My guess is that they'll angle/tilt them to the west since TOU rates tend to be higher in the afternoons and I also suspect that Supercharger demand is typically higher in the afternoons as well. That said, unless they can really tilt them a lot, the typical 10-15* tilt of a solar canopy doesn't make a huge difference in overall production as long as it's not tilted north and it's winter time.
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Supercharger - Kettleman City, CA (LIVE 15 Nov 2017, 24 V2 + 16 V3 stalls, lounge)
- Thread starter smilepak
- Start date
I suspect the row closest to the camera will have solar panels that face west. The other rows visible (closest to the building as well as farther south on the property) will likely be south-facing solar canopies. As mentioned, the west-facing panels should help with afternoon peak demand.
The Best Western next door has solar panels that face in all four cardinal directions (although I question how effective the north-facing panels are).
Depending, of course, on occupancy.
I generally agree, but don't see a downside to adding solar canopies.
jimmy_d
Deep Learning Dork
beths11
THE LONG RANGER
Here is a drone fly over of the site I found on the Model X owners facebook site:
That's a lot more I-beams than I expected based on the initial images. Is there going to be an entire "roof" of solar?
Thanks for posting!
Usually these types of car ports effectively have a solar roof in that it is continuous over each row of parking spaces.
Yep, it's all upside. Offsets demand with on-site production. Provides much-needed shade in blazing hot summer reducing A/C requirements for vehicles under them and also offers shelter from the occasional rain in the winter.
While they won't get anywhere close to providing enough peak power to run the Superchargers (I estimate that they should be able to get at least 100 kW DC of solar installed based on where it looks like they're planning to install solar) it should generate around 150 MWh / year or enough energy to supply around 10 charges / day, assuming about 40 kWh / charge.
I cannot agree more. The future happening in front of us. The wife thinks it's more like watching grass grow.
depeche
Member
AMPd
Well-Known Member
Isn't it only 20 120kW superchargers? Since each supercharger serves 2 stalls.
Either way I agree, 40kW isn't much when the site will be drawing 2+ mW
Excellent point about the solar production capacity vs. Supercharging demand.
To satisfy my curiosity, I played around a little bit with NREL's PVwatts calculator. If Tesla covered every square foot of property with solar panels, their max production would be some 630 kW. Based on conceptual designs and placement of those large steel beams, I think we can expect a solar system in the 100 kW - 150 kW neighborhood. While it's a significant amount of power, it's still only a small fraction of what this site is capable of consuming.
edit: based on that great drone footage, it appears that they're going to do four (or five, with the western array being split in half) separate solar arrays. I estimate the one closest to the building being 40-50 kW, the one in the middle of the lot being 80-100 kW, the one along the south end of the lot being 40-50 kW, and the one (or two) along the western lot line being 80-100 kW. This system could end up being 200-300 kW depending on orientation.
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Interesting post.Excellent point about the solar production capacity vs. Supercharging demand.
To satisfy my curiosity, I played around a little bit with NREL's PVwatts calculator. If Tesla covered every square foot of property with solar panels, their max production would be some 630 kW. Based on conceptual designs and placement of those large steel beams, I think we can expect a solar system in the 100 kW - 150 kW neighborhood. While it's a significant amount of power, it's still only a small fraction of what this site is capable of consuming.
edit: based on that great drone footage, it appears that they're going to do four separate solar arrays. I estimate the one closest to the building being 40-50 kW, the array in the middle of the lot being 80-100 kW, the array along the south end of the lot being 40-50 kW, and the array along the western lot line being 80-100 kW. This system could end up being 200-300 kW depending on orientation.
It should also be noted that with batteries they can store excess power for times when not many cars are plugged in (but the sun is still out). Early morning or many mid-weekdays would fit the bill.
jchag
Member
AMPd
Well-Known Member
I think this will be my favorite supercharger location!
Perfect midway stop between Sacramento and LA
Perfect midway stop between Sacramento and LA
depeche
Member
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