When the design is planned for floor-mount solar power systems, designers must investigate natural calamities such as extreme wind gusts, periodic or seasonal flooding, and snow precipitation. For meteorological data contact the NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Data Set Web site at http://eosweb. larc. nasa. gov/sse/. To search for meteorological information on this Web site, the inquirer must provide the latitude and longitude for each geographic location. For example, to obtain data for Los Angeles, California, at latitude 34.09 and longitude 118.4, the statistical data provided will include the following recorded information for each month of the year for the past 10 years:
■ Average daily radiation on horizontal surface [kWh/(m2 • day)]
■ Average temperature (°C)
■ Average wind speed (m/s)
To obtain longitude and latitude information for a geographic area refer to the Web site www. census. gov/cgi-bin/gazetter. For complete listings of latitude and longitude data please refer to Appendix A. The following page lists a few examples for North American metropolitan area locations.
Los Angeles, California Toronto, Canada Palm Springs, California San Diego, California
To obtain ground surface site insolation measurements refer to the Web site http:// eosweb. lac. nasa. gov/sse.
A certified registered structural engineer must design all solar power installation platforms and footings. Upon completing and integrating the preliminary design parameters previously discussed, the design engineer must conduct a feasibility analysis of the solar power cogeneration project. Some of the essential cost components of a solar power system required for final analysis are:
■ Solar PV module (dollars per dc watts)
■ Support structure hardware
■ Electric devices, such as inverters, isolation transformers, and lightning protection devices; and hardware such as electric conduits, cables, and grounding wire
Additional costs may include:
■ Material transport and storage
■ Possible federal taxes and state sales taxes
■ Labor wages (prevailing or nonprevailing) and site supervision (project management)
■ Engineering design, which includes electrical, architectural, and structural disciplines
■ Construction drawings and reproduction
■ Permit fees
■ Maintenance training manuals and instructor time
■ Maintenance, casualty insurance, and warranties
■ Spare parts and components
■ Testing and commissioning
■ Overhead and profit
■ Construction bond and liability insurance
■ Mobilization cost, site office, and utility expenses
■ Liquidated damages
