Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 23, 1993 TAG: 9305230102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
It's a big idea: bringing runway lighting systems, which have changed little in 50 years, into the 21st century. But the application on a short patch of rarely used runway doesn't look like much and didn't cost much - $4,200.
The main runway lights still are powered by electricity generated from burning coal, with a backup generator that uses diesel fuel.
But Richard Claus, head of the Fiber and Electro-Optics Research Center, said the most important thing is what the solar system doesn't do - add to environmental pollution.
Gov. Douglas Wilder's energy plan in September 1991 called on state government to begin advancing and promoting alternative energy sources. Last year, the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy distributed $328,000 to agencies that proposed solar energy projects.
Since solar energy generally is more expensive to install than electrical systems, the state is using taxpayers' money "to help balance some of the economics," said Susie Thomas, an energy analyst for the department. "Also, we're gaining valuable experience using this type of technology."
The Department of Forestry this spring installed solar - or photovoltaic - panels at seven water quality monitoring stations that had been powered by batteries. The stations provide information on water quality above and below logging operations to determine how they are affecting the environment. The department hopes to show that solar power saves money on purchasing batteries and the labor needed to change them.
The University of Virginia's Department of Environmental Sciences is using solar energy to supply power to two remote meteorological weather stations on the Eastern Shore that monitor the weather and the tides.
The Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond plans this week to begin driving an electric car powered by solar panels donated by Virginia Power Co. and providing part of the building's power with solar energy.
The Caroline Correctional Unit in Hanover and juvenile detention centers in Hanover and Richmond are installing solar thermal collectors to heat about two-thirds of the hot water used in the institutions.
Solar collectors also will heat a swimming pool at the Department of Rehabilitation's Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' animal pathology lab in Harrisonburg.
Once all the solar systems are installed in the next few weeks, the state will begin collecting data from them and checking their performance, Thomas said. "We'll see what works and what doesn't work."
At the Virginia Tech Airport, a computer is collecting data below the two sets of solar panels on each side of the runway. The solar energy collected with photovoltaic modules is stored in batteries and distributed over cables to light eight bulbs.
"There's enough power for 24 lights, but eight is enough to prove the technology," Claus said.
The Virginia Department of Aviation is developing a program to share the technology with airports around the country, Claus said. Solar runway lighting may be particularly beneficial at small, rural airports and for backup power.
The state now is getting agencies to promote solar energy projects as part of the services they offer the public, Thomas said. The Department of Housing and Community Development, for example, has changed building codes to make them more amenable to the use of solar energy.
Next year, the state plans to use the information to promote renewable and alternative energy use outside government agencies.
by CNB