Solar near Airports [RE-wrenches]
Dean T. Newberry
deant at dcn.org
Sat Jul 17 23:50:16 PDT 2004
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Hi y'All,
At least 2 backup systems installed for landing lights at airports
in Japan have been shut down this summer because of radio interference.
Note the Inverver may be FCC compliant, but the assembly of
Inverter, AC and DC wiring and module array may still present a
significant radio interference problem. Other systems in Southern
California were interfering with ham radio stations more than half a
mile away from the residential PV systems.
The mitigation recommendation is to use FCC compliant inverters,
with metallic raceways (EMT) as an RF shield from the inverter to the
array, and be very careful to ground branch, not ground loop the
metallic RF shielding.
cul deant
Dan Rice wrote:
>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
>
>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
>>>
>>>
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Ray Walters" <ray at solarray.com>
>To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
>Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 4:01 PM
>Subject: Solar near Airports [RE-wrenches]
>
>
> Hi All;
>
>I am looking at a PV installation (may include Hot water panels too) that
>is almost directly in the flight path of our local Airport. We are about
>1000 ft from the end of the runway. It is a municipal airport with some
>daily commuter flights in a twin engine turboprop. There is some private
>lear jet usage too. No large commercial airlines though.
>We've gotten some word on height restrictions, that doesn't look to be a
>problem. We're actually about 300 ft to one side of the actual flight path.
>The concern being raised is glare blinding the pilots. Aren't the latest
>modules much better at reduced reflection? (better coatings and less white
>wasted area) Are there actual regulations on the books, or are we just
>trying to keep people happy? Would tracking make it better or
>worse? Should we consider less tilt, or blinders to the side of the
>modules (lattice work), etc. or should I run screaming from this one?
>
>Thanks all before hand for your cherished wisdom,
>
>Ray Walters
>ray at solarray.com
>President, SolarRay, Inc.
>NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer
>BS Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin 88
>Returned US Peace Corps Volunteer
>
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