http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/bayonne/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1227684340193050.xml&coll=3The world's first large-scale solar power system serving both day-to-day electrical needs and functioning as a source of emergency backup power is now up and running at the Midtown Community School in Bayonne.
The extra emergency power - which extends the time the school's backup generator can operate during a grid outage from 11/2 days to possibly as long as two weeks - is especially important since the school at Avenue A and 24th Street is designated as a community shelter.
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Until now, Rawlings explained, when grid power went down, Midtown's solar panels - normally generating 272 kilowatts of power for the school building - would also shut down to protect utility workers who might be working on "hot" lines.
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"It works beautifully," Rawlings said. "It backs generator diesel power down to 5 percent output and power that normally would last a day to a day and a half could last from one to two weeks."
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