City of Austin Photovoltaics
Austin, Texas

The City of Austin and Austin Energy have made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the conversion of city facilities to 100% renewable energy. An immediate goal is the installation of 15 megawatts of solar generation. As a step toward the goal, the city has identified facilities that may be candidates for the installation of solar power generating systems.

Arizpe conducted an assessment of the potential installation of photovoltaic generating capability at nine City of Austin facilities. Upon the findings of that assessment, Arizpe designed the solar generating systems for five of the facilities. The selection was based on several conditions including available roof areas and current electrical connection capabilities.

The roof configurations of the various buildings were evaluated on the basis of aerial photographs, building plans, and site visits with photographic documentation. Solar module arrays were adapted to the roof areas. The designs matched existing roof slopes for buildings that had pitched roof structures and provided 30-degree support frames for buildings that had flat roofs. Arrays were configured with on-line calculation procedures provided by photovoltaic system inverter manufacturers.