Alaska’s largest solar water heating system opens in McKinley Village
Published Monday, August 31, 2009
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Stumble It!DENALI PARK — The sun wasn’t shining on the new array of solar panels at the Denali Education Center Friday. But it didn’t matter.
Hot water still coursed through the system at about 100 degrees, thanks to sunshine from the day before.
The largest solar water heating system in the state is newly built and operating, compliments of several partnerships and a state renewable energy grant.
The Alaska Energy Authority, which oversaw distribution of the money, awarded $190,000 to Golden Valley Electric Association to commission, design and install a solar thermal domestic hot water system.
GVEA selected the Denali Education Center for the pilot project and hired ABS Alaskan Inc. to design and install the system.
“Golden Valley is excited to be in the project because it demonstrates that not only are we an electric company, we are also an energy company,” GVEA President Brian Newton said. “We do care how much people consume. It’s not just about selling electricity. It’s about using it wisely.”
A number of dignitaries gathered to celebrate completion of the project: Sen. Joe Thomas, who helped acquire funding through the state legislature; Jim Norman of ABS Alaskan Inc. which designed and installed the system; Newton; Denali Borough Mayor Dave Talerico; Denali National Park Deputy Superintendent Elwood Lynn, and a crowd of renewable and alternative energy supporters.
Denali Education Center was a likely candidate for the project.
The nonprofit had already contacted GVEA previously, looking for ways to conserve energy during the summer months. Like many seasonal businesses, Denali Education Center energy usage peaks during summer, when tourism is at its height, not in winter.
The Denali Education Center hosts Elderhostel visits and sponsors youth programs, including Denali Discovery Camp, Denali Backcountry Adventure, WILD About Denali and others.
The center’s campus of cabins includes 17 water heaters powered by both electricity and propane.
Using their traditional power generation system, electricity usage generally soared to 300 kilowatt-hours per day, according to GVEA energy efficiency specialist Todd Hoener. A typical home uses 25 kwh per day, he said.
The new solar heated water is expected to produce the electric equivalent of 32,000 and 36,000 kwh and save the Denali Education Center as much as $9,000 per year in energy costs.
This is because of 1,300 square feet of flat-panel thermal collectors that stand about 40 feet high.
Here’s how it works: the sun doesn’t directly heat the water. Instead, it heats a special glycol mix that runs through pipes in the panels. The pipes run into the the storage tank and disperse heat into the water. The glycol, still contained in the pipes, then loops back through the panels to be reheated.
The tank for this system, in an adjacent building, stores about 2,700 gallons.
Water is then delivered to the cabins through 2,000 feet of insulated pipe. The system will be drained during winter months, when residential programs are not operating.
“I’m very pleased this project was funded,” said Sen. Joe Thomas. “I see it as one of many small, but very important pilot projects to expand our ability to use renewables in the state. And it was done with Alaskan companies and Alaskan labor and the cooperation of GVEA.
“It’s all positive for the state,” he said.
GVEA owns the system, while Denali Education Center operates and maintains it. The project could increase the demand for solar water heating systems by the hospitality industry, but it also could be applied to all Alaskans.
According to ABS Alaskan Inc. experts, a similar system has been successful at Kantishna Roadhouse, which traditionally relied on propane and generators at its remote location inside Denali National Park.
This system was built to lower energy costs, offset fossil fuel energy consumption and demonstrate sustainable business opportunities for the state.
“Not only will this system allow us to reduce cost, but it’s also opening doors for education opportunities,” said Jodi Rodwell, interim executive director of the center.
Indeed, Denali Education Center is partnering with Solar Energy International and offering a training workshop for educators next summer. For more details, see www.denali.org.
Community Discussion
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A $190,000 dollar cost and it can only provide the energy needed for the equivalent of twelve normal houses- but only in the warmer months?
What is the point?
It is well known how solar hot water systems work... this is not new technology. This "demonstration" project would be much more impressive if the cost was contained to 10% of the money spent. On a cost benefit basis this project is a failure.
They could have at least used modern technology like vacuum tube solar collectors instead.
For a given absorber area, evacuated tubes can maintain their efficiency over a wide range of ambient temperatures and heating requirements. The absorber area only occupied about 50% of the collector panel on early designs, however this has changed as the technology has advanced to maximize the absorption area. In extremely hot climates, flat-plate collectors will generally be a more cost-effective solution than evacuated tubes. When employed in arrays of 20 to 30 or more, the efficient but costly evacuated tube collectors have net benefit in winter and also give real advantage in the summer months. They are well suited to extremely cold ambient temperatures and work well in situations of consistently low-light.
Because we are building a house in an area that wasn't served by electricity, we had two choices: pay Golden Valley a lot of money to string power there, or look at off-the-grid choices. So we looked very hard at alternative energy, including solar, wind, supplemental diesel co-gen, etc.
What we found was no surprise as we already knew this. Solar is no good/doesn't work when there is effectively no usable sunlight from mid-November to mid-January. And even during the periods when solar would work well, the economics of it were simply not there - break-even cost was around 40 years, assuming nothing broke.
We looked at other options, but ultimately, paying Golden Valley to string in the power made a lot more sense, which is what we did. The one thing in all this research that we did find that was promising was to use a geothermal heating system (with a backup boiler). That cost could pay for itself in only a few years as it can drastically reduce winter heating costs. I wonder why they didn't consider a system like this at Denali?
Hello, correct me if im wrong, but the sun doesn't shine in ALASKA for 6 months out of the year!
You installed a solar system where the sun doesn't shine? Wow, and I thought selling ice to Eskimos was smart.
$190,000 to save $9,000 assuming the price of current sources of heat stay the same for the next 21 years
Then story left out, the part about the number of cloudy days per year at that location.
Around here it is 3 weeks in a row! And at least 200 days per year plus the number of forest fire smoke out days.
Low sun light is not problem because they are closed during the winter.
Vacuum tube collectors work fine if you have sunshine! Or a clear shot at the sun during the winter, because you get some gain from snow reflection.
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If the location had running water, soil, warm "air", a heat pump would have been a far better investment while providing at least a 50% cut in the electric bill and most likely eliminated the need for propane hot water. The heat pump works during the cloudy days.
I suspect a different design and the right unit would have produced a far greater savings.
Hea, we should all feel better , at least the money stayed in Alaska. Joe you should be ashamed of your self, you know better about wasting money. And by the way 100 degrees is not hot water. I wonder what the cost breakdown is on design, materials, and labor to install? Would be interesting to see.. just another feed good project..what a waste
And yet people still cling to the belief that "cheap energy" will someday come to the interior. Surprised the NewsMiner hasn't had an article on the fact gasoline is $3.20 a gallon and rising. Seems like there is something wrong when the price of a barrel of oil is $70 and gas is costing close to what it did when it was $140 a barrel. No matter what energy production cost is, one thing is for sure. People in the interior will pay much more for it.
Want to bet that the old heaters remain in place as a back up?
Wow, all the points I wanted to raise are already here..
too expensive, too ineffective, bad location due to lack of sunny days..
It was funny that GVEA is "so proud.." they would have never spent their own money on a project like that, yet are pleased to waste funding for it.
We could use nuclear power plants.. stop beating around the bushes.
Who cares what it cost it is "green energy". If it cost two trillion it is woryh it,look at all the jobs it created. This project gives us just a small look at how much this costs and how little it achieves! Just like obama!Hang on to your wallets. If idiots want to see this type of project done with taxpayer money they should donate money to this kind of project.
Until China says NO MORE...the Obama Adminstration will keep pushing stupid projects like this.
Sounds Alaskan to me.............
Bet it is working wonderfully today. As a GVEA member I resent my having to pay for this project.
bryan, you asked to be corrected if you were wrong, you are wrong. where did you get the idea that it's dark 6 months of the year?
been here since '86 and that never been true in any of the years i've lived here. go do your home work.
Silenttrees,
Keep it in your pants, I moved to Squarebanks in 81, so I know it's dark in the winter. Live up to your name and be silent. LOL
I see this story has already been STOMPED on!
Good to see that interior residents can see right through this "green" crap. If a private business were to spend $190,000 to save $9000 what do you think would be the outcome? And a new 40 foot tall 1300 square foot panel in the Denali area sounds great! Yes, please build even more down there. Eyesore! Whatever.
And pay attention the the phrase "Golden Valley is excited to be in the project because it demonstrates that not only are we an electric company, we are also an energy company,”. So anyone who thinks that these "new" and "green" ideas are somehow helping you skirt the big electric or oil companies - think again - they are just salivating at the idea of selling all you "green-types" more expensive energy. And the only way they can sell it to you is through Govt subsidies because most of us are unwilling to pay for more expensive energy. This article proves how "unfree" all this renewable crap really is.
If I where doing the job using my money probably less then 50 grand and it would work at night, on cloudy days and during smoke outs.
30 gal of hot water per cabin,
800 gallons per day temp rise from 40 to 120 F (80 f)
800 [gal] x 8.3 [pounds per gal] x 80 F [temperature rise] is 531,000 Btu / 3300 [Btu per Kwh] is 161 kw x 10c ea $16.10 day.
Heat pump COP =1 $16.10
Heat pump COP =5 $3.22
Heat pump COP =7.2 $2.22
Estimate 2 bucks more for unknowns.
I would use direct solar, heat from the air and ground, 2 heat pumps (one for back up), anti-freeze to +20 in the collection loop.
System drained when cold.
Hope I got everything covered, this is presented to give you all an example of current state of the art... not what worked very well 40 years ago which in this case is hardly worth the trouble.
200 thousand in the bank at 5% is 10,000 dollars per year and 1,000 dollars more than the $9,000 saved.
MrGreen
8/31/2009, 3 p.m.
I see this story has already been STOMPED on!
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Re salivating!
The ins co. bought into Obama Care because they expect to get 50 million healthy customers pay premiums and making very few claims!
Same deal with mandatory seat belts.. cuts injuries and cut claims and increased profits.
Thanks to Dick Randolph who promoted it back when he was a legislator.
On the green stuff.. the green is in the tax deductions and hiking the price on stuff because of the government kick back.
Always, follow the money!
As the article says: this is "a pilot project demonstrating business opportunities...opening doors for educational opportunities".
Cheers to thinking outside the box, creating such a system, using it to educate and obtain data and research on what will best work for Alaska's community, business and residential utility needs!
Movement in a forward direction is what I read in this article.
What a waste of money! I am not happy with being part of GVEA a member owned joke.
Pat
1AKFox - you actually brought up a frightening point ... the return on the project is less than the potential returns from passive investment ... although a 5% return has been hard to pull the last two years.
Geez. Call me crazy, but it seems that in a state where we are infamous for destroying our natural resources a company that supports the use and implimentation of renewable energy should be applauded and not bashed. Not to mention that we are PAID to live in this state so why cry about taxes. And it's helping and benefiting a NON-PROFIT organization which does some amazing things to preserve and educate Denali National Park.
When you people get time to stop shooting wolves from your helicopters or buying SUV's with your fat government checks, you might want to come down from your crosses and realize that we will eventually burn through all the fossil fuels that this state holds onto so dearly, and you might start to put some stock in this "renewable energy crap," as so intelligently stated above.
Comments like the above prove what a sad state of affairs the public is actually in.
Naumachale, not the whole public, just the few that have nothing better to do than, blah, blah, blah... They're happy to dump on "any Govt" approved/run program, while handing out their hand for "da $"
Bryan, BTW, I've been here 33 years, and it's only dark from late Oct to late Jan. By the first week of Feb, we're starting to bask more in the light. Though it's dang cold in the winter most of the time, we have the most beautiful crystal, clear, SUNNY days in the winter.
I'm for all trying any alternative option to burning fossil fuels. Can we ever live without them? I don't know, but I sure hope so some day.
You owe it to yourself to visit the Denali Park Education Center. There you will find enthusiastic, young, rosy-cheeked park attendants who proudly show off the Center and the Park's many energy-saving eco-wonders. They have photo albums about each one containing facts and figures. The facts and figures show that each of the Save-The-World-From-Evil-Carbon projects is, of course, paid for with government grants. The application of a little basic match will make it clear to you that there is no way these projects can earn back their enormous costs of installation. When I was at the Center recently, I pointed this out, nice as I could, and got a blank stare back - as if I had said something that was not only irrelevant but was an affront to their world view. Perhaps they were thinking that the U.S. House passed Cap and Trade legislation will raise enough revenue to allow everyone to install this technology - maybe even require it.
All I can say is: We seem to have raised a generation of brainwashed, financial illiterates. Heaven help us.
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RennMan
8/31/2009, 8:16 p.m.
Suggest removal
1AKFox - you actually brought up a frightening point ... the return on the project is less than the potential returns from passive investment ... although a 5% return has been hard to pull the last two years.
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Spending 190,000 to save 9,000 is about a 5% return on an investment in 40 year old technology.
The 190 thousand bucks could have installed residential 10 heat pumps and cut the cost of the home owners fuel bill by more than 50%.
At least on home owner using a heat pump cut the oil bill from $2,500 to $600 and saved around $300 dollars per month during the heating season.
Another cut the cost from $4,000 down to $1,300 to $1,500 dollars.
I understand there are about 8 units in operation around here.
Gossip says they are going to try one for heating a local school.
Anyone considering the idea, needs to install a run time meter to determine how many gallons of fuel per day is consumed relative to the outside temperature.
From the logged data you can accurately estimate the size of the heat pump system. Especially for owner built homes!
Suppose, I used 1,000 gallons over 100 days is useless because there may have been days 20 gallons per day was used when the average was only 10.
All I can say is: We seem to have raised a generation of brainwashed, financial illiterates. Heaven help us.
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The sad thing is that is motivated half of the generation. The other half sits around playing video games all day trying to figure out how to get free stuff from Obama.
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