Colorado State University Christman Field Solar Array

Tucked against the foothills west of Fort Collins, Colo., is Christman Field, an abandoned airport named for  local kid who was killed while flying for the American Volunteer Group (the Flying Tigers) against the Japanese. Today it’s the home of a 5.3-megawatt solar array – the largest on-campus array in the United States.  The single-axis tracking segment follows the sun across the sky, then “furls” in the horizontal position overnight. It consists of 8,697 230-watt Trina silicon modules. The trackers are driven by eight motors, and feed four inverters built by the local company Advanced Energy. The system came online in December, 2009.

Watch this amazing time lapse video, shot by SOLAR TODAY staff photographer Dan Bihn, to see the solar array at work.

If you’re interested in seeing solar panels in person, join us for the National Solar Tour this fall.

About Seth Masia
Seth Masia is editor of SOLAR TODAY Magazine and director of communications at the American Solar Energy Society.
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