Photovoltaic Panel Electricity Generation

A software tool originally developed at NREL was used to size and calculate expected PV output to match the demand- side energy goal. The modeling of PV to match the demand side pushed the design team to maximize the amount of roof area available for PV, ensure the 14 degrees of south orientation for the north wing did not significantly degrade the optimal output, and optimize the roof tilt to balance the need to maximize output with the additional cost of building structure at the optimal tilt. A 10-degree roof tilt angle was determined to provide an optimal balance between PV output degradation and additional roof and building costs for the tilt. A total of 1.7 MW of PV will eventually be required to offset annual energy consumption.