Author_Institution :
Pacific Gas & Electr. Co., San Ramon, CA, USA
Abstract :
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has been using photovoltaics (PV) since the 1970s in many cost-effective applications both near to and distant from the established electrical grid. At the end of 1989, over 420 PG&E PV systems with a total capacity of 29 kW were in operation. PV-powered applications include gas flow computers, water level sensors, automated gas meters, gas supervisory control and data acquisition remote terminal units (SCADA RTUs) cloud seeders, gas samplers, meteorological towers, microwave repeaters, warning sirens, aircraft warning beacons, cathodic protection, an automatic gate opener, lights, a rupture control valve, a backup generator starter, and a water-temperature sensor. Hundreds of additional PV installations are planned
Keywords :
photovoltaic power systems; Pacific Gas and Electric Company; SCADA; aircraft warning beacons; automated gas meters; automatic gate opener; backup generator starter; cathodic protection; cloud seeders; cost-effective photovoltaic installations; data acquisition; gas flow computers; gas samplers; gas supervisory control; lights; meteorological towers; microwave repeaters; remote terminal units; rupture control valve; warning sirens; water level sensors; water-temperature sensor; Application software; Clouds; Data flow computing; Fluid flow; Level control; Meteorology; Photovoltaic systems; Poles and towers; SCADA systems; Solar power generation;
