When The Powers Out, Solar Panels May Not Keep The Lights On NPR. In Del Norte, Colo., Public Works Supervisor Kevin Larimore shows off solar panels that provide electricity for the towns water supply. Despite generating its own solar energy, the town is still at risk of a blackout if its main power line goes down. Dan BoyceInside Energy. Dan BoyceInside Energy. In Del Norte, Colo., Public Works Supervisor Kevin Larimore shows off solar panels that provide electricity for the towns water supply. Despite generating its own solar energy, the town is still at risk of a blackout if its main power line goes down. Dan BoyceInside Energy. The cost of solar panels is falling rapidly in the United States. And as the panels become more affordable, theyre popping up on rooftops around the country. Meanwhile, the U. S. is trying to find better ways to back up its power system against blackouts. And while it may seem counterintuitive, more solar power does not mean fewer blackouts at least not yet. The tiny town of Del Norte, in southwestern Colorado, is a perfect example. Despite being covered in solar panels, Del Norte is still at risk of losing power if its main power line goes down. The answer to that conundrum, analysts say, is finding a way to let clusters of solar panels operate independent of the main power grid. A Solar Powered Town, Kind Of. Look out at the forests on the mountainous edges of southwestern Colorados San Luis Valley, and you see a dull orange hue broad swaths of dead trees killed by the spruce beetle. Conditions were different back in the mid 1. From hail storms, to water exposure, to wind and snow loads, SolarWorld solar panels are designed, built, and tested to withstand the harshest conditions. Theyre an increasingly common sight on the tops of buildings and residential properties sometimes blindingly reflective panels that absorb sunlight and convert it. 3 Wishes Mp3 Download J Cole. Purpose The purpose of this project is to demonstrate how to build a solar panel from individual components not to mention that I was curious. While the government offers tax credits and other incentives for you to go solar, many homeowner associations seem to be. Larry Floyd started fighting fires here. We didnt have as severe a drought, we didnt have as much bug kill, he explains. But today, with those dry, dead leaves, there is a lot more wildfire fuel out there. Thats a concern for Del Norte. Set in the middle of the open, flat, desertlike San Luis Valley, its far from the forests. But fire still poses a risk to the power supply here, says the towns public works supervisor, Kevin Larimore. Purpose Of Installing Solar Panels' title='Purpose Of Installing Solar Panels' />Installing Solar Panels Residential Solar Power Systems Illinois Installing Solar Panels Solar Panels For Sale In Kenya Concentrated Solar Power Systems For Sale. Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics PV, indirectly using concentrated solar power, or a. Get the best deal on solar panels in the Preston,Lancashire,UK from Contact Solar. Generate your own energy with solar power save money todayCall Now. Most of the valley is served by one major line, coming through the mountains and into the valley. If that line was to go down, then most of the valley, I think, would lose electrical power, Larimore explains. Thats despite the solar panels on the town hall, the town shop and the police department. Turns out, Del Nortes solar panels are actually dependent on the power grid. And thats how it is with the vast majority of solar panels, explains James Newcomb, a managing director at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a renewable energy think tank in Boulder, Colo. New Jersey, Newcomb notes, has hundreds of megawatts of solar power. But during Hurricane Sandy, which thrashed the East Coast in 2. Thats frustrating for community planners, who have to stare out at rooftop after rooftop of useless solar panels during these blackouts. Unlinking Solar Panels From The Power Grid. Newcomb says the system has been designed this way on purpose, to protect workers. Essentially, he says, officials have built the grid and operate it as one big system. If workers are fixing power lines after a blackout, the lines need to be dead solar energy cant be running up the wires the wrong way. But it is possible to fix this problem, Newcomb says. The transition were now talking about is one that makes it possible to operate some smaller pieces of the grid independently. What hes talking about are known as microgrids tiny grids that can power not just a towns water supply, but even an emergency shelter or a hospital. To create a microgrid, you need what are called smartinverters. These sense when the larger grid has gone down and lock off the part that needs to be fixed. It could then use the local solar panels to power emergency services. Del Norte, Colo., still has dumb inverters, so the town has to rely on a diesel generator to back up its drinking water, at least. The technology to create microgrids is advancing, however. Green Mountain Power, a utility in Vermont, is working on what it says is a first of its kind microgrid powered entirely by solar panels. This story was reported with Inside Energy, a public media collaboration focusing on Americas energy issues.