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Navajo Nations first solar project is producing enough power for about 13k homes

55 points by Mz 9y ago

mrb 9y ago
It appears the cost was about $2.20 per watt: it cost $60M and is rated 27.3 MW (https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/kayenta-solar-project-operational-sending-power-grid/ https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/kayenta-solar-project-...)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- collinmanderson 9y ago
  Seems kind of expensive. Isn't more like $1/watt the norm?
  - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
    You've got to compare solar powered apples to solar powered apples. The article reads as though the $60 million is fully installed and commissioned. Sounds like your $1/watt is for the panels only?
    - wollstonecraft 9y ago
      Module cost this year is about $.35/W.
      - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
        Right, but the solar panels aren't much use to anyone sitting in a dispatch bay at the manufacturer in China. You'll probably want to get them freighted to the installation site, screwed down to a support frame, wired up to an inverted, connected to a load and / or the grid. This may drive the price up somewhat.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
    - baking 9y ago
      $1/watt is the current price for modules and installation, etc. can bring it up to $2-3, but for a large-scale installation of this size I would expect that you could get a discount on the panels and the total cost could be under $2 although I was not able to find any current figures for the going rate Arizona. What I might be more concerned about is that their agreement to sell power is only for two years. Without storage, they may have a hard time getting good prices for mid-day power in the near future. Edit: Probably $1.50/watt for utility scale: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2016/09/29/nrel-u-s-utility-scale-solar-costs-fell-below-1-50-per-watt-in-q1-2016-with-charts/ https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2016/09/29/nrel-u-s-utility-scal...
      - philipkglass 9y ago
        That chart shows cost per watt for a 100 MW utility scale project. Smaller projects like this one tend to have higher costs per watt even if they're also in the multi-megawatt "utility scale" class.
protomyth 9y ago
> The contractor hired and trained about 200 Navajos to build the plant, said Deenise Becenti, a spokeswoman for the tribal utility, leaving a qualified workforce for other projects. This will be interesting to see how it plays out in future projects. I also wonder what they received for training / certifications. It was probably a requirement of their TERO.

55 points by Mz 9y ago

mrb 9y ago

It appears the cost was about $2.20 per watt: it cost $60M and is rated 27.3 MW (https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/kayenta-solar-project-operational-sending-power-grid/ https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/kayenta-solar-project-...)

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
collinmanderson 9y ago
Seems kind of expensive. Isn't more like $1/watt the norm?
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  You've got to compare solar powered apples to solar powered apples. The article reads as though the $60 million is fully installed and commissioned. Sounds like your $1/watt is for the panels only?
  - wollstonecraft 9y ago
    Module cost this year is about $.35/W.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
      Right, but the solar panels aren't much use to anyone sitting in a dispatch bay at the manufacturer in China. You'll probably want to get them freighted to the installation site, screwed down to a support frame, wired up to an inverted, connected to a load and / or the grid. This may drive the price up somewhat.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - baking 9y ago
    $1/watt is the current price for modules and installation, etc. can bring it up to $2-3, but for a large-scale installation of this size I would expect that you could get a discount on the panels and the total cost could be under $2 although I was not able to find any current figures for the going rate Arizona. What I might be more concerned about is that their agreement to sell power is only for two years. Without storage, they may have a hard time getting good prices for mid-day power in the near future. Edit: Probably $1.50/watt for utility scale: https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2016/09/29/nrel-u-s-utility-scale-solar-costs-fell-below-1-50-per-watt-in-q1-2016-with-charts/ https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2016/09/29/nrel-u-s-utility-scal...
    - philipkglass 9y ago
      That chart shows cost per watt for a 100 MW utility scale project. Smaller projects like this one tend to have higher costs per watt even if they're also in the multi-megawatt "utility scale" class.

protomyth 9y ago

> The contractor hired and trained about 200 Navajos to build the plant, said Deenise Becenti, a spokeswoman for the tribal utility, leaving a qualified workforce for other projects. This will be interesting to see how it plays out in future projects. I also wonder what they received for training / certifications. It was probably a requirement of their TERO.