Announcing the 2008 PV Architecture Award

Independent Power Systems is pleased to announce the winner of the 2008 PV Architecture Award for the Northern Rockies Region - CTA Architects Engineers. IPS commends CTA Architects Engineers for their work designing The City of Billings MET Transit System's exciting new Downtown Transit Center pictured above.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The center has been designed to be highly energy efficient and low maintenance, minimizing operating costs. As the city's public transit authority, MET is inherently energy conscious therefore the new facility will reinforce the department's commitment to energy conservation and environmental sustainability. Additionally, the new Transit Center is capitalizing upon the opportunity to create the defining image for the MET Transit System.

The Transit Center has been designed according to the nationally recognized LEED Green Building rating system and will achieve its LEED certification. One of the many energy conserving measures that have been identified through the sustainable design process is a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) electric system. The project will be showcasing solar PV by celebrating this clean, renewable energy in the facility. The most dynamic element of the design is the butterfly roof pedestrian canopy. The canopy slices through the site, linking one side to the other. The signature feature of the canopy is the photovoltaic array. The 13 foot by 130 foot south-facing portion of the roof features an array of 50 photovoltaic panels. The north-facing portion of the canopy will be a metal roof that reflects light onto the PV array, increasing its efficiency.

The Transit Center will host over 350,000 passengers per year. As the key feature of the signature design element, the PV system will be highly visible and eye-catching. We believe this is an unequalled opportunity for the citizens of Billings and all Montana residents to learn about this clean renewable energy technology and hope it will encourage them to incorporate energy conservation into their daily lives.

ELECTRICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PV SYSTEM

A 11.5KW PV grid-tied system utilizing (50) 230VA Sunpower roof mounted photovoltaic panels and Sunnyboy Inverters is being installed as part of this project. The panels on the roof will be mounted in a Unirack Sunframe. The PV system will supply nearly 100% of the power that the building will require, depending on weather conditions and time of year.

A monitoring system is being installed as part of this project that receives and combines information for all the inverters, displays at a desktop computer monitor in the managers office, displays at an exterior wall mounted location and is displayed on the MET or city web page via the city network. Software will be installed on the owners designated computer and with the required Ethernet card for direct Ethernet (Modbus/TCP) access to the metering and for real-time information from the monitoring system metering in a standard web browser. The computer software package for the monitoring system is capable of displaying kwh of the building, kwh of the photovoltaic system, KW demand,voltage, amperage and will have 12 month trending and historical parameter features. The exterior wall display will indicate real-time kwh being produced by the Photovoltaic system, real-time kwh being used by the building and the percentage of kwh being supplied by the photovoltaic system real-time.

Visit the CTA Architects Engineers website: www.ctagroup.com

For questions and entries please contact Orion Thornton, (406) 587-5295, othornton@solarips.com

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