Solar Plants

[Paul Lavely <lavelyp@uclink4.berkeley.edu>]

I worked at a solar power facility. In fact, it was next to my office.

Where? It was the Photo Voltaic PV-1 plant located at the now closed 
Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant of the Sacramento Municipal Utility 
District. Unless it has been reopened (PV-1 not Rancho Seco) it was 
closed. Reason? It cost more to operate (repair and maintain) than it 
returned (far more!!!). This was not a small facility and few places 
were better suited than the "Dry Ranch."

My personal view is that solar offers a great benefit in specialized 
situations such as to power road side emergency phones, railroad 
signals, etc. However, if SMUD could not make a go of this 
technology, I do not think that others can either. As I remember it 
would have taken more than 400 of these fields of collectors to have 
been the output of the nuclear plant and the output at night was of 
course zero (from the PV not the "Ranch").

I do not know how accurate this is but, some expressed a concern that 
a lightning strike to the PV-1 buss would vaporize the arsenic in the 
panels and make it airborne. This concern worried those of us housed 
next to it more than the radiation from the nuclear plant. Why? We 
had lots of lightning strikes and few rad releases.

There was another concern that had to do with the cost of disposal of 
the hazardous materials (arsenic) in the panels. A high cost problem. 
I was told that this was why the unit sits and collects dust (dust 
was one of the problems that reduced output).

Again, there are others who have MUCH more information on this PV 
unit, but I do know that it was not seen as being cost effective.


WIND?  PG&E shut down one of the largest wind turbines in the world. 
It was near Benicia CA along highway 680. Reason? Not a cost 
effective method to produce power.

Paul Lavely <lavelyp@uclink4.berkeley.edu>
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html