PSU will monitor data from panel installation near campus
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, crews began construction on TriMet’s first solar-energy project at South Terminus, the southern substation at the end of the Yellow and Green MAX lines. The project centers on the installation of 253 solar panels, produced by SolarWorld in Hillsboro, at South Terminus as well as on the neighboring signal-communications building at Southwest Jackson Street near the PSU campus. Construction is expected to last about a month and cost approximately $366,000.
The funding for TriMet’s solar project came from money left over from the MAX Green Line project as well as TriMet’s partnership with Portland General Electric. Additional support, in the form of rebates from the Energy Trust of Oregon, is expected to cover 35 percent of the solar project’s costs.
When completed, the panels will form a south-facing shield that is projected to generate approximately 65,000 kilowatt hours annually. To provide a sense of scale, a typical household consumes between 3,000 and 4,000 kWh in a year.
TriMet will monitor the site’s energy output and performance and provide the data to Portland State for research and education purposes.
Rather than channeling the clean energy into a battery for storage, the power generated by TriMet’s new solar energy system will be fed into PGE’s power grid. The incoming power will be metered and compared to the building’s energy use. The 65-kilowatt system is projected to offset the combined energy demands of both the substation and the signal-communications building. Any power generated beyond the needs of these two TriMet locations will be available as a sort of bonus to the PGE power grid for use elsewhere in the city.
TriMet revealed the plan’s price tag in a press release on Monday, Nov. 28, the day before construction was scheduled to begin. News that the solar panels will contribute about $4,500 in savings in their first year did not go unnoticed by those critical of the project. While the savings are expected to increase with the growing cost of energy, critics pointed to the wide chasm between the cost and benefit of TriMet’s solar project.
Carl Wamser, professor of chemistry at Portland State, studies solar energy with the intention of making it a more efficient alternative. Wamser agrees that the current cost of solar installations is distracting. “The expense is frustrating,” Wamser said. “At this point it is expensive, but we need to use solar power where possible because it is the good and right choice.”
Energy prices will continue to rise, making solar energy more desirable. But, it is solar power’s purity that makes it a compelling alternative. “If dollars are your only metric,” Wamser added, “then yes, solar energy is expensive. If there is value to not putting CO2 into the atmosphere, then solar energy becomes more attractive.”
Bob Hastings, TriMet’s agency architect, noted that TriMet wanted to make the most of this opportunity. Hastings pointed out that typical solar panel installations live on rooftops. A rooftop installation would have been less expensive than what TriMet had in mind.
“This project was not just a shot in the dark,” Hastings said. “We knew that this will be visible for a long time.”
The “elegant wrapper” design—Hastings’ name for the futuristic, shell-shaped support structure—added to the project’s overall cost. At the same time, it draws the public’s attention to the fact that clean, renewable energy is offsetting at least some of TriMet’s power use.
Susan Jowaiszas, senior marketing manager with the ETO, said that the number of solar panel installations throughout Portland is growing.
“Solar installations are becoming more visible around city,” she said. “As they become more visible, they increase public awareness that solar works in Oregon.”
The cost of solar electricity has fallen in the last couple of years, Jowaiszas added, which is allowing more Portlanders to see the opportunity for it in their home or business.
ETO’s contribution to TriMet’s solar energy project will be based on the “installed capacity” of the system. “For the incentive to be paid,” Jowaiszas clarified in an email, “solar electric systems must be installed by an eligible Energy Trust trade ally contractor, and pass a quality inspection to confirm that they are operating as designed.”
According to the project press release, TriMet plans to install vertical-axis wind turbines in the catenary poles at South Terminus, providing more renewable energy for the site, as future funding allows.
