AC 2007-1896: DESIGN OF PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS FOR MUNICIPAL AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN OCEAN CITY, NEW JERSEY

As part of the Junior/Senior Engineering Clinic experience at Rowan University, students were able to directly participate in the engineering design, specifications, feasibility analysis and specification of photovoltaic (PV) systems for the City of Ocean City’s school and public buildings. The New Jersey Clean Energy Program provides some of the most lucrative rebates for renewable energy system installations in the nation, and this clinic experience allowed engineering students to directly participate in a growing renewable energy market while learning more about the electrical design of PV systems. In order to assure that their PV systems would be economically feasible and well designed, the City of Ocean City (OC) and the OC Board of Education hired Integrated Systems (a consulting engineering group) to determine appropriate designs and plans for each of the twenty buildings they were considering. The feasibility study determined that ten buildings were good candidates for the PV systems. The consulting company (acting as an industry affiliate to the College of Engineering) engaged a professor and students in the work to encourage expansion of the technical labor pool in this important area. The purpose of the project was to provide a final report on the feasibility of PVs for each building in the study, including analysis of electric usage history, current electric usage trends, long-term cost/benefit analysis, overall structural integrity of the roofs to support the added loads, layout and design of the PV system itself as well as a wiring diagram for interconnection with the utility. The result was an engineering analysis which prepared the City of Ocean City and OC School Board to make key investment decisions and proceed with the implementation of the photovoltaic systems. The impact on project-based learning is emphasized as these types of clinic experiences motivate and excite students to learn the requisite engineering skills to solve the real world problems.