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Reviewed by: Richard Hanley, 8th grade physical science teacher at Del Sur Middle School in Lancaster, CA.
Location: Antelope Valley Solar Project (AVSP), Rosamond, CA., is at the intersection of Ave. A & 170th St. East (address is not published) and can be accessed from the Ave. A exit off of the 14 Fwy. GPS coordinates (34.82543,-118.414263), and a link to Google Map.
Description: Link to photo
Warren Buffet just spent over $2 billion on America's largest Photovoltaic (PV) solar array! The Proposed Site Plan shows that the roughly 3,200 acre facility will generate 579 mega-watts of energy which can supply the energy needs of about 400,000 homes. As Ave. A is the border between L.A. & Kern County, the facility will be located in both counties simultaneously. In construction currently, the project will employ 650 workers with jobs over the next 3 years before scaling back to facilities workers which are anticipated to operate the site for at least the next 20 years.
Audience:
A physics teacher would benefit visiting the AVSP because they could witness practical examples of using the the sun to generate power through 'doped' photovoltaic (PV) cells which free electrons as energy.
A chemistry student can see how adding varied chemical elements, which have a large number of valence electrons, to a PV cell can cause a freeing of electrons which can be harnessed as power.
An environmental science teacher or student can benefit from seeing clean, renewable, energy made which has a minimum of 20 years of sustainable production from just one array.
Science Concepts Addressed: The following science concepts can be addressed by a field trip to the AVSP.
Photovoltaic Cells: See the largest set of solar arrays, thus far, in America.
Positive and negative electrical charges: PV cells are often doped with Boron and Phosphorus in a silicon cell so that they create a charged material which allows for electrons to be freed as energy.
Chemical Reactions: Heating or cooling a substance may cause changes that can be observed.
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
Developing and Using Models: Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms.
Energy and Matter: The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.
Study Guide:
Tasks:
Visit the substation and see how the energy created by the photovoltaic cells are converted to usable energy for the 400,000 homes this array produces power for. Take a picture.
Ask your guide how the DC current that the PV cells make is different from the AC/DC current used in American homes and how that power is converted to be useful. Write a summary of what they say.
View the mechanism behind how the solar arrays move. Take a picture. Describe how and why they do this.
Observations:
What do the arrays attach to in order to move? Get the specific name.
How do arrays get their power to the "grid." Take a picture there.
Higher Order Questions / Activities: A minimum of 3 higher order questions or activities that can only be answered if the students has visited the site.
What measures do the AVSP take to lessen soil erosion when high winds are present? What more could they do?
How long does the average photovoltaic cell last? Why can't they last much longer than that?
Ask why the company has half of its facility in Los Angeles county and the other half in Kern county. What benefit is there to this?
For additional information:
Websites:
Physics.org - How Do Solar Cells Work?
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