Topaz Solar Farm | First Solar Huge Solar farm, 9 Million panels. I'm confused by the capacity though, said to be 550 MW. By my arithmetic that works out to 60 watts a panel. That cannot be right, can it ? I'm also surprised by the $2.5B cost, which at 550 MW is ~ $4.5 a watt. Seems much higher than I thought large scale farms cost these days, but perhaps it reflects the cost of infrastructure to reach distant sites. Addendum: This movie shows workers easily carrying a panel that looks about 1.5x2.5 feet, so 60 watts a panel is right. Tight rows that let a person pass but narrow for vehicles. Makes sense for packaging the farm in a 'small' space, but all the more impressive they were able to build so quickly with manual labor. Works out to some 7000 panels installed a day.
Your solar math is correct. They are thin film CdTe based panels rated at 70 to 102 watts depending on model. $2.5 Billion or bust. The cost of building the infrastructure to connect to the Grid from remote locations is where any savings is lost. 100 workers @ 70 panels per day each not to strenuous but monotonous I'll bet.
at least everything will be in place for the next go around when the panels are replaced with much more efficient ones.
Very good point. It might also be true from looking at maps that other farms can piggy-back on to the infrastructure. I keep hoping that the government will spend taxpayer funds on infrastructure and not Chevy Volts. The downstream effects from profit based market activity would be tremendous.
we're getting a few around here, but there's a lot of nimby. most people prefer their nuclear plant off in the distance. out of site, out of mind.
