Summer Olympic Village
Planners at the Georgia Institute of Technology decided to power the new natatorium complex built on their campus for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games with solar electricity. SDA provided design and engineering support to the Olympic Village architects and construction managers for a 340 kW PV system for the new natatorium and designed a special arched glass PV canopy for the entrance to the complex.


The roof-top PV system employs 2,832 120-Watt PV modules from Solarex Corporation mounted above the steel roof deck to allow for the free flow of cooling air below the array. A central, 350 kW DC-to-AC inverter feeds 3-phase power into the campus utility grid. The total array has an area of some 32,750 sq. ft. and is the largest system of its kind in the world.

The new entry canopy of the natatorium features special large-area 250-Watt Solarex PV modules that have a clear back skin to allow light transmission between the individual cells. The PV modules are integrated in a custom-designed arched aluminum support structure to form the skin of the canopy. Each PV module has its own integrated DC-to-AC micro inverter developed by SDA to deliver 60 Hz AC power directly to the building complex.


Airline Terminal
The Maryland Aviation Administration decided to install a building-integrated PV system at the new international terminal at Baltimore/Washington airport. SDA supported airport architects in the design and integration of a 20 kW solar electric light canopy over the esplanade at the airport's passenger rail terminal.

The light canopy is over 300 feet long and features a skylight spine with 84 large-area Solarex 250-Watt PV modules on the south-facing slope and clear skylight glass on the north-facing slope. The PV modules are roof integrated as the finished skin of the structure, taking the place of conventional architectural glass.

The support structure for the light canopy was custom fabricated by the Kawneer Company. Each large-area PV module also has its own integrated DC-to-AC micro inverter developed by SDA to deliver 60 Hz AC power directly to the terminal complex.

Solar Electricity For UCS
The Union of Concerned Scientists is an internationally known non-profit organization recognized for their work in policy and technology development on renewable energy utilization and the environment.

When the UCS planned their new world headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, they wanted it to be a state-of-the-art showcase of energy-efficient design and solar utilization. SDA responded with the engineering and installation of a utility-interactive roof-top PV system.


The PV array is installed with an innovative ballasted support system that requires no roof penetrations. The solar-generated electricity offsets the electrical demand of the office lighting, computers and climate conditioning equipment. The project incorporates a host of other innovative energy-efficient features such as a control system which automatically adjusts the office lighting levels for the amount of daylighting available and turns lights off when rooms are unoccupied. The building's chiller features a variable-speed motor drive.

The local utility, Cambridge Electric, together with the Electric Power Research Institute were co-sponsors of the project along with several foundations. More...

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