Solar Carports Monitored with CMP 11 Pyranometers
Published: Thursday, September 19, 2013
Every rooftop can be turned into a source of power. “So why not the rooftop of a carport?” is what the City of Industry thought when developing a new solar facility at the Metrolink public train station in Southern California, U.S.A.. Thanks to Trimark Associates Inc. this 1.5MW (AC) power generating project uses two CMP 11 pyranometers to monitor the energy produced.
To show their commitment to renewable energy, the City of Industry, Los Angeles, took the opportunity to convert the Metrolink station parking lot into a state-of-the-art solar power generating facility that provides energy to the grid, along with individual charging stations for electric vehicles. Trimark Associates was part of a design and build construction team and provided two CMP 11 pyranometers, and a Lu_t WS501 weather station to the City of Industry. Other team members were Oltmans Construction, Gregg Electric and Panelized Structures.
The Lufft WS501 weather station features an integrated Kipp & Zonen CMP 3 pyranometer that measures the global horizontal irradiance for this project. The two CMP 11’s measure the plane of array (POA) irradiance; one of the key factors to predict solar power production and critical in this project because of its connection to the power grid maintained by CAISO (CA Independent System Operator). CAISO requires reliable and accurate radiation data to predict the expected energy generation and to confirm the power produced. The real-time data from the CMP 11 pyranometers and the Lufft unit are collected by a Data Acquisition System (DAS) and automatically relayed to CAISO.
About Trimark Associates Inc.
Trimark provides technology based systems to electric power producers. These systems include meteorological data collection, power production monitoring, and revenue metering. Trimark is a supporter of the California Solar Initiative (CSI), and is proud to have its meters and meteorological equipment installed at hundreds of commercial and utility sites throughout the state, as well as across the country.
“We have many years of experience with Kipp & Zonen instruments. We’ve used them extensively in our meteorological monitoring systems.” says Trimark’s Dean Schoeder, Director of Engineering. “They are the industry standard and the usual choice for a project like the City of Industry’s solar carports.”
Find out more at www.trimarkassoc.com