Power August 2023 - 33

MARNIE SURFACEBLOW
A Desert Solar Farm's
Muddy Problem
Sometimes fixing one problem causes another or leads to a chain of failures that
can be difficult to diagnose. Consider all of the upstream and downstream impacts
when changing equipment and/or operations.
Una Nowling, PE
"
Really, now, am I expected to fry my
behind on that? " Marnie Surfaceblow,
vice president of Surfaceblow
& Associates International, stared with
disbelieving horror as she aimed Maya's
thermal imager at the rental car seat.
" Does that actually say 115 degrees
Celsius or have I been driven mad by
the heat? And since we're in Botswana,
where is this famous 'bush tea' I keep
hearing about? Will it wake me up better
than that airline, um ... coffee? "
Maya Sharma, Marnie's lead field engineer,
dropped her luggage in the trunk
with a heavy clunk, and sighed. " Ma'am,
allow me to respond in reverse sequence
to your queries. First, rooibos tea, which
you call 'bush tea' only because you
binge-watched The No. 1 Ladies' Detective
Agency on the flight, does not
contain caffeine. Second, I fear you have
always been mad. Third, calibrate the
camera's albedo setting; the seats are
likely only 100 degrees Celsius. Finally,
you sit on these, not the bare seat. "
Maya brandished two beaded seat covers,
tri-color patterned like the national
flag, and placed them on the seats.
Not fully trusting their efficacy, Marnie
settled gingerly onto the bead-covered
passenger seat, and they soon were on
their two-hour drive to a solar photovoltaic
(PV) power station that was having, as
Marnie termed it, " a wee bit of trouble. "
After setting the cruise control on the
motorway, but keeping her eyes glued
to the road, Maya asked, " Ma'am, while
the data we received appears most interesting,
I am suspecting you have another
reason for us accepting this project? "
" Two reasons, " Marnie replied cheerfully
as she watched the dry savannah
pass by her view. " Botswana is pushing
plentiful PV power potential, practically
predestining our presence. " Maya shook
her head at the epic alliteration, while
Marnie continued. " Moreover, the plant
manager studied at university with my
father, Guy Newcomen Surfaceblow, and
is practically one of our family. "
August 2023 | POWER
" And your needing additional frequent
flier miles by month's end to achieve
'Triple Platinum' membership was coincidence? "
Maya deadpanned.
After an uncomfortable pause, Marnie
replied sotto voce, " They even give you
titanium luggage tags with your name in
gold leaf. "
Welcome to Botswana
After a perfunctory check-in with security,
the duo parked in front of a small
engineering building, apparently a repurposed
former schoolhouse. Despite their
sunglasses, the scattered incidental reflections
from the PV panels surrounding
them was nearly blinding (Figure 1), and
exceedingly hot, spawning dust-devils
between the PV panels. Aligned in neat
rows and rolling up and down the surrounding
hills, Marnie marveled that
the 20-MW plant covered just over 400
acres (162 hectares). " A 100-MW combustion
turbine would take less than a
thousandth the space, " she commented.
Maya nodded, " It is a sacrifice of land,
weighed against the benefits of energy
independence and sustainable renewable
energy. The soil here was eroded
from decades of poor farming practice;
thus, this is a good use for it. "
The mournful susurration of the wind
was interrupted by a happy cry. " My goodness,
is that little Marnie, all grown up now
then?! Welcome to where the sun stays to
rest, passing on its blessings! "
The two ladies turned to face a tall
elderly man dressed in white business
attire, leaning on a cane but with a quiet
strength, whose smile was a warm
welcome. Three other men, dressed in
similar attire but with somewhat wearily
wary looks, stood behind him.
" Uncle Mo-mo! " Marnie squealed
with delight, running forward to hug the
older gentleman. Almost knocked off his
feet, he laughed warmly, then chided,
" Easy child, more than 80 years have I
seen, let me see at least one more! "
Introductions were made, with " Uncle
Mo-mo " being introduced as Mosegi
www.powermag.com
1. The sun was a " wee bit bright " and the
temperature was plenty warm when Marnie
and Maya arrived in Botswana. Source:
POWER
Mosweu, the plant manager. The three
men with him were the entire power station
engineering team-Ashish Jain from
India, Dirk Becker from Germany, and
Jun Huang from China. After being hustled
out of the heat and into the somewhat
cooler engineering building, Marnie
and Maya were led to a small conference
room, with tinted and dust-coated windows
overlooking the PV rows. Marnie
froze suddenly,
sniffing the air suspiciously,
then broke into a dimpled smile.
" Unc ... I mean, Mr. Mosweu, do I smell
not mere pedestrian coffee, but the Marmaduke
Family Special House Blend?! "
Mr. Mosweu smiled further, " Specially
imported for your pleasure, Ms. Surfaceblow. "
Marnie needed no further encouragement,
quickly filling the largest mug
that she could find.
Hard-to-Clean PV Panels
The ancient business ritual of the exchanging
of business cards, plugging in
of laptops and phones, and small talk
about the weather ensued. Mr. Mosweu
cleared his throat as a signal for everyone
to return to character. Jun called up
a PowerPoint and connected her laptop
to a large flat-screen monitor.
Dirk took the floor first. " This power
station has operated for two years.
The reliability is adequate, but the performance
mediocre. You have seen the
33
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Power August 2023

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