This question has two parts. The nuclear Columbia Generating Station in Washington has a capacity of 1150 MWe and let us assume that it has a capacity factor of 90%. I want to build a photovoltaic farm to convert sunlight into electrical energy to replace the nuclear plant. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the average solar energy available to a horizontal flat plate collector in Benton Co. is 4.1 kWh/m2/day. I've spec'd out panels that will give me an efficiency of 18%.

(a) How many acres of land do I need to buy in order to produce the same amount of energy as the nuclear plant produces in a year? For your reference the WWU campus is 220 acres.

(b) What is the capacity, in MWe, of this solar plant? Solar panels have a rated capacity based on their output under standard test conditions, which include an irradiance of 1000 W/m2. For example, if a panel is 18% efficient and one square meter in size, it would have a rated capacity of 180 W.