A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Flathead Electric’s Stillwater community solar project is nearing completion. Although the contractor’s work wagon is still onsite, the photovoltaic array’s 356 panels are in place, clearly visible from West Reserve Drive, one-third mile to the south.
Taken an hour before sundown on 11 September 2015. Larger image.
The FEC array is a few hundred feet east of the Bonneville Power Administration substation. Larger image.
Each panel is rated at 285 watts DC when the sunbeam is perpendicular to the panel, a configuration that occurs only during the sun’s meridian transit near the summer solstice. Energy production falls off as the angle of incidence diverges from the normal, and atmospheric extinction weakens sunlight when the sun is near the horizon. Moreover, some energy is lost when the output of the panels is converted to AC electricity.
