Tilting as sunmills: The dual-tilt system used for a
520 kW PV installation in Oroville, California, allows
arrays to be positioned according to the season.
Located on a 3 acre field in Oroville,
the system is being installed by PV integrator Sun Power and
Geothermal Energy Co. Inc. at a cost of $4.5 million. According to an
article in the Oroville Mercury-Register, the city council approved
$2.25 million for the project on Sept. 3 to qualify for rebates in
2002 and 2003 from the California Energy Commission (CEC). Sun Power
is installing BP Solar 120 W modules using its dual-tilt system, in
which the arrays are manually repositioned at 15 degrees in summer and
45 degrees in winter. According to Laks M. Sampath of Sun Power, it
would take three people 10 hours to change the position of all the
Oroville panels.
