A
ccording to the U.S. Depart- ment of Energy (DOE), the price
of solar modules per Watt produced has decreased from $22 in 1980 to less than $3 in 2011. Pacific Alloy Casting Co. Inc.,
South Gate, Calif., has capitalized on that fact. Te company completed the instal-
lation of 1,190 solar panels on its roof in July 2011, an addition that is now providing the company nearly 10% of its total electricity consumed. “Electrical power in California is
more expensive than most areas of the U.S., [with] projections for increases due to political pressure for green energy,” said James Leach, Pacific Alloy’s president. “Also, major infra- structure investments as forecast by Southern California Edison made the outlook for electrical costs to increase faster than other areas in the U.S.” According to Leach, a California law mandates that 33% of the state’s electricity must come from renewable sources by 2020. While Pacific Alloy is not directly affected by the law or required to install generating equip- ment, Leach wanted to be proactive rather than reactive. “I wanted to get ahead of the chal- lenge while the state incentives for
solar energy were still high,” he said.
Making it Possible Pacific Alloy, a 46,000-sq.-ft. fer-
rous industrial casting producer, began seriously looking into generating its own power through solar panels in 2009. But Mark Regus, company vice president, said the seeds of solar were sown long ago. “Te project has been about five
years in the making,” he said. “Gov- ernment incentives finally helped make it possible.” In addition to the rapidly decreas- ing cost of solar power, Pacific Alloy discovered it could finance its solar goals through aid from several levels of government. Te company attracted incentives from a federal grant and receive credits for the amount of solar power generated from the state of California. “Te Federal cash grant was 30% of the total project and was all inclusive: panels, ac/dc inverter, installation, our expenses for planning and hiring an outside accountant to verify accu- racy of our application for the grant funds,” Leach said. “Te California incentive is $0.20 per kW for power generated by the solar panels for five years.” According to Leach, as the cost of solar panels has come down, that credit also has decreased.
OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES
In addition to adding 1,190 solar panels on its roof, Pacific Alloy Casting Co. Inc., South Gate, Calif., has taken several other steps to reduce its carbon footprint and energy costs.
First, the company has partnered with a demand meter supplier and its local elec- tricity provider to upgrade its electrical management controls, installing a system that monitors and balances its electric motors and melting furnaces to reduce electrical demand peaks without affecting production.
According to a Pacific Alloy press release, the demand meter implements user- selected rules to determine which applications in the facility need energy at what time and makes continuous adjustments. The system takes into account pricing by automati- cally adjusting power usage based on changing demand rates. The system curtails use at certain thresholds and affects minimal reductions or increases when prices are low. Second, Pacific Alloy is using reclaimed water as insurance against future water shortages, such as the drought that threatened the state of California two years ago. The water also is less expensive than the water currently used in Los Angeles, which is imported from Northern California and the Colorado River. Pacific Alloy uses approximately 275,000 gallons of water per month for cooling towers, molding sand and landscaping.
36 | MODERN CASTING January 2012
Pacific Alloy signed with an outside
contractor to install the system on Feb. 23, 2010. Te solar contractor assumed all responsibility for the project, designing the system, obtaining the proper permitting and completing the installation. Before starting, the firm also submitted the filing for the federal grant funds and California energy credits. After the project was completed in July 2011, the contractor will stay for one year of maintenance on the equipment, panels and solar inverter (the component of a photo- voltaic solar system that makes the electricity usable). “Te installation caused no
interruption in our production, and there were no unforeseen problems,” Leach said. Te entire project cost just more than $1 million, Regus said. Pacific Alloy is recouping those costs not only through energy savings but also through the excess energy produced, which the company is able to sell back to its electric supplier. “We are ‘net metered’, meaning
we are paid for the excess energy at the same rate they would charge us at the time of day the energy is gener- ated,” Regus said. “During hot summer months, the rate can exceed $1.00/kW.” Leach points out only one bump
in the road Pacific Alloy took to solar power—the system requires more maintenance than anticipated. Te company’s executives understood dust would accumulate on the panels but that it would not affect solar produc- tion if it was removed once a year. Te company has found that, due to the local climate, energy production is affected in as few as two weeks of dust accumulation. In response, Pacific Alloy has had to budget four to five hours every 14 days to spraying the panels with demineralized water.
Tallying the Results According to DOE, South Gate,
Calif., lies in an area of the country where the sun generates up to 6 kW/ sq. m/day of solar energy. Using 1 sq. km of solar panel surface area, that solar energy can be converted into enough electricity to power about 22,000 residential homes. For a large
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68