To: Westside School District, Board of Trustees

15 January 2013

Subject: Homeowner issues and requests regarding the solar power plant on the Hillview Middle School property

Introduction.

Our namesareErrin and Patrick Roney. Patrick is a systems engineer working for Lockheed Martin Corporation here in Palmdale. Errin works full time to raise our two boys: William (age 3) and Ethan (age 1). Prior to the birth of William, Errin was a school teacher working for the Palmdale School District.

We purchased our home on Via Verdad in April 2003. One of the attractive aspects of the house was the location. The back yard borders the western edge of the grounds behind Hillview Middle School, which we thought provided several advantages. First, we regarded Westside School District as the best district in the valley for public education. We liked the idea of being within walking distance of the elementary and middle schools. Second, because of the school grounds we only have two residential neighbors. We considered this as a chance to reduce the nuisance from other residential neighbors. Finally, our back yard is elevated above the level of the school grounds. This provides a nice view of the valley and a nice breeze that cools our house in the warmer months of the year. The attractive location of the house was considered in the price of the house.

Our intention was to live here while raising our children and to send them to the local public schools. We have put considerable time and money into improvements to the house and property in order to make it a more comfortable place for us to live.

Problem description.

We are writing because we are highly upset by the type and location of the solar panels. We are also upset and disappointed with the manner in which the project was planned. Additionally, we are concerned that potential health issues have not been properly studied or addressed.

Issues with type and location of solar panels.

The reason we are highly upset with the type and location of the solar panels is because of the nuisance they create, and will create every day of every year from now until they are removed. They have ruined our entire back yard and any room in the house that has windows facing the school grounds. We cannot continue to live in our house if these, or similar panels, remain. At the same time, they have devalued the property to an extent that will make it impossible to sell. Given the condition of the local housing market, there is no need to buy a house with such a nuisance and eyesore in the back yard. Even renting the house may be impossible given: the difficulty of finding a renter willing to live with the nuisance, the resulting reduced rental rate, and needing to continue paying the mortgage.

Below is a list of some of the nuisance issues that we have identified:

Each panel is huge (18 feet x 25 feet). They are on a pole, increasing their height by another 4 feet. It is like having multiple, closely spaced advertising billboards in our back yard.
The panels are a mere 10 – 15 feet behind our property line. These are “right in our face”.
Due to the close spacing, the closeness to our yard, and the sun-tracking, there are also times that it is like having an ugly, solid, 22-foot high wall behind our yard.
The panels point directly away from our back yard every morning and directly into our back yard every evening. These pointing configurations present the most nuisance because of the full (18’ x 25’) broadside view.
Our back yard is shaded by our trees in the morning and by our house in the late afternoon and evening. The mornings and evenings are precisely the most comfortable times to be in our back yard. So these panels create the most nuisance at the very time it is the most comfortable to be in our back yard.
Every time we see these panels in one of these broadside configurations, it upsetsus to the point of raising our blood pressure. We would like to thank the Westside School District for keeping these panels pointed mostly upwards over the winter break. We would also like to request that the Westside School District continue to keep them pointed mostly upward while this issue gets worked out.
The movement (sun-tracking) is distracting and highly intrusive. This is not because of quick movements, but because they are always different. They also seem to peer into our back yard, giving the feeling of intrusion of privacy.
According to the manufacturer’s own website ( these sun-tracking CPVs are a “Robust, industrialized design for field durability and system reliability”. The industrial nature of these devices means that they are ugly and have no business anywhere near a residential neighborhood. Every visible aspect of them is an eyesore.
There are actually two sources of reflected glare from these devices: the glass that covers the panels and the reflectors that are used to concentrate the sunlight. It was already noted in the Antelope Valley Press that these reflections can be blinding even within our own homes.
These panels, especially because of their “concentrating” feature are going to be hot. From the manufacturer’s own website ( these panels have a “High energy output sustained at high temperatures”. Some research on the Type III-IV solar cells (those being used, according to the manufacturer’s website) utilized with concentrated sunlight leads us to believe that for every 0.4 Watt of electrical power generated by these devices, 0.9 Watts of heat are generated. That is more than twice the heat as electrical power. Because they are so big (large number of heat-generating concentrators as well as wind blockage by the billboards), we are going to have a hotter back yard in the summer.

Issues with the manner in which the project was planned.

The reason we are upset and disappointed with the manner in which the project was planned because it has resulted in a lose-lose situation between the Westside School District and the Rancho Vista neighborhood homeowners. The project that has already been built is unacceptable to the Rancho Vista community. Anything Westside School District does to mitigate the project will cost the school district money in the near term and lengthen the time it takes to recoup their costs. This makes it difficult to negotiate a solution that will be acceptable to both members.

The reason we are in the current situation is because the Rancho Vista community was not involved in the planning. Instead of getting negative and living in the past, we would like to suggest that the best way forward is for the Westside School District and the Rancho Vista Homeowners Associationto communicate more closely on this project going forward.

Issues with potential health concerns.

There are several potential health concerns that we would like to voice.

Glare. The nuisance aspects to the glare are described above. However, it is also a potential cause for accidents on Rancho Vista Boulevard. We have had several friends and coworkers tell us that they have had to shield their eyes while driving past these devices. Any financial gains being generated by the incentives and power generated will be lost to the resulting lawsuits should an accident occur. We would like to request that the Westside School District continue to keep these panels pointed mostly upward until this issue is addressed.
Electromagnetic fields and radiation. We would like to know how the voltages and power of the lines compare to other power lines. We would like to know how that compares to normal power lines in residential areas. We would also like to know that they are being buried and/or shielded appropriate to the voltage and power of the lines.
UV concentration and reflection. As stated before, there are two sources for reflection: the glass and the concentrating reflectors. We have heard that an anti-reflective coating can be applied to these devices. We assume that it would be applied to the glass, since applying it to the concentrating reflectors would defeat their purpose. That still leaves reflection off of the concentrating reflectors. We would like to know that the spectrum and concentration of reflected light energy is safe. This includes the spectrum outside of the visible, especially UV.
Anexample of a concern is that a young person (on the school grounds or in a back yard) could stare at one of these devices for a long period of time and end up with damage to their eyes.

These are new devices that do not have a lot of time in operation, especially this close to residential neighborhoods (houses). Please do not tell us that “the manufacturer says that they are safe”. This does not mean anything, and there are way too many examples of companies being completely wrong with their safety assessments. The panels are big and close to our back yard and we spend a large amount of time in our back yard in close vicinity to these CPVs. We do not want ourselves or our children to be guinea pigs in the safety experiment of these relatively new devices.

Some considerations to be cognizant of while going forward.

Below is a list of considerations that we would like to communicate to the Westside School District Board of Trustees.

The concentrating photovoltaics (CPVs) gain their efficiency over regular photovoltaics because ofthe concentration of direct normal incidence (DNI) on a smaller photovoltaic.
Anything that blocks direct sunlight, such as clouds, buildings, and trees, blocks the DNI.
The geography of the western edge of the school grounds combined with the neighboring trees and houses puts the western edge of the school grounds in shade starting shortly after noon.
We believe that this will significantly reduce the power generated by these CPVs.
An anti-reflection coating on the devices will also reduce efficiency.
If the estimated return on investment was based on full sun from sunset to sunrise, then the actual numbers are going to be considerably worse.
We have reviewed the SolFocus website as well as several others, including: Suncor Energy, Soitec, Amonix, and SunPower. All of these companies focus their marketing of these sun-tracking CPVs to “Solar Power Plants”. Most of the installations are located in the middle of the desert. The one picture that includes houses shows them a large distance away from the houses with tall trees between the solar panels and the houses. It seems to show that the manufacturers understand that these are not devices that belong in residential areas. Based on our current experience with this project, we are planning to put together a presentation for the Palmdale City Council. In it, we will suggest that this type of sun-tracking, CPV solar power plant (i.e. multiple sun-tracking devices) not be allowed in town.
Because of the size and number of these sun-tracking CPVs and the geography of the school grounds, we do not believe that they can be positioned in such a way as to not be a nuisance or eyesore. Likewise, a green screen will have to be very large (both tall and wide) to hide these devices from our view. If done poorly, the green screen could be as bad as the devices they are trying to hide.

Requests.

Please communicate your intentionsregarding this project to the Rancho Vista Homeowners Association.
Please consider the opinions and feedback provided by the Rancho Vista Homeowners Association.
Please consider how you would feel if these solar panels were placed in your back yard.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our concerns.

Sincerely,

Errin and Patrick Roney

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