I am researching into the idea of using either stand alone or grid connected PV modules on a construction site. The idea is that they could potentially be used to generate electricty for lighting, or generate the electricity requirements for temporary offices and/or toilets. I was wandering if anyone knew if such an idea has been investigated previously; whether PVs have already been used on a construction site; or whether you think it wouldn't work for practical/economic reasons.

Paticular areas that I am concerned about include: increased maintenance costs due to dust from construction site, the fragility of PV modules, how much shading is likely to reduce efficiency, whether planning permission is required, and of course the payback periods for both money and carbon emissions from manufacturing (I have heard extremely varied figures regarding this last point).

Any comments would be appreciated, thanks.

I had originally thought of mounting them upon the temporary offices/toilets, but you are right, there isn't much surface area to do this. I am also very aware that the shadow on the site would change a lot with the development of the construction site so an area which was originally in sunlight could end up in the shade with elevation of the building. I am not really convinced that this is a plausible idea!!

I've seen it suggested that the best-value uses for PVs are: on top of containers to power wagontrains in the Outback; ditto to power container ships; and on the roofs of factories manufacturing PVs, so that the embodied fossil energy of the PVs' manufacture, installation and decomissioning no longer competes with their in-use capture of solar energy (see http://www.hubbertpeak.com/apollo2/pvepbtoz.htm)