At Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution in Arizona, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBP) completed a 1,584 m2 (17,040 square feet) parabolic trough solar water heating system financed, installed and operated under an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) with Industrial Solar Technology Corp (IST). The ESPC was developed under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The system incorporates a 87 m3 (23,000 gallon) storage tank. The system delivered 1,161,803 kWh (3,964 million Btu) of solar heat from March 1, 1999 to February 29, 2000. This energy would have cost $77,805.74 if purchased from the utility (based on the monthly average $/kWh cost). Sale of this energy to the prison provided $70,025.18 in revenue to IST (a rate negotiated at 90 percent of the monthly average $/kWh utility cost). Thus, the prison saved $7,780.56 (the remaining 10 percent). A photograph of the collector system is presented in Figure 1. Results show that the system delivers heat reliably, with only minor operational problems which are listed and discussed. The system delivered a minimum of 80,315 kWh (274 Btu) in January 2000 to a maximum of 130,979 kWh (447 Million Btu) in October 1999. The prison pays IST for energy delivered by the solar system at a rate equal to 90 percent of the monthly average utility rate (10 percent guaranteed savings), over 20 years. Details of the establishment of the payment structure and the cost savings to the prison are discussed. Annual Emissions Savings are estimated by EPA multipliers [1] for Arizona as 627,374 kg/yr of 2,324 kg/yr of and 2,297 kg/yr of Other benefits to the prison are also discussed, such as reduced operations and maintenance on the electric water heaters and a greater capacity to deliver hot water. [S0199-6231(00)00704-8]
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
November 2000
Technical Papers
Performance of a Large Parabolic Trough Solar Water Heating System at Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution
Ken May,
Ken May
Industrial Solar Technology Corp., 4420 McIntyre St., Golden, CO 80403
Search for other works by this author on:
Greg Barker,
Greg Barker
Mountain Energy Partners, 815 Alpine #6, Boulder, CO 80304
Search for other works by this author on:
Ed Hancock,
Ed Hancock
Mountain Energy Partners, 815 Alpine #6, Boulder, CO 80304
Search for other works by this author on:
Andy Walker,
Andy Walker
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401
Search for other works by this author on:
Jeff Dominick,
Jeff Dominick
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401
Search for other works by this author on:
Bob Westby
Bob Westby
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401
Search for other works by this author on:
Ken May
Industrial Solar Technology Corp., 4420 McIntyre St., Golden, CO 80403
Greg Barker
Mountain Energy Partners, 815 Alpine #6, Boulder, CO 80304
Ed Hancock
Mountain Energy Partners, 815 Alpine #6, Boulder, CO 80304
Andy Walker
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401
Jeff Dominick
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401
Bob Westby
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers for publication in the ASME JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING. Manuscript received by the ASME Solar Energy Division, Feb. 2000; final revision, Sept. 2000. Associate Technical Editor: S. Kleis.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Nov 2000, 122(4): 165-169 (5 pages)
Published Online: September 1, 2000
Article history
Received:
February 1, 2000
Revised:
September 1, 2000
Citation
May, K., Barker , G., Hancock, E., Walker , A., Dominick , J., and Westby, B. (September 1, 2000). "Performance of a Large Parabolic Trough Solar Water Heating System at Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution ." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. November 2000; 122(4): 165–169. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1331288
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Cited By
Mass Flow Control Strategy for Maximum Energy Extraction in Thermal Energy Storage Tanks
J. Sol. Energy Eng (December 2025)
Related Articles
Simulation study on a Domestic Solar/Heat Pump Heating System Incorporating Latent and Stratified Thermal Storage
J. Sol. Energy Eng (November,2009)
Thermal Performance of a Large Low Flow Solar Heating System With a Highly Thermally Stratified Tank
J. Sol. Energy Eng (February,2005)
Performance of a Zero-Energy House
J. Sol. Energy Eng (May,2008)
Performance Study of a Bi-Directional Thermodiode Designed for Energy-Efficient Buildings
J. Sol. Energy Eng (August,2002)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Integration of Solar Energy Systems
Handbook of Integrated and Sustainable Buildings Equipment and Systems, Volume I: Energy Systems
Method Research of Calculation Solar Collector Areas in Solar Heating and Hot Water System
Inaugural US-EU-China Thermophysics Conference-Renewable Energy 2009 (UECTC 2009 Proceedings)
Renewable Natural Resources
Energy, Technology, and the Environment