windows out there in the
> parking lots.
> Or the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, etc., etc., etc.
> This has come up before and was shot down every time.
>
> Unfortunately, there is a real issue here that has not been discussed.
> The large inverters out there being considered for such projects
> typically do not meet the FCC requirements for radiated or conducted
> emissions.  These babies are radio stations radiating across a wide
> spectrum of frequencies. This is most certainly a violation of Federal
> requirements and could very well represent a real "hazard to aerial
> navigation".  The guy who designed these inverters is a friend of mine,
> a pilot, and he agrees.
>
> The US industry has ignored FCC part 15 to date choosing instead to
> pretend it does not apply to inverters.  This is incorrect and a
> dangerous path to choose.  IMHO, installation of one of these systems in
> close proximity to an airport demonstrates some pretty questionable
> judgment.  If your project if found to be out of compliance the FCC can
> require you to cease operation until you can demonstrate that the
> product is in compliance.  This is not easy and will be expensive and
> time consuming at best.  At worst there could be an incident for which
> you will be found liable. Then there are the difficulties sleeping at
> night.
>
> If you have any questions or if I may be of any further assistance,
> please do not hesitate to contact me.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> John Berdner
>
> SMA America, Inc.
> 12438-C Loma Rica Road
> Grass Valley, CA  95945
> 530.273.4595 - Tel
> 530.274.7271 - Fax
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom Simko [mailto:tom at skylinesolar.com]
> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2003 08:05 AM
> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> Subject: Re: blinded by the light?! [RE-wrenches]
>
>     No other pilots have commented so I will: PV arrays of any size at
> any
> airport at any time of day could not possibly be construed as a "hazard
> to
> aerial navigation" in FAA'ese. Especially at a large commercial airport
> with
> all the modern nav aids available. Glare on landing can be a problem,
> but
> its well within the normal range of minor distractions and is dealt with
> dailey in normal ops.  In short, claims to the contrary are uninformed
> fear
> mongering, and pretty funny also!
>
> Tom Simko (flying 32 years)
> Skyline Solar
>
> on 3/6/03 1:33 PM, Joel Davidson at joeldavidson at earthlink.net wrote:
>
> > Wait a minute! PV modules absorb light? Well, I'll be darned! That
> explains
> > why they do what they do!
> >
> > On a more serious note, educating customers about PV is an on-going
> process
> > and an opportunity to create a PV advocate if you treat the prospect's
> > questions with respect (and a little unhurtful humor). On the other
> hand, if
> > concern about reflected light is one of many objections, then it is
> > important to smoke out the real hidden objections to PV. In the case
> of one
> > military airbase, the real objection was one military bigshot with a
> control
> > problem who did not like PV on "his" base because it was not his idea.
> >
> > Graham Owen wrote:
> >
> >> Marco,
> >>
> >> Do pilots wear their aviation sunglasses for a reason or just for
> style?
> >> The polished aluminum American Airlines jets are super shiny and
> >> reflective and when sitting on an airport taxi-way are probably
> >> physically larger than your PV array.  Is the typical landing
> approach
> >> pattern from the south at this airport?  Do they know that PV modules
> >> are designed to absorb as much light as possible and reflect as
> little
> >> as possible? Do they object to a flat mounted array as a possible
> >> option?
> >>
> >> Graham
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Bill Brooks [mailto:billb at endecon.com]
> >> Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 9:34 PM
> >> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> >> Subject: RE: blinded by the light?! [RE-wrenches]
> >>
> >> Marco,
> >>
> >> How do they deal with the glare of the reflection off the ocean? They
> >> really should do something about that. ;-)
> >>
> >> Bill.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Mangelsdorf, Marco [mailto:mmangelsdorf at hei.com]
> >> Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 9:39 AM
> >> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> >> Cc: Moore, Pat
> >> Subject: blinded by the light?! [RE-wrenches]
> >>
> >> Just when you thought you had heard it all....We're trying to confirm
> a
> >> 25 kW a-Si project at a location which is in close proximity to an
> >> airport.  The PV system would be architecturally integrated into this
> >> new building and would be a real attention grabber.  Well, some
> >> attention that we didn't necessarily want is from the state agency
> which
> >> has jurisdiction for the land surrounding the airport.  They're
> >> concerned that the PV array could pose as a reflective light flight
> >> hazard for incoming and outgoing commercial and general aviation
> >> aircraft.  How do you fight that?  We've got our friends at BP Solar
> on
> >> board to assist us as we deal with the "bureaucrats" but any
> additional
> >> help from you all would he much appreciated.  How can we deal with
> this?
> >> thanks in advance, marco ProVision Technologies, Inc. Hilo, Hawai'i
> >>
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