Thursday, October 02, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

UNLV adds to renewable power projects

Solar generating system, Zero Energy House in the works

UNLV student Denney Shinn, foreground, and electrical engineer Jeff Couvrette check an array on one of the school's two solar energy systems Wednesday. Soon there will be a third system for UNLV students to monitor. Photo by John Gurzinski.

More renewable energy projects are in the works at UNLV, and officials hope they will help move Nevada into energy independence.

Plans include a third solar generating system and a house that will operate almost entirely on renewable energy. The new projects were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Carl Linvill, former energy and economic adviser to Gov. Kenny Guinn and former director of the Nevada State Office of Energy, said Nevada imports more than half its energy from out of state.

"It's money flowing out of Nevada," said Linvill, who was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission effective Wednesday. "We'd love to be more independent, fulfilling more of our own needs."

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is working to meet this goal.

Construction is to begin next month on a 25-kilowatt system that will stand alongside UNLV's two existing solar dish-engine systems on East Flamingo Road near Swenson Street. The system is expected to be running in three or four months and will generate electricity from sunlight.

The flat, five-panel system will look like a large billboard, said Robert Boehm, UNLV's Director for the Center for Energy Research. The high-concentration photovoltaic system will contain an array of solar cells covered by plastic lenses, allowing maximum capture of the sun's energy, similar to how objects burn in the sun when covered by a magnifying glass.

Boehm said having three systems will improve their solar energy research.

"How well these work in comparison to one another is something that is of great interest to many parties," he said.

Because the dishes operate efficiently, Boehm said, they are commercially viable.

But there are drawbacks to their use. A residential solar-energy system can cost about $10,000 to install. And until the solar energy industry can lower production costs, power from coal- and gas-fired plants will remain much less expensive options.

Currently the dishes produce small amounts of electricity for Nevada Power Co. that are sent to homes and businesses throughout the city. The new system will do the same.

"People may be using solar power at any time when the sun is shining," Boehm said.

Energy research also will take place off campus.

The Zero Energy House Project is a plan to equip a house with energy-efficient technology, allowing the building to run on large amounts of renewable energy.

A local homebuilder will begin building the house in the southwest part of the valley within the year, Boehm said.

Once the house is complete, several students will spend a year monitoring the building. Those involved will experiment with special energy-efficient air-conditioning systems and different methods of heat transfer, Boehm said.

Students also will use computer software to test the effects of energy consumption based on modifications they make to the house. They will learn how particular changes, such as additional windows or a different kind of insulation, could affect the home's energy usage, Boehm said.

Besides saving resources and money, Boehm hopes the projects will give his students helpful work experience.

"Students can test out their muscles on some of these projects," he said. "Other assignments are out of a book, and answers can be canned."

Student Lena Wilkinson will operate software for the Zero Energy House Project.

"This is a great project because we have the opportunity to use our skills to improve something here in our area," she said.