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Show SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAY AT . NATURAL BRIDGES NATIONAL MONUMENT. Upper row of the 100 kilowatt peak solar photovoltaic array designed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory under Department of Energy sponsorship for the National Park Service's Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah. The solar panels in this row produce about one-twelfth (or 8.3 kilowatts) of the total output of the array. Each panel contains con-tains a number of individual modules made up of roundd silicon solar cells mounted in rectangular glass covered . frames which are laminated much like a car windshield. The talL thin rods behind each array are protective lightning rods. The junction boxes on the front and side of each array frame provide test connections connec-tions for performance checks on the groups of modules in each array. Since the desired life for arrays is at least twenty - years, considerable effort will be made to monitor the performance of the modules in this array during the multi-year test period. |