Throughout its history PARI has been committed to developing state-of-the-art equipment to support research, education and public outreach.  The solar array system on PARI’s optical ridge not only fits within that part of our mission, but it also provides PARI the opportunity to demonstrate to students, teachers, scientists and engineers how such a system can be designed and built to serve a practical application as an alternative to traditional electric power consumption.

The system is currently being installed and is already operational.  It will consist of four solar arrays, two with 18 solar panels and two with 12 solar panels.  When completed, they will provide all the electricity needed to power the telescopes and other scientific instruments on PARI’s optical ridge.  Partially funded by grants from NASA, the initiative makes PARI one of the first observatories in the world to make such a large commitment to alternative energy and is expected to serve as a model for others to follow.

Lamar Owen, PARI’s chief information officer, is supervising the design and construction of the array system and all of the construction is being done by PARI staff, under the supervision of Thad McCall, facilities manager.  All of the solar panels, inverters and associated hardware are from Affordable-Solar LLC.  Two of the four arrays are now operational.  When completed, the system will provide over ten kilowatts of clean power to operate research instruments and networking equipment at multiple discrete locations on PARI's optical ridge. The system will have sufficient metering and adjustments to provide a rich solar energy lab for students' educational experiences, with system performance metrics available through a web interface.  In addition, converting the optical ridge to alternative energy will help reduce the possibility of lightning damage to our sensitive scientific equipment.

The project will also be an invaluable teaching tool.  Most students today are interested in conserving resources and protecting the environment.  Like so many others at PARI, this project takes those ideas out of the classroom and provides a real hands-on learning experience.  PARI can demonstrate to teachers and students how such systems can be designed and built, and let them observe in real-time the differential outputs of solar panel placement, angles and other factors.  The solar energy initiatives at PARI have the potential to add value in every aspect of STEM education:  science, technology, engineering and mathematics.