Solar near Airports [RE-wrenches]

[Bill Brooks]

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John and Wrenches:

I completely agree that defining a reasonable standard for conducted and
radiated frequencies is absolutely essential. We have two incomplete
documents that we are trying to use to address this problem and neither is
all that great as far as I can see. IEEE 519 just says that stuff above the
35th harmonic has to be .0squat and the FCC regulates the radio frequencies.
The FCC are very important so I am not going to argue that point.

The biggest problem, however, tends to be the switching frequency of the
inverter, and that is currently not being dealt with in any reasonable
fashion.

Bill.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Berdner [mailto:jberdner at sma-america.com]
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 4:17 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: Solar near Airports [RE-wrenches]

Wrenches:

I reiterate my concerns about siting any inverter close to an airport.
This is especially true if the inverter lacks FCC approval (ask your
manufacturer for a copy of the certificate of compliance if you are not
sure).
Many in our industry have said that FCC compliance is not required for
PV inverters.
After spending quite a bit of money for legal advice on the subject,
including getting an opinion letter directly from FCC, I am convinced
FCC is required.


The "how close is too close" question is irrelevant here.
This way of thinking is a roll of the dice and nothing more.
You might as well ask how much risk you are willing to accept.

If there is a problem with interference then the FAA will file a
compliant with FCC.
Then FCC will investigate and, if they find a problem, they can require
you to cease operation.
After that they can demand a certificate of compliance before you are
allowed to resume operation.
The certificate of compliance will be very expensive at best or perhaps
impossible to get in the field,
At this point your customer might be a little PO'ed since their really
expensive PV system can't be turned back on.
Make sure the inverter you use has FCC approval in the first place to
avoid this problem.
You might still have to make some corrective actions but you will not
have to come up with a certificate of compliance since the manufacturer
will already have one.

Best REgards,

John Berdner




>>> ray at solarray.com 7/16/2004 10:51:37 AM >>>


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Hi All;

Thanks for the great responses. I am now considering Watt-sun trackers,

since the direct reflection would be straight into the shadow of the
aircraft as Randy noted.

The concern I have is John Berdner's comment about radio interference.
How
close is too close? The aircraft are about 300 ft off the ground as
they
pass over the site, and about 200 to 300 ft to the side or 400 ft from
the
aircraft. The inverter would be inside a metal building, and I could
install additional shielding if I knew what to put in.
My Dad is a solar engineer and private pilot also, so you better
believe I
want to do this right.

Ray

>,
> This same concern came up a while back -I copied and pasted some of
the
>traffic below. Of course, the comments are in reverse chronological
order. A
>couple of other issues of interest are brought up, too. I think the
argument
>that solar modules/collectors are designed to absorb light, and
generally
>have anti-reflective surfaces, should carry some credence. Hey, if
"solar"
>Taos can't get around this...
>
>Dan Rice
>Abundant Sun, LLC.
>Escalante, UT
>
>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.
>
> IMHO, installation of one of these systems in
>close proximity to an airport demonstrates some pretty questionable
>judgment.
>
>John Berdner
>
>SMA America, Inc.






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