Spring 1999 Caretaker's Corner |
 The remoteness of
the Oliver Observing Station atop Chews Ridge in Los Padres National Forest requires the
facility to generate its own power. Our mini-grid, consisting of the solar panel array,
wind generator, backup propane generators and control panels, should be familiar to anyone
who has visited during an open house tour or Friends Night. This grid makes possible most
of the comforts of modern living, such as water pressure, heat, and light.A crane
lifted the new blade assembly onto MIRA’s wind turbine at the Summertime sun is converted to DC power by the passive tracking solar array. The solar array provides more than 95% of OOS’s electrical needs for six or so months out of the year. In winter, early spring, and late fall, we depend heavily on the Jacobs wind generator.
One may easily imagine, then, how important it was to get the generator repaired before
the worst of winter’s weather set in. When the wind blows hard on Chews Ridge, the
Jacobs wind generator gets a real workout and often provides more than enough juice.
Excess power is dumped to an electrical water heater to heat a 1,000 gallon water tank
(which in turn acts as a passive heat source). When 75mph or greater winds are expected
with a storm, the blades of the wind generator get locked down tight. Icing from winter
storms frequently brings the blades to a complete halt. When conditions limit output from
both the solar array and the wind generator, we fall back on the propane-fired generators. The propane backup generators see a fair amount of use in winter months. Ice and snow halt power production from both the solar array and the wind generator. Weaker storm fronts sliding past can give the Santa Lucia mountains solid overcast or fog without the benefit of wind for days on end. Sub-freezing temperatures require power be kept up, lest heat from the heat tapes be lost and pipes or fixtures freeze. Though partly automated, it takes no small amount of effort and expense to generate and maintain "free" energy. Darryl Conklin (r.) and a worker in full safety
harnesses climbed the 40-foot tower to |
