Solar Power World - DECEMBER 2013

Financing p.10

Inverters p. 13

AC Coupling p.14

December 2013 www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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THE Editorial Advisory Board Natalie Holtgrefe Solectria Renewables Jose Gomez Ingeteam Steve Hogan Spire Devon Cichoski SolarWorld Marcelo Gomez Unirac Justin Barnes North Carolina (State University) Solar Center Scott Wiater Standard Solar

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2013 Was A Great Year For Industry Innovations As the growth of the industry accelerated in 2013, so did the advances in technology. From panels to inverters to racking-and-mounting (not to mention operations-and-maintenance, monitoring and a host of balance-of-systems (BOS) components), the innovations emerged practically every day.

If you were an installer or an EPC, it was hard to keep up with them. Even if you visited every show, from PV America to SPI, you couldn’t possibly visit every booth to see what was new. Let your head spin no more.

We’ve brought you the product introductions we believe you can use to make your business better. Understanding what’s available to you is the first step toward providing the best installation possible to your customers.

As the products rolled in, the Solar Power World team, each of whom has a specific segment to cover (Managing Editor Kathie Zipp handles inverters, Assistant Editor Steven Bushong handles racking-and-mounting, and yours truly handles panels), noticed a few trends:

Panels: The emphasis in the panel segment this year was durability and aesthetics.

You’ll see more glass-on-glass panels, which are said to provide stronger panels better able to handle the rigor of long-term installations. Black panels are also all the rage, as consumers are looking for alternatives to the traditional blue-gray option.

Inverters: What we heard nearly all year (so much so we had a webinar on the subject in September) was the ongoing discussion of how microinverters and power optimizers can enhance the power of systems. In other inverter segments, manufacturers are pushing for more power density in leaner designs. We have a selection of each kind here so you can compare models for yourself.

Racking-And-Mounting:

What do you think?

Discuss this, and other solar issues at www.engineering exchange.com

The theme of 2013 was simplification. With prices for panels coming down precipitously over the past three years, the attention of the industry has turned to bringing down the BOS costs. Racking systems are the centerpiece of those systems, and manufacturers are finding ways to bring the prices down. Some are moving away from traditional metal materials (aluminum and polymers are popular choices), while others are reducing the number of parts and tools it takes to install them (lowering labor costs).

As the industry hurtles toward what I’m sure will be another stellar year in 2014, you can expect the innovations to come fast and furious. Take a look at what great products came to market this year, and dream of what new technologies await us in the new one. SPW

Frank Andorka

Editorial Director fandorka@solarpowerworldonline.com

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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Solar Works Around The United States Since 2000, more than 1,460 MW of residential solar installations have been installed across the country and, in 2012 alone, rooftop solar installations nearly doubled the installed capacity added in 2010. Here’s what else is happening:

Students Work With Non-Profit Woodland, Calif.

Bright Power For Bright Minds Cedarville, Ohio

Students from high schools and a community college installed a solar energy system for a local elderly woman. The students, who were part of an achievement program, worked with the nonprofit GRID Alternatives, which has installed more than 10 MW of solar, saving $100 million in energy costs for more than 3,700 households.

Cedarville University will cover 10% of its electricity needs with a 2.15-MW ground-mounted system.

Composed of 8,792 solar panels, the installation was built by Melink Corp. and uses REC Peak Energy Series solar panels. Power will be delivered to the university’s main campus via an underground cable.

Plant Begins Operations Imperial County, Calif.

State Aims To Spur Development Des Moines, Iowa

The Campo Verde Solar Facility has begun commercial operation. The 139-MW array consists of nearly 2.3 million thin-film PV modules and is expected to generate enough electricity to power nearly 48,000 homes. “Solar is an important part of our continued effort to provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable power,” says Thomas Fanning, CEO of Southern Co., the local utility.

Bread, Butter, Solar Lockport, N.Y.

A Green Getaway Ogunquit, Maine

The Crosby’s store at Lake Avenue and Old Niagara Road is the first solarpowered convenience store in the region.

The store chain, a subsidiary of Lockportbased Reid Petroleum, plans to add solar power to another store by December.

The 200-panel array will generate about 20% of the store’s annual usage.

The Meadowmere Resort, the 2013 Maine Governor’s Environmental Excellence Recipient, has installed a second solar array. The installation includes 70 panels and generates 18 kW, supplying power to 36 of its 144 total rooms, with a 3- to 4-year payback.

IKEA Expands Portfolio Perryville, Md.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority received a $1 million grant from the U.S Department of Energy for a statewide program to promote solar power systems.

Several local governments will take measures to reduce barriers to installation. In part, the money will be used to promote solar.

Saving Diesel Kaua’i, Hawaii Hawaii’s only electric cooperative has broke ground for a 12-MW solar installation, the second largest in the state. “Right now, this is the cheapest renewable energy project in the islands,” says David Bissell, the cooperative’s president. The $40 million project is expected to reduce diesel demand by nearly two million gallons a year.

IKEA, the furniture retailer, will nearly double the size of a rooftop array completed in April at its distribution center, the state’s largest such solar energy system. In addition, South Florida will soon get its largest solar array, 4,620 panels installed on the roof of a new store set to open next summer. IKEA is the largest non-utility owner of solar energy in Florida.

No Incentive? No Problem Raleigh, N.C.

Installer Grows With Arrays Greenville, S.C.

A 453-kW array on the roof of Exhibit Resources is among a few third-partyowned projects completed without SunSense, a state incentive. Argand Energy led the development and financing effort for the project with partners including Trina Solar. “With some creativity, we were able to make the project pencil for all sides,” says Rob Lease, a vice president at Argand.

Officials have finalized details for a 3-MW solar farm in Colleton County, which is expected to become the largest in the state. Installer Sunstore Solar opened a new office that will service the farm. With 35 years of experience, the installer has worked on other projects, including the Santee Cooper Grand Strand Solar Station in Myrtle Beach.

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December 2013 www.solarpowerworldonline.com

w w w. s o l a r p o w e r w o r l d o n l i n e . c o m D ecem ber

contents

06

D e pa r t m e n t s 01 The First Word 03 Solar Works 06 State Of The State 07

Other Voices

08

Training

10

Financing

12

Contractor’s Corner

13

Solar Insights

66 Developments 70 Solar Snapshot

2 0 1 3

Ad Index

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PRODUCTS OF

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n o

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2013

F e at u r e s

14 Don’t Despair: AC Coupling Can Help

AC coupling can alleviate solar storage challenges

18 Top 100+ Products of 2013 Modules p.20

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) p.21 Photovoltaics p.21 Solar Thermal p.26 Thin-Film p. 26

Racking & Mounting p. 27

Carports & Canopies p. 28 Frames p. 29 Ground p. 30 Roof p. 34 Trackers p. 40

About the Cover: Solar Power World brings you some of

Inverters p. 42

the top technological

innovations of 2013.

Central p. 43 Microinverters p. 47 Off-Grid p. 48 Power Optimizers p.48 String p. 49

Financing p.10

Inverters p. 13

AC Coupling p.14

December 2013 www.solarpowerworldonline.com

+ top100

Batteries & Storage p. 53 Charge Controllers p. 54 Combiner Boxes p. 55 Components p. 55 Monitoring p. 59 Operations & Maintenance p. 61 Services p. 62 Site Assessment p. 64

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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Solar Technologies p. 52 72

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[ S TAT E O F T H E S T A T E ] This is the first 1-MW project to come on line in the Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative. It was installed by Inman Solar and is owned by Washington Gas Energy Systems.

State Of The State Report:

By Julie Hairston, Communications Director, Georgia Solar Energy Association

The past year has yielded a watershed passage for solar development in Georgia, with the state’s solar portfolio poised to expand vastly beyond its 2012 level in just three years.

Georgia also has spawned an unprecedented alliance between environmentalists and Tea Party activists to press state leaders for updated solar policies. Formally christened the “Green Tea Coalition,” the new organization has pledged to open the Georgia market to solar as a cost-effective energy choice for consumers. Its efforts are drawing attention from media nationwide and inspiring similar movements in other areas of the country.

The momentum began in November 2012 when the Georgia Public Service Commission’s approved what now is known as the Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative (ASI).

Georgia Power requested the PSC’s authorization to reallocate 210 MW of power in its long-range resource plan from biomass to solar. As approved, the ASI authorized Georgia Power, the state’s largest utility and a subsidiary of Southern Company, to contract for 90 MW of distributed generation from small and medium-sized projects and 120 MW of utility-scale solar development from 2013 to 2015. It is the largest voluntary solar development initiative of any utility in the nation.

The first 45 MW of distributed generation projects were awarded to qualified applicants in early 2013 through a lottery selection process. Nearly 1,000 applications were submitted. The next 6

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Georgia

45 MW of distributed generation will be awarded in 2014, with any remaining capacity to be developed in 2015.

Just as the award of the first 45 MW of distributed generation concluded, Georgia Power began a required update of its long-range resources plan through the PSC. During that process, PSC Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald proposed that the new plan include an additional 525 MW of solar. McDonald’s proposal set off an avalanche of public outcry in favor of his request, most notably supported by Debbie Dooley, coordinator of the Atlanta Tea Party Patriots. To the Tea Party advocates, the barriers in Georgia law that prevent solar from market-based competition counter the bedrock American principles of private property rights, consumer choice and free-market economics.

In July, environmentalists and consumer advocates joined Dooley and her Tea Party supporters in a demonstration outside the Georgia Capitol the day the PSC voted.

McDonald’s proposal was adopted and approved. The 525 MW includes 100 MW of distributed generation.

While solar advocates of every perspective — business, consumer, environmental, philosophical — celebrated this giant step forward, they continue to express concern about what happens when these finite allocations are filled. Despite the expansion this represents for Georgia’s solar portfolio, it does little to accomplish the state’s solar development potential, which has been widely recognized as among the

best untapped prospects in the country.

And policy barriers to development of a robust, perpetual solar market in Georgia remain unchanged.

Currently, the PSC is deliberating a Georgia Power proposal that would impose a tariff on solar consumers beginning in 2014. The tariff would add about $22 a month to utility bills for customers with solar installations.

The effect of this tariff could be devastating to the nascent surge in solar development through the ASI by raising project costs to prohibitive levels.

Public protest has erupted statewide urging the PSC to reject the tariff, noting that it discriminates unfairly by singling out solar users alone for the charge. In addition, an internal report produced by the PSC staff pointed out that no concrete data collection on the impact of solar deployment to Georgia’s electric grid was used to determine the charges proposed.

Georgia’s growing community of solar advocates also is looking ahead to the policy deliberations of the General Assembly, where a proposal to authorize third-party PPAs was defeated in 2012.

A variety of solar-friendly proposals are pending from the 2013 session and remain viable until adjournment of the 2014 session. With a growing, broad-based, statewide network of solar enthusiasts now actively engaged in prodding state leaders to remove the policy barriers to solar development, Georgia appears poised at last to take its place among the nation’s leaders in solar energy production. SPW

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

12/9/13 11:57 AM

[OTHER VOICES]

No Solar Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Join SEIA At Solar Power International 2013 in Chicago, you may have noticed that the solar industry consists of an amazing array of types and sizes of companies. At Solar Marketing Group, I am lucky to get to work with companies that run the gamut of the solar space. While these companies have their own particular needs, one thread connects us all: We each benefit from growing the amount of installed solar.

The industry’s growth comes from many different directions, but all can be spurred or thwarted by political action (or inaction, as the case may be).

Like it or not, officials at all levels of government can seriously affect solar businesses so we must all work together to protect the industry from harmful policies and to advocate for beneficial ones. By building our political power, we can ensure a favorable policy climate that will allow the solar industry to continue its meteoric rise in the United States. That is why we at Solar Marketing Group joined the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): to support its solar advocacy and help grow the industry.

Although we are a marketing agency that serves solar companies and will (probably) never apply for the Investment Tax Credit, a SunShot Grant or go through a streamlined permitting process for a solar project, we still benefit from the work SEIA and its state-level counterparts do to enact these programs because they grow the industry. This applies to our solar company as much as it applies to yours. So while a policy may not directly impact your company, your solar business will be better off with strong advocacy in the halls of power across the county.

Policy opportunities and threats like the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) attempts to destroy renewable portfolio standards crop up all the time, and SEIA and its counterparts track them all. It builds relationships with decision makers and educates and nudges them in the right direction to protect solar policy gains and go on the offensive. Most solar companies don’t have the time to do all of that, and although it’s easier to throw up your hands in the face of these changes and hope for the best, ignoring this

battlefield just cedes it to the competition.

And it takes more than just tracking policy to make changes. Advocacy groups like SEIA organize the targeted, coherent and loud actions that are needed to have the message sink in for elected officials. Effective advocacy groups press policy makers through organizing activities like calling campaigns, lobby days, rallies, educational briefings and letters to the editor to push back against negative press about the industry. They try to be everywhere because the political battlefield is everywhere. And they can only do it if solar companies like yours and ours rally along with them.

Some solar companies are still on the bench because they don’t feel like their issue is being covered by existing groups. But trade groups represent their members, so your issue will continue to be overlooked unless you join. If you don’t feel like your issues are covered yet, get more involved in the group — run for the board of directors, start a subcommittee, lead a lobby day: Do something and you will be the trim tab that moves the advocacy group and the industry.

Politics is a rough sport. It’s messy, the rules keep changing and we are competing with industries that have been at this for decades and have billions of dollars at their disposal. We can’t outspend our competition, but we can be better organized, more unified and more strategic.

We have public opinion and environmental necessity on our side, but to translate that into policy wins like extending the ITC beyond 2016, we need strong solar advocacy groups like SEIA. That is why we at Solar Marketing Group joined, and we hope you do, too. SPW

Editor’s Note: Solar Power World is also a member of SEIA and welcomes Solar Marketing Group to the fold. It’s long past time for the rest of you to join, too.

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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Carter Lavin

Carter Lavin is The Solar Marketing Group’s Business Development Manager and helps renewable energy companies analyze the market, articulate their messages and connect with their targeted audiences to achieve their marketing and communications goals.

Discuss This and other Solar issues at www.engineeringexchange.com

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[TRAINING]

Five Ways To Think Big About Solar Training It seems like every year brings a new normal to the U.S. solar industry. The industry is dynamic, full of business innovation and often hard to predict. However, two general trends have emerged over the past few years: 1. We consistently outperform our installed capacity projections 2. We often underperform when it comes to new job creation

Nick Hylla

Hylla is the executive director for Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA)

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Unfortunately, many job seekers make assumptions about the first trend that do not match the reality of the second.

Before we jump into strategies for pursuing professional development, it may be helpful to discuss why we aren’t seeing a solar employment boom. First, don’t fret too much. Employment in the industry is growing. We are a new industry with a lot more room to grow and have the potential to hire hundreds of thousands of new employees in the United States alone. Currently though, there are two major challenges with creating new jobs.

The first is that many licensed tradesmen and women have been working in the solar industry to pick up work because of a faltering residential and commercial building sector. This does not stimulate a lot of new hiring but rather puts pressure on existing professionals to tool-up for solar. This is, by all accounts, a good thing. It just doesn’t result in a lot of new hiring.

Second, we are in an affordability race with traditional sources of energy. This race is occurring in a patchwork landscape of utility and state incentives with often uncertain terms and time frames. This puts a lot of downward pressure on labor costs and makes it difficult for long-term business planning. That is not to say that solid growth scenarios do not exist. It does mean, however, that the solar job seeker needs to know the market and choose a career path with solid prospects.

Having helped more than 1,000 people get tooled-up in solar over the last 5 years, we at the MREA have assembled a few strategies that

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will help you get a handle on the big picture and make the best on your investment in training.

1

1. Know The Market Where You Plan to Work

Do you live in a good solar market?

If not, do you plan on following the job? You can make it in an emerging market but it takes planning, professionalism, partnership and grit. The economics of solar can sell, but new markets require a lot of customer education. Nothing ruins a new market faster than shoddy work. If you plan on entering a new market, invest in technical sales training. There is a lot of opportunity for a local electrical contractor to add solar to his or her suite of services. A good sales professional can help do just that. And, a journeyman or master electrician with years of local experience is a great candidate for North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV Installer Certification. We’ve found that combining these two credentials is the best assurance for quality.

2

2. Build On The Skills You Have

Are you an electrician? NABCEP PV Installer Certification will get you into the solar game. Do you have sales experience in a technical field?

Maybe an electrical supply house? NABCEP PV Technical Sales Certification will help prepare you for the rapidly changing PV marketplace. Are you pursuing a degree in electrical technology or engineering? Maybe you already work at a utility?

Utilities are dipping their toes in the solar market, and it’s only a matter of time before they jump in.

Having transferable skills with a solar emphasis is a good strategy for maintaining employment in the volatile solar industry.

3

3. Ask A Lot Of Your Training Program Discount lectures in the local hotel conference room with a pretty letter of completion will not cut it in the solar

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

12/9/13 12:16 PM

[TRAINING]

industry. Search for training programs that have accreditation Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC or ANSI/IREC accreditation are the gold standards). Instructors should have depth of experience and training programs that have a breadth and depth of instructors.

Look for a solid track record in training with continued support for alumni through professional networks and related market development activities. Most importantly, look for training that leads you toward industry certification.

4

4. Get Work Experience (Whatever It Takes) There is no substitute for experience in the solar industry. Enough said.

5

5. Don’t Be A Robot

No matter what part of the solar industry you are working in, you need to be an educator. It may surprise you, but solar market growth is becoming a less a technical challenge and more a social one. To sustain current levels of growth, we will need educated customers, jurisdictional authorities, policy makers, realtors and lending institutions, as well as others. The market will demand fluent, persuasive, knowledgeable and personable solar professionals. If you plan on getting into the solar industry to keep your head down and fasten modules to racks, you will most likely be replaced by a robot — and, nobody wants that to happen to you. SPW

Discuss This and other Solar issues at www.engineeringexchange.com

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[FUTURE OF FINANCE]

Solar In Puerto Rico? That’s a Definite Maybe On Nov. 16, 2012, I presented a case for Puerto

Robert Sternthal

(special to Solar Power World) Robert Sternthal is president of Reznick Capital Markets Securities and has extensive experience in financing renewable energy transactions, whether they are in the wind, solar or biomass sectors.

Working alongside CohnReznick LLP and CohnReznick Think Energy, Reznick Capital Markets Securities offers one of the most comprehensive financial advisory platforms in the industry.

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Rico to become one of the United States’ hot markets in 2013. I was clearly mistaken. More than a year later, the Puerto Rico renewable energy market has only added 100 MW of wind energy and a nominal amount of solar despite the fact that there are more than 60 executed contracts with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) for renewable projects. Nevertheless, we continue to receive queries on a weekly basis regarding Puerto Rico and our ability to finance or sell projects located there.

So what do financial advisors tell clients looking to invest in Puerto Rico or who continue to develop projects there today? The following are some of the major hurdles currently facing developers in Puerto Rico.

Market Noise: There continues to be a constant flow of information across most communications platforms, most of it wrong, regarding the Puerto Rican market. Developers need to ignore the noise and focus on what they can actually control — namely, their own deals.

Many developers working in Puerto Rico have joined the Renewable Energy Producers Association (known by its initials in Spanish as APER), an organization started by a few local developers and consultants that currently represents more than 30 U.S. and internationallyrecognized companies working on renewable energy projects on the island. APER has not only given these developers a voice with PREPA, but has also provided PREPA with clear answers on what operating procedures and minimum technical requirements (primarily dealt with through battery storage) are needed for the projects to be financeable.

given day, PREPA may completely curtail your electricity output for an unspecified amount of time with no clear guidance on when a project can come back online. It is especially concerning to financing parties when you consider that PREPA has consistently stated that it will require 100% compliance with MTRs. Complying with MTRs at 100% is a near impossibility unless the project has an extremely large battery storage component, which, in itself, would make nearly all of the projects uneconomic to build.

As previously stated, APER has remained in constant negotiations with PREPA, as well as a council of three members that were appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico, to resolve the MTRs and the mandated operating procedures that accompany them. The new operating procedures were meant to be delivered to developers by Oct. 31, 2013, but have continued to face delays. Accordingly, it still remains unclear as to when developers will receive finalized operating procedures, and, once received, whether they will be financeable.

Financing: Without clear guidance on MTRs and

Minimum Technical Requirements (MTRs):

the associated operating procedures, financing any project is untenable. No lender will finance a project if PREPA has the summary authority to connect or curtail it at any given moment.

Assuming that the MTRs are resolved in a positive manner, debt financing for projects in Puerto Rico is not as abundant as it would have been a year ago or even more so, two years ago.

With the recent downgrade of PREPA and the increase in its bond yields, fewer lenders are willing to enter the Puerto Rico market, and those that will are being very cautious. Lenders that are willing to provide permanent debt for projects are generally talking about seven-year mini-perms with 15 to 18year amortization, subjecting long-term owners to considerable refinancing and interest rate risk.

Currently, PREPA has provided specific guidance on what technical requirements developers will need to meet to connect their renewable projects to the electricity grid, but have yet to provide clear guidance on what happens if you falter after connecting. As it currently stands, if you cannot meet the MTRs on a

Contract Negotiation: Whether it is legal or not under contract law, PREPA has openly stated its desire to renegotiate the outstanding Power Purchase and Operating Agreements (PPOAs) that all have materially the same terms with the exception of the pricing of the renewable energy credits (RECs). Given recent

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12/9/13 12:24 PM

[FUTURE OF FINANCE] activity in Spain where tariffs have been retroactively reduced, this sends a scary message to developers and lenders.

It is clear that some developers will be willing to renegotiate some of the economics in exchange for a lesser storage requirement, but most developers realize that any change in the economics has a materially negative effect on the economics of a project. Some examples:

in investment tax credit that you would have otherwise received from the cost.

• The failure to obtain long-term debt will also continue to weigh-down the value of renewable energy projects in Puerto Rico. In fact, given the current state of the debt market, any material change to the PPOA described above may make certain renewable projects on Puerto Rico unfeasible.

• A reduction of $.01/kWh on the PPOA taking the pricing to $.14/kWh from $.15/kWh can have an impact of up to $5 million in value to a project.

• Elimination of the escalation clause of 2% annually on the PPOA price will reduce a project’s value by $6 to $7 million on an unlevered basis, but much more on a levered basis.

• While reducing the MTR percentage will have a positive impact, it will not be as accretive to a project due to the loss

It remains unclear whether Puerto Rico and/or PREPA really want renewable energy, which is troubling because if renewable energy in Puerto Rico doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense anywhere.

Given that the cost of electricity is more than 50% higher to PREPA itself and potentially more than 100% higher to retail customers than these renewable energy projects, you would think that all Puerto Ricans would

wholeheartedly support renewable energy. Given all of the above, many of the top renewable players in the U.S. have decided to opt out of developing projects in Puerto Rico. At RCMS, however, we remain committed to our clients there as ultimately, the clear-cut, long-term benefits of renewable energy remain viable, nationally productive and economically feasible. In short, it just makes too much sense. SPW

Discuss This and other Solar issues at www.engineeringexchange.com

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SunBandit® is a registered trademark of Next Generation Energy® © 2013 Next Generation Energy® All rights reserved

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Solar Hybrid Energy Systems • Patent(s) Pending

12 • 2013 SOLAR power WORLD

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[CONTRACTORS C O R N E R ]

Borrego Solar: San Diego “Solve the world’s energy problems by

Aaron Hall

Hall is president of Borrego Solar

Listen to the full interview with Aaron Hall in the Contractors Corner podcast at www. solarpowerworldonline.com.

accelerating the adoption of renewable energy.”

That’s a big goal, but Borrego Solar is growing quickly to meet its mission statement.

The company was founded in 1980 when it began its first project: building the solar home of its astrophysicist founder in Borrego Springs, Calif., which inspired the company’s name. Borrego Solar started as a construction company for offgrid solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems.

But it now focuses on grid-tied applications in the commercial and public sectors to make more of an impact with solar, in accordance with its mission and focus on sustainability.

Aaron Hall, president of Borrego Solar, says the company still has engineering, procurement and construction services as its core. But in an effort to differentiate itself, it now takes a more academic approach to projects by offering solar design, financing and operations and maintenance services. Hall says Borrego Solar accomplishes this by extending its focus on environmental sustainability into its business principles.

“We look at profitability when it comes to projects,” Hall says. “We don’t take any on simply for growth purposes. In the same token, we look for team members who are entrepreneurial and nimble-minded in business, as well as innovative, trustworthy, creative and loyal. We look for these attributes in our partners, investors, customers and suppliers as well.”

Employees: about 100 Total MW (2012): 27

Borrego Solar

Total MW Installed: close to 90 Total MW Under Construction: 56 Founded: 1980

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Such a philosophy has enabled Borrego Solar to earn 5% solar market share in California and 10% in Massachusetts. Although the company has done work all over the country, Hall says its success in these two states is particularly the result of regulatory environments that support solar. Still, net-metering could threaten supportive solar policy in every market.

Hall says the cost of solar as a result of this battle will be critical. If he could change anything about the solar industry it’d be net-metering’s threat to it.

“Net-metering is at the heart of our industry, and I’d like to close the book on this debate one way or another,” Hall says. “At the same time, I’d like to create an even playing field with ‘brown power’ in terms of pricing the incentives it gets — not to play favorites, but just in terms of what’s best for society.”

Still, Hall says facing these challenges in a dynamic market is what he likes best about solar.

“I’m never bored,” Hall says. “Although sometimes it’s unfair, it’s also interesting, challenging and fun to be innovative and creative.”

Hall says the fundamentals of any business or industry are the same.

“Many companies have gone under because they didn’t pay attention to cash flow, which is taught in any business class,” Hall says. “It’s easy to get distracted with the challenges of the day, but it’s critical to spend time on strategy, improvement and adapting strategy to the long term to avoid being a commodity.”

On the technical side, Hall stresses the importance of truly understanding levelized cost of energy (LCOE).

“To understand how the pieces fit together and affect the life of the system you have to understand how investors look at returns and how projects are engineered,” he says. “Having a strong engineering bench is the best way to accomplish this and bring down the cost of solar.”

Even though running a solar business isn’t easy, Hall is confident in the industry. Many markets have already arrived at grid parity, and he expects this trend to spread.

“Going forward, more consumers will be able to purchase solar without any economic disadvantage,” Hall says. “But judging by other countries, once we get there we’ll have to face the challenge of integrating solar onto the grid. Storage technology will be the next important aspect of solar.” SPW

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

12/9/13 12:29 PM

SI

[SOLAR INSIGHTS]

Solar Insights: Integrated Storage Is Next For Inverters

Solar Power World (SPW) asked Nohra Nasr, Bonfiglioli’s Solar Business Unit Leader, North America, to tell us about the role inverters play in today’s solar market and where the next big breakthrough will come. Here’s what he said: SPW

What is the biggest change in the inverter industry in the past 12 months?

NN

The adoption of utility-scale PV power plants by independent power producers and utilities has called for larger and scalable utilitygrade inverter ratings. Currently, 2-MW to 2.5-MW inverter skid sizes have become the standard size range to fit the magnitude of power-plant scale that contributes to the cost reduction of the balance of plant. The industry has also seen the evolution of electrical standards and the accelerated acceptance of 1000VDC systems that results in further cost reductions and improved efficiency. A third biggest change would be the revised interconnection standards in the industry to address the higher grid penetration level (such as CA CPUC Rule 21 and IEEE 1547-A).

SPW

survive obsolescence (e.g., seamless technology integration of inverters and battery storage to overcome intermittency and accommodate for load shifting).

Finally, utility-scale and large commercial projects will soon (in a matter of 2 to 3 years) capture majority share of the solar PV market.

Most of these projects are funded by financial institutions, large investors and banks that started to scrutinize equipment suppliers and prepare due diligence on the bankability practice of inverter manufacturers (inverter technology, performance, reliability, financial health, diversification and longevity of the manufacturer). Some shake-ups and consolidations will take place this year through the next couple.

SPW

What are the biggest obstacles you see that the inverter market has to overcome?

NN

Further pressure for cost reduction. It will be a continuous challenge for certain inverter manufacturers to reduce the operation costs of manufacturing their inverter systems (including the medium-voltage transformer) in conjunction with the steep price reductions of panels, trackers and other components of the BOS to contribute to reaching the magic grid- parity system pricing structure. Not many inverter manufacturers will manage to optimize their costs and pricing structure.

There will be tougher rules and calls by utilities and grid-independent system operators (ISOs) for more intelligent functions in the inverter to support the grid management (voltage and frequency ridethrough, volt-VAR control, active ramp rate, etc.).

Inverter manufacturers who accelerate their research to develop the most innovative and practical cutting-edge technology that fits the needs of utilities — yet affordable — will

Inverters will play the most important role in the BOS because utilities’ reliance on the reliability and smart features of the inverters. It’s critical for inverters to meet the utilities’ demand for smarter grid support functions to maintain the stability and quality of the grid.

If there was one breakthrough for inverters that you’d like to see happen, what would it be?

Discuss This and other Solar issues at www.engineeringexchange.com

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NN

In terms of array design flexibility and maximizing energy harvest, the industry has already developed modular multi-MPPT inverter systems integrated with power optimizers. This is coupled with offering high-power platforms to match the demand for larger power plants along with all the smart-grid management functions.

The breakthrough will happen when costeffective energy storage will be integrated into such inverters to smooth out the intermittency in the field. SPW www.solarpowerworldonline.com

Solar Insight 12-13_Vs4FINAL.indd 13

Bonfiglioli solar business unit leader, North America

What role do you see inverters playing in the market?

NN

SPW

Nohra Nasr,

12 • 2013

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IN VER TER INS IDE R

Don’t Despair Mark Mays and Mark Cerasuolo of OutBack Power Technologies

AC Coupling Can Alleviate Solar Storage Challenges

The

PV systems that most homeowners and businesses are familiar with are grid-tied, capable of reducing dependency on and cost of utility electricity when the sun is shining.

This commonly known configuration for PV generation uses an array of modules, which feeds a grid-tied inverter that converts DC from the PV modules to AC electricity a home or business can use. The AC power runs through the building’s service panel and on to loads in the building or, if there is a surplus of electricity, out to the electrical grid.

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In some ways, the grid acts like a battery, and the renewable energy is placed on the grid for collective consumption, reducing the need for generation from other sources. The gridas-a-battery is a great concept — until it’s no longer there. Per UL1741, the grid-tied inverter cannot operate for safety and regulatory reasons if the grid is absent.

If the grid goes down, the solar system must disconnect and all that available PV power just sits on the roof unused. This means that, during an outage, the home or business with PV electricity available is in the dark just like everyone else.

Unlike a grid-tied system, an offgrid inverter/charger-based system does not require the electrical grid to stay active. This makes it a mainstay of off-grid homes, businesses and

industrial installations such as cell-phone broadcast towers and remote facilities.

Off-grid systems could also be in the form of microgrid power settlements where an electrical grid is inconsistent or even nonexistent.

A Perfect Blend A grid-interactive system is one in which the presence of connected energy storage (usually in the form of a battery bank) enables the user to have the best of both worlds. This means grid-tied savings when the grid is up and the sun is shining, and the independence of an off-grid system when the grid is down or solar-generated electricity is no longer available. This is especially useful in scenarios where the grid is frequently interrupted, problematic or inadequate,

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12/9/13 1:13 PM

QUALITY I VALUE I INNOVATION

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WE VIEW THE RELIABILITY OF OUR COMPANY & PRODUCTS AS EQUALLY IMPORTANT

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Canadian Solar 12-13.indd 15

Our market position, more than a decade of industry-leading experience, strong balance sheet, robust product technologies and superior track record, have made us a trusted, long-term and bankable partner.

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12/9/13 2:30 PM

Don’t Des IN VE RTE R INS IDE R

or when it’s advantageous to offset the cost of grid electricity using renewably generated energy stored for later use.

Using the same battery-based technology of off-grid systems, this technology can use renewable energy to keep the batteries charged and sell the excess to the grid, just like the grid-tied unit uses the grid as its battery.

For those who have not yet invested in a solar installation and would like to have backup power, installing a hybrid system with battery backup is the best choice. Solar energy can still be sold back to the grid, and the system will still deliver power during an outage.

AC Coupling Off-grid energy storage can be retrofitted into existing grid-tied, grid-dependent inverters using a method called AC coupling. This adds energy storage and a second inverter/charger to the original system’s limited grid-tied inverter.

Installing this capability requires adding

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12 • 2013

a load center with circuit breakers and electrical connections for the building’s critical loads. This allows the grid-tied inverter and new battery-based inverter/ charger to share energy to the loads.

In a normal mode of operation with grid power available, the energy from the PV array flows through the grid-tied inverter to the critical load panel, with any excess energy flowing through the load panel to the batterybased inverter/charger, and on out to the grid. When grid power is lost, the battery-based inverter/charger activates an internal transfer switch that opens its connection to the grid.

When the sun goes down and the PV power is no longer flowing through the grid-tied inverter to the loads, batteries will provide stored power to the critical loads panel until morning. When the sun comes back out, the system reverts to the daytime power flow. Any extra energy used for recharging the batteries.

Why Not Use A Generator?

A generator is a viable option, but requires addressing important issues when using it to support your system.

Firstly, generators are loud while batterybased inverter backup systems are nearly silent. That generator also will have to run the entire time that electrical energy is demanded by a building’s loads. This will get expensive quickly, as inefficient generators can require filling up a 5-gallon gas tank daily, not to mention the inconvenience of possibly having to wait in gas lines for hours during a grid outage, as people did during Hurricane Sandy. Lastly, low-cost generator motors require frequent maintenance which increases costs and risks downtime when you need the machine most.

This is not to say a generator should be kept out of the equation completely.

A battery-based inverter/charger system that is augmented with generator power lets users run critical loads during prolonged grid failure and when the sun

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

12/9/13 1:13 PM

espair isn’t out. In this case, batteries greatly extend the run-time of the generator and reduce fuel costs since the generator does not need to run around the clock.

The smarter inverter/charger has generator operation functions built-in to start when needed for battery charging.

Keeping AC Coupling Simple To maximize the efficiency, lifetime and safety of an AC coupling project, look for equipment that is easy to use and follows a few basic rules. An elegantly simple AC coupling solution follows some sizing and operational guidelines for integrating a smarter inverter/ charger, battery bank and a remoteoperated relay with an existing grid-tied inverter system to add full grid/hybrid capability. Here are a few guidelines for a smooth process: 1. The daily critical load watt-hours shouldn’t exceed 80% of the watt-

hours available from the battery bank.

2. The new inverter/charger’s power rating should be 1.25% of the grid-tied inverter’s power rating to ensure the grid-tied inverter does not overwhelm the charging circuitry of the second smarter inverter.

3. Size your battery-backed solar installation right to ensure that neither the daily load demand nor battery charging exceeds the power from the PV array, or add an optional generator to the backup system.

I NV E R T E R I N S I D E R

Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from a whitepaper by OutBack Power Technologies.

You can view the full article on www.solarpowerworldonline.com

Discuss This and other Solar issues at www.engineeringexchange.com

Correctly transforming a grid-tied PV system into a grid/hybrid interactive system by following these guidelines and selecting equipment designed for AC coupling from start to finish will result in a safer, more efficient and more valuable solar installation. SPW

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+ top100 PRODUCTS OF

2013

has been a big year for innovations in solar. With so many new products, we know it’s hard to keep up. The Solar Power World team has attended the industry’s most prominent shows from Philadelphia to San Francisco to Chicago tracking the latest technologies. Though this special products coverage isn’t all-inclusive,

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12 • 2013

2013

we’ve tried our best to feature the most interesting and innovative products we found on show floors this year. Take a look to see which items spark an interest for your next solar project.

We’d like to thank PV America East, Intersolar and Solar Power International for providing a place for the solar industry to come together to share these innovative technologies.

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

12/9/13 2:03 PM

+ top100 PRODUCTS OF

2013

Table of Contents

Modules p.20

Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) p.21

Dow Solar

Photovoltaics p.21

Patriot Solar Group

Quick Mount PV Quickscrews

Rack10 Solar Renusol

Roof Tech S-5!

Schletter SnapNrack SolarDock Sollega SST Sunmodo Unirac

Zep Solar Zilla

Trackers p. 40

AllSun Trackers Dunkermotor Ercam Exosun

HST Solar

Solar FlexRack Terrafix

SolarMax

Solectria Renewables

Solar Technologies p. 52

Batteries & Storage p. 53

Crown Battery EnerSys Rolls Battery Trojan Battery Co. U.S. Battery

+ top100 Axitec

Canadian Solar Centrosolar Eclipsall EOPLLY

ET Solar

Hanwha SolarOne

Jinko Solar Kyocera MAGE

Motech Americas RECOM ReneSola SolarWorld SunPower Talesun

Trina Solar Upsolar Yingli

Solar Thermal p.26 Apricus

Thin-Film p. 26

First Solar

PRODUCTS OF Inverters p. 42

Racking & Mounting p. 27 Carports & Canopies p.

Baja Construction Co.

DPW Solar

Lumos Solar

Orion Solar Racking Sunora

28

Frames p. 29

Aluminum Extruders Council Wheatland Tube

Central p. 43

Advanced Energy

AEG Power Solutions Bonfiglioli Danfoss Eaton Ingeteam

Parker Hannifin Power-One Santerno

Schneider Electric

Solectria Renewables TMEIC

Charge Controllers

Blue Sky Energy

Midnite Solar PowerFilm

p. 54

Combiner Boxes p.

OutBack Power SunLink

55

Components p. 55

ABB

Alcoa Fastening Systems CITEL Eaton

General Cable

ILSCO Corporation

Marathon Special Products Megger Moxa

S&C Electric Company

Schneider Electric

Texas Instruments Woehner

2013

Monitoring p. 59

AlsoEnergy Draker eGauge Itron Locus Energy Meteocontrol skytron energy Solar Data Systems

Contents

Ground p. 30

AP Alternatives

Applied Energy Technologies

Array Technologies Creotecc

GameChange Racking

HatiCon Solar PanelClaw

Polar Racking

RBI Solar SunLink TerraSmart

Roof p. 34 Dynoraxx Ecolibrium

Everest Solar

Fortune Energy IronRidge

KB Racking

Mounting Systems

Microinverters p. 47

APS America Enphase Energy Power-One SMA America SolarBridge Technologies

Off-Grid p. 48

Magnum Energy

Power Optimizers

Tigo Energy

p.48

String p. 49

Advanced Energy Chint Power Systems Danfoss Fronius Ginlong Ideal Power Converters KACO new energy Power-One SMA America SolarEdge

Operations & Maintenance

Advanced Energy SunPower SolarBrush

Services p. 62

Blue Oak Energy

EDF Renewable Energy Intertek NABCEP SOLON TÜV Rheinland PTL

Underwriters Laboratories

Site Assessment p. 64

3TIER Kipp & Zonen Lufft Seaward Group Solmetric 12 • 2013

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p. 61

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+ top100 PRODUCTS OF

2013

SOLAR MODULES Choosing solar modules may be one of the most important decisions you make as you plan your installation, and 2013 was a banner year for advances in module technology, aesthetics and reliability. Here are just some of the module products introduced this year.

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+ top100 PRODUCTS OF

2013

BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingles Dow Solar www.dowpowerhouse.com This roofing solution is a system that includes a customdesigned arrays based on its size, style, budget, and, of course, energy-saving goals. There’s also an inverter that converts the direct current (DC) power into alternating current (AC) to power the home. Finally, the available monitoring system lets you watch and manage your electricity usage in real time.

PHOTOVOLTAICS AXIblackpremium 60cell/monocrystalline modules

Centrosolar America B-Series Panel Centrosolar Americas www.centrosolaramerica.com The B-Series module is made with the highest quality materials, including 60 high-output polycrystalline cells

Axitec www.axitecsolar.us

and top-branded EVA chemical resistant and flame retardant

The Axitec All Black modules are the solution

back sheet. The high-

for anyone looking for outstanding performance

transparency, impact-

and great aesthetics. The German-brand Axitec offers an

resistant glass ensures

industry-leading performance guarantee and manufacturers’

efficient performance over

warranty — all made possible by a strict quality management

time. The module meets

assurance program. All production processes are third-

all industry standards

party audited and 100% of the modules are quality tested.

and is engineered to

Axitec’s high commitment to quality and partnerships with

perform in harsh North

third-party engineering institutes leads to what is now an in-

America climates including

demand product that was only introduced to the U.S. market

ice, hail, snow, high wind,

this year. Since the introduction in 2013, nearly 2 MW of all-

humidity and extreme

black modules were installed on roofs all around the country.

ambient temperatures.

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+ top100 PRODUCTS OF

2013

BIPV Glass-On-Glass Modules Eclipsall www. eclipsall.com

ResidentialAC System

Eclipsall produces frameless “glass-on-glass”

Canadian Solar www.canadiansolar.com

modules for every application using the latest in cell and encapsulant technology. These glass

Canadian Solar launched its ResidentialAC system combines its

modules can be custom designed to specific shapes and

efficient 250W PV module with a microinverters to provide solar

sizes, cell type and positioning, light transparency and

system installers, investors and homeowners with a solution that

glass thickness. BIPV modules can be added to an existing

delivers high quality and cost-effective performance. The systems

structure or be part of a new build.

include a 25-year long microinverter reliability warranty that matches Canadian Solar’s module warranty, power generation in high-temperature environments above 65oC and compatibility and ability to work with higher-power class modules up to 300Wp.

ET Solar AC Modules ET Solar us.etsolar.com

EOPLLY’s TWIN ACPV Kits

ET Solar’s AC modules

EOPLLY Solar Energy www.eoplly.com

are designed for true plug-and-play installation — no trunk

22

Designed for ultimate simplicity and flexibility, EOPLLY’s TWIN ACPV

cables necessary. Since

Kits include a two-piece AC module (module and microinverter)

ET ACPV modules use

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12 • 2013

up to 500W AC

SolarBridge Pantheon

output in total, an

II microinverters, they

easy racking system

are true AC modules

made of lightweight,

— as defined by U.S.

steady aluminum

National Electric

profiles with

Code Article 690. No

adjustable tilt angle

DC wiring credentials or exposure required, and the

suitable for ground,

expense and hassle of module-to-module grounding is

flat or tilted-rooftop

eliminated. ET’s ACPV solution is designed by leading

applications, and

power engineers to last a full 25 years, the most reliable

all the necessary

microinverter topology on the market. Get the details

cabling.

from your local ET Sales Manager at us.etsolar.com.

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TO P 1 0 0 + P R O D U C T S O F 2 0 1 3

HSL60 Poly

Eagle II Solar Modules

Hanwha SolarOne www.hanwha-solarone.com

Jinko Solar www.jinkosolar.com

The redesigned HSL60 Poly (235W -

The Eagle II series represents performance and reliability

255W) is 1000V certified, with multiple

by reaching peak-power output of approximately 260-

frame/backsheet options. It is sleek,

270W for a 60-cell module.

yet handles wind (4000Pa) and snow (7000Pa) loads higher than industry

The Eagle II solar module utilizes polycrystalline cells

standard. HSL60 performs under

to deliver increased efficiency through decreased

low-light, protects against salt-mist

electrical resistance. Like the ‘Eagle I’, the new series

and ammonia corrosion, and features

of modules are certified under extreme weather

anti-reflective glass with a self-cleaning

conditions of 85OCelsius and 85% relative humidity.

hydrophobic layer. Hanwha protects your investment with 12-year product and 25-year linear performance warranties.

1000V Modules Kyocera www.kyocerasolar.com Kyocera Solar plans to release their 1000-volt solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, designed to significantly reduce labor and materials costs while simultaneously increasing overall system efficiency.

Because 1000V PV systems incorporate more modules per string, materials and labor costs are minimized by reducing the total number of strings and combiners the system requires.

Sirius Solar Panels Motech Americas www.motechsolar.com Sirius is a new technological advance from Motech with an industry leading peak conversion efficiency over 20.5%, and the capability to increase efficiency and value. It is the leading product of its kind to break the 20% efficiency barrier, thus making Sirius an important option for all professionals involved in solar energy procurement and construction.

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+ top100 PRODUCTS OF

2013

MAGE POWERTEC PLUS 250 PL US ACPV Module MAGE www.magesolar.com The U.S.-assembled MAGE SOLAR ACPV is an ARRA-compliant, ETL-listed plug-and-play module that reduces installation time up to 30% compared to regular DC versions. High-efficient MAGE POWERTEC PLUS modules, with revolutionary micro-inverter technology, convert DC voltage into grid connected AC, creating up to 25% more power anywhere, anytime. All MAGE POWERTEC PLUS modules feature a signature 30-year power guarantee on both the module and the integrated mircroinverter.

Amur Leopard Module Series RECOM www.recom.gr

SunPower X-Series Solar Panels SunPower us.sunpowercorp.com X-Series for the residential market offers 21.5% solar-panel efficiency. It surpasses

RECOM’s high performance Amur Leopard module series

performance of the SunPower

is engineered for utility and large commercial projects. The

E-Series. X-Series Solar Panels produce

72 cell 300W 1000V poly module has one of the lowest

approximately 75 percent more energy

temperature coefficient of -0.39%. This means higher yield

over 25 years when compared to a

in hot climates. The anti-reflective microstructured glass also

conventional solar system covering the

make it suitable for applications at airports and railway stations.

same-sized roof.

SolarWorld Protect SolarWorld www.solarworld-usa.com Sunmodule Protect solar modules set new benchmarks in service life and mechanical durability. Positioned between two sheets of lightweight glass, solar cells are optimally protected against environmental factors and shear stress. This advance enables SolarWorld to extend its linear performance guarantee to 30 years, offering only 0.35 percentage points in lower performance protection over each year — one of the best performance guarantees on the world solar market.

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TO P 1 0 0 + P R O D U C T S O F 2 0 1 3

Talesun Solar Module TP672P

Quality And Efficiency

Talesun www.talesunusa.com

ReneSola www.renesola. com

Talesun Solar’s 72 cell polyThe new, breakthrough,

crystalline module is built

Virtus II solar module is a

in a fully-automated plant

combination of the high

operating with state-of-the-art

quality and efficiency of

manufacturing equipment. This

monocrystalline modules,

high-tech production process

with the lower cost of

produces consistent dialed-in

multicrystalline modules.

precision in the final product delivering dependable quality at

ReneSola’s innovative

cost-effective prices.

ingot growth technology improves the uniformity

Upsolar Optimized Panels

of the grain size and preferred orientation, resulting in higher minorcarrier lifetime and lower

Dual-Glass Panels

Upsolar integrated its PV

dislocation density. The outcome is significantly increased cell efficiency.

Upsolar www.upsolar.com

Trina Solar www.trinasolar.com

modules with SolarEdge’s advanced power optimization technology, the smart solar

Trina Solar’s PDG5 frameless,

products offer customers a full

Dual-Glass module is UL/

range of intelligent solutions

IEC certified to 1000V and

for residential, commercial and

requires no grounding. The

utility-scale applications.

module has two layers of 2.5mm heat-strengthened

By embedding SolarEdge’s

glass. Dual-glass provides a UL

optimizers directly into

Fire Class A safety rating and

their modules during the

reduces micro-cracking, PID,

manufacturing process,

module warping, UV aging

Upsolar can offer a lower

and corrosion. The modules’

balance of systems cost while

robust package protects cells

maximizing roof use and power

during mechanical loading

harvesting. In addition, users

and shocks, minimizing

of the new smart products can

micro-cracks that diminish

remotely access performance-

module efficiency.

monitoring software.

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SOLAR THERMAL Flat Plate Solar Collectors

YGE-U 72 Cell Series

Apricus www.apricus.com

Yingli Americas www.yinglisolar.com

The Apricus FPC-A32 flat plate solar thermal collector is suitable for residential or commercial solar water heating projects. The collector features a low profile

With a UL-certified maximum

(75mm / 3” profile) design, which combined with ultra-

system voltage of 1000V, it

lightweight melamine foam insulation, makes it one of

simplifies permitting, reduces

the lightest flat plate panels per m2 on the market. The

balance-of-system costs and

TINOX Energy Aluminium absorber sheet absorbs up to

boosts system performance in

95% of available sunlight converting into usable heat.

large-scale projects. The YGE-Z 60 Cell Series is designed for residential and commercial applications where cost savings, installation time and aesthetics matter most. Optimized for the Enphase System and featuring a Zep Compatible frame, it can reduce on-roof labor costs by more than 25%.

First Solar FS Series 3 Black PV Module

THIN-FILM

First Solar www.firstsolar.com The FS Series 3 Black incorporates First Solar’s latest advances in conversion efficiency as well as additional features to enhance its performance in utility-scale power plants. The all-black module’s change in appearance results from the use of an advanced, all-black edge seal technology combined with an innovative encapsulation material that further enhances its field durability and demonstrates improvements in accelerated life testing results.

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RACKING & MOUNTING For every project, there is an appropriate racking or mounting product.

Some companies offer a variety of systems, acting as one-stop shops for developers.

Others specialize in a single area, such as ballasted flat-roof mounts. Here is a collection of racking and mounting products – including canopies, trackers, ground mounts and roof mounts – from innovative companies across North America.

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Simplifying Module Attachment

CARPORTS & CANOPIES

Baja Construction Co. www.bajacarports.com With its own engineering and design department and construction crews, Baja designs and builds cost-effective shade structures and solar support systems. Baja’s structures include cold-rolled, lightgauge, high-tensile steel, and galvanized structural members. The structures are pre-fabricated, preengineered and assembled on-site with no field engineering or soldering. For solar projects, direct attachment from modules to purlins is simple — no racking or decking required.

Shade With Solar DPW www.DPWsolar.com DPW Solar and partners introduce the new SR Series solar-ready shade structures engineered and optimized to site-specific applications. The structures feature an integrated photovoltaicmodule mounting system and are available in a variety of structural types and finishes. These solar support structures feature tilt angles up to 10° and optional solutions for water and snow protection.

A Canopy With Curb Appeal Lumos www.lumossolar.com Released in early 2013, Lumos SolarScapes is a preengineered, visually eye-catching, configurable approach to the modern solar canopy that can be deployed as a patio cover, carport or covered walkway. LSX Modules and Racking are optimized in the design to maximize power options, shade coverage and visual appeal.

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Prefabricated Carports Orion Solar Racking www.OrionSolarRacking.com Orion Solar Racking specializes in the development, manufacturing and integration of solar carport systems. A wide range of residential and commercial carport structures provide energy solutions nationwide. With innovated architectural appearance and engineering, Orion carport systems come prefabricated, adjustable, custom designed and DSA approved.

Shade, Shelter, Power Sunora sunoraenergy.com Sunora’s SolarCanopy is an architectural solar structure that blends form and function, generating clean, renewable energy while transforming the outdoor living and gathering experience with an attractive and customizable pavilion. This solar pavilion, which is designed for residential and commercial customers, contains photovoltaic solar modules in the roof that provide shade and shelter while generating power to offset utility costs and provide emergency backup power.

FRAMES Aluminum For Products And Projects Aluminum Extruders Council www.aec.org With aluminum extrusions, the product is what you want it to be. Low tooling costs and fast turnaround make custom extrusions ideal for your solar project or product. Learn how to design extrusions that save weight, combine functions, eliminate parts and speed installation in a webinar called “Creating Cost Effective Solar Installations With Aluminum Extrusions” on the AEC website.

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Steel For LongStanding Structures Wheatland Tube www.wheatland.com Whether it’s a racking system for ground-mounted or rooftop solar applications, Wheatland’s galvanized mechanical tube is the ideal solution.

We offer round, square and rectangular profiles in a variety of sizes and thicknesses. With Wheatland’s proprietary in-house galvanization process, your installations will stand the test of sun, weather and time.

A System For Cost-Driven Projects

GROUND

Applied Energy Technologies aetenergy.com AET’s ECO series includes all the features customer’s love at a competitive cost. Designed for cost-driven projects, the system features industry-leading installation times, as well as high shipping density to dramatically lower freight bills. The lightweight system, which is galvanized for corrosion resistance, accommodates all panels.

Racking Comes With Panels AP Alternatives www.apalternatives.com AP Alternatives is leading the solar industry with modular solar-racking systems. The pre-panelized racking is designed to be the most cost-effective and quickest installing rack on the market. The company uses 26 years of manufacturing knowledge and engineering to create an industry-changing modular racking solution.

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Snow Is No Problem Array Technologies arraytechinc.com The custom-tilt DuraRack system is one of several ground-mount solutions offered by Array Technologies. With its ability to maximize ground coverage, the DuraRack system withstands extreme temperatures, high winds and heavy snow. Using fewer fasteners per kW, Array Technologies’ proprietary universal mounting clamps drastically reduce installation time for faster deployment, reducing costs while maximizing the return for investors.

Stress-Free Mounting

Minimal Grading Requirements

Creotecc www.creotecc.us

HatiCon Solar haticonsolar.com

The Creoterra Ground Mount System features an innovative

HatiCon Solar’s Ground Mount system provides a simple and

insertion rail design that provides superior module retention

fast open-field PV installation solution with minimal grading

without the use of clamps, alleviating mechanical stress on

requirements. On-site flexibility requires no on-site fabrication.

modules and significantly reducing installation time. UL-

Patented, pre-assembled, adjustable click style clamps adapt to

2703 recognized, Creoterra is designed for scalability and

all modules. HatiCon Solar’s scalable Ground Mount system is

adaptability to diverse soil conditions. Custom construction

custom designed and optimized for each site.

plan sets, P.E. stamps, on-site training, soil studies and pull testing are also offered by Creotecc. Demonstration videos, project references and technical data can be found online.

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Zero Loose Fasteners PanelClaw www.panelclaw.com The Sun Bear fixed-tilt ground-mount system is designed to install faster than any other system on the market. Its four-component design includes a pre-assembled frame and in-field adjustability, for an unmatched combination of simplicity and flexibility. Zero loose fasteners and pre-assembled components speed construction and

Ballasted Ground System Installs Fast

eliminate costly onsite drilling, cutting or welding.

GameChange Racking www.gamechangeracking.com The GC Pour-In-Place Ballasted Ground System requires no penetrations and is ideal for landfills, brownfields or any flat site. Volume purchases start from $.199/watt due to its design.

It is the most cost-effective ballasted ground system in the industry. Because of its self-leveling technology and simple design, the GC Pour-In-Place Ballasted Ground System is the fastest installing ballasted ground system. A five-man crew can install 225 panels and racks per day.

Focused On Innovation Polar Racking www.polarracking.com Headquartered in Toronto, Polar Racking is a North American leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of photovoltaic mounting systems. The company has a diversified portfolio of rooftop and ground-mount products for the residential, commercial and utilityscale markets. Focused on continuous innovation, the company’s vision is to deliver the highest value to clients at the lowest cost per kWh. Through our suite of engineering collaboration tools, technical services and installation support, Polar Racking delivers turnkey solutions that are modular, lighter and quicker to install.

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Single Source Racking RBI Solar www.rbisolar.com RBI ground-mount solar racking system is ETL classified to UL 2703. Like other RBI products, the ground-mount system is custom designed and engineered to site-specific conditions.

This ARRA compliant product is manufactured in state of the art facilities. With in-house project managers and post driving machines, RBI takes single-source responsibility to complete all solar racking installation projects.

System Incorporates Ground Screw TerraSmart www.terrasmart.com TerraSmart specializes in designing, engineering, manufacturing and installing an industry leading, turnkey ground-mount solution for commercial to utility-scale solar projects. Incorporating TerraSmart’s trend-setting ground-screw foundation with its racking system, the company

Fast Installation And Maximum Flexibility

has paved the path for transforming the solar ground-mount industry.

SunLink www.sunlink.com SunLink’s Large-Scale GMS features cutting-edge structural engineering and product design that equal the lowest cost for 500 kW or more ground-mount projects. The system’s efficient design provides maximum racking flexibility, site-specific optimization and only six components for ease of assembly. Mechanized or manual mounting of prepanelized three- or four-panel columns makes installation fast and easy.

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Module Frames Become The Grounding Medium

ROOF

DynoRaxx www.dynoraxx.com The DynoRaxx DynoBond is a proprietary UL-recognized design that allows the DynoBond to be used as a jumper between modules and rows, making the module frames the medium for the equipment ground path. The DynoBond replaces the conventional method of installing one ground lug per solar module and running a solid sixgauge copper wire bonding the modules. The DynoBond is engineered for commercial and residential applications.

Fewer Parts For Increased Efficiency Ecolibrium Solar www.ecolibriumsolar.com Ecorail is a sloped-roof mounting system designed to reduce the cost of deploying solar. This versatile slope- roof system is compatible with all roof types using only a few components. Part count reductions increase efficiencies, on and off the roof. Coupled with lower material cost, Ecorail’s innovative design makes your projects more competitive and profitable.

Maximize Module Density Everest Solar www.everest-solarsystems.com Everest Solar’s D-Dome System maximizes module density and total energy production on a roof. Thanks to its doublesided orientation and an elevation angle of 10°, the system continuously produces power throughout the day. As with all Everest Solar products, minimal system components and top down assembly enables easy, fast installations.

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Two Ways To Save

Clamps Form A Secure Bond

Fortune Energy www.fortuneenergy.net

IronRidge www.ironridge.com

The Fortune Energy Dual-Rack

The IronRidge Integrated Grounding

with channel-feature technology is

System bonds solar modules directly

manufactured in the United States

to IronRidge Rails, eliminating the

and can be installed in two ways.

need for separate module grounding

Installers can use either a top down

hardware. The Grounding Mid Clamps

attachment style or an L-bracket

have “teeth” on top and bottom that

style, depending on design and

form a secure electrical bond that is

budget constraints. The advanced

repeated throughout the array.

design means fewer parts, leading to a less expensive and faster install than most products in the market.

The design is pre-approved with a Professional Engineer seal.

More Durability, Less Aluminum KB Racking kbracking.com EkonoRack 2.0 features the intuitive design of the original EkonoRack system plus pre-assembled roof protection mats, 20% less aluminum and a sleeker, stackable design. Rapid installation and long-lasting durability are now available at a more affordable price and in more locations across the United States.

Rails Click Into Place Mounting Systems usa.mounting-systems.info The Alpha+ and Tau+ pitched roof racking systems employ Mounting Systems’ new Clickstone technology. The Clickstone works on a simple principle: Click into the rail: position, tighten and you’re done. The Clickstone’s symmetrical design lets the installer insert the Clickstone into the rail more easily, adjust it more accurately and secure it more quickly. This technology and new, economical rails result in exceptionally fast assembly and easy system installation. Newly designed planning software (Quick Configurator) speeds project planning and permitting.

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System Snaps Together Patriot Solar patriotsolargroup.com The Spider ST is a lightweight, ballasted roof-mount system. It is specifically designed for quick assembly, minimizing labor costs, and is ideal for large commercial or utility scale projects. Made of injection molded high-density polyethylene (HDPE), the three-piece system simply snaps together for an incredibly easy installation.

Elevated Water Seal Technology

A Hook For Tile Roofs Quickscrews www.quickscrews.com

Quick Mount PV www.quickmountpv.com

Quickscrews International Corp. is now stocking a tile roof hook that works with a wide variety of the most

Competitively priced, the

common tiles. The hook adjusts for situations when tiles

E-Mount features Quick Mount

are mounted on residential roofs with or without batons.

PV’s patented QBlock Elevated Water Seal technology to provide

The Lightest Ballasted System

superior waterproofing on composition and asphalt shingle roofs. E-Mount installs easily with

Rack10 Solar www.rack10solar.com

a single bolt and uses a smaller, lighter, all-aluminum flashing. The E-Mount comes with all stainless-

The Rack10 patent-pending design uses only three

steel hardware and is made in

components to make the lightest ballasted solar

the United States.

racking system. Its design allows rapid installation, leading to low labor cost.

The American-made system also features integrated electrical bonding and wire management.

Rack10 is the new look of solar racking.

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Eliminate Rooftop Drilling Renusol www.renusolamerica.com Renusol MS is a simple, compact and cost-effective pitched-roof solution developed for mounting PV modules to trapezoidal sheet metal roofs. The system attaches directly to the sheet metal, eliminating the need for long rails and attachments to purlins or rafters. Made of stainless steel and aluminum for longevity, the Renusol MS system consists of a clamp base for quick installation, self-piercing and self-tapping screws with hardened tips that eliminate rooftop drilling, and pre-assembled, adjustable mid- and end-clamps for securing the PV panel. EPDM gaskets under all clamp bases and fasteners protect against leaks. The system has been third-party tested for waterproof assurance.

Mount On Any Metal Roof S-5! www.s-5.com S-5! is the international authority on solar attachment technology in the metal

Durable Elegance

roofing industry, boasting a line of clamps

Roof Tech www.roof-tech.us

rail on the market. S-5-PV Kit provides an

The Roof Tech RT-[E] Mount (pictured) is

2703 listed. In early 2013, S-5! released

the compact, elegant mounting bracket

EdgeGrab, designed to further simplify

that attaches anywhere on roof decking.

S-5-PV Kit end-condition installations.

that fit almost every metal roof profile and easy, cost-effective DirectAttached solar

Metal Roof Base SnapNrack www.snapnrack.com SnapNrack has introduced a self-sealing metal roof base to its Series 100 racking system. By reducing attachment time to less than 30 seconds and integrating seamlessly with existing racking products, the metal roof base minimizes balance of systems costs and total PV installation time.

installation that is ETL-1703 and UL-

All parts are shipped in one box complete with butyl rubber flashing, renowned for its watertight performance and durability.

Roof Tech U set Solar is a frame design patented in the United States., Japan and other countries. Roof Tech is now offering exclusive partnership opportunities to PV manufacturers who adapt their products to the U set Solar design.

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Multifunctional Components Increase Efficiency Schletter www.schletter.us The Fix-EZ is a flat roof system named for its truly simplistic approach to photovoltaic system installations. The Fix-EZ is comprised of four multi-functional components that allow for quick on-site assembly at a competitive price. Ballast blocks act as ballast weight as well as system support. Module mounting rails support modules and act as windbreak with Rapid2+ module clamps securely holding modules in place while bonding and grounding them to the system. Engineered to be 100% IBC code compliant, the Fix-EZ is ideal for commercial installations, and a residential kit will soon be available on the company’s online store.

Reliability And Protection

One Mount For All Modules

SolarDock www.solardock.com

Sollega www.sollega.com

SolarDock is a non-penetrating flat-roof

The Sollega FastRack ballasted mounting

continuous support system for photovoltaic

system features a one-piece design that is

modules. Constructed of aluminum and

compatible with all modules. FastRack’s flexibility adapts

stainless steel, SolarDock racking is built for

to obstacles and contours to uneven roof surfaces. The lightweight system is

strength and long-term reliability. Its pan-

stackable. It is manufactured from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with built-

base design cradles the PV modules helping

in UV inhibitor. All the top-down connections use one bolt size.

prevent long-term damage, such as microfractures in modules, while also protecting wiring and ballast.

Resists High Winds SST www.solarsys.at With just one mounting bracket, the Aerocompact S (south oriented) and Aerocompact + (east-west oriented) systems achieve the most cost-effective, least-invasive and fastest install on the market. Aerocompact is wind tunnel tested to speeds of 150 MPH and ETL certified to UL 2703 standards.

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Rail-Less On Roofs Sunmodo sunmodo.com Sunmodo introduces its Pylon rail-less mounting system, with built-in wire management. The system provides self-grounding and

Simplicity Unirac unirac.com Unirac Roof Mount (RM) introduces the power of simplicity to the ballasted flat-roof solar industry.

The system consists of only two major components, minimizing preparation work and install time. With Unirac RM, installers can seamlessly design around roof obstacles, support most framed modules and bond the system with just the turn of a wrench.

bonding, without any loose parts to inventory or drop.

Aesthetically pleasing, the Pylon rail-less system offers clean mounting, with staggered and tapered module layouts available. The Pylon rail-less mounting system significantly reduces installations costs, and is compatible with standard panel frames.

No Rail Needed On Tile

Mount Anywhere

Zep Solar www. zepsolar. com

The Zilla Phantom is a rail-less solar mounting system.

ZS Tile offers the fastest and least expensive way to install photovoltaic arrays on tile roofs. It’s designed to interoperate with a growing list of Zep Compatible PV modules that incorporate the patented Zep Groove frame specification. Using quarter-turn, rock-in and drop-in connections, ZS Tile eliminates the need for rails and separate grounding hardware while offering a superior aesthetic approach.

Zilla www.zillarac.com

Building on the popular Zilla Double Stud Flashing, the Phantom can mount anywhere on composite roofs, not just on joists. Additionally, the Phantom streamlines distribution and transportation allowing for a safer, easier and more economical solar installation. The Zilla Phantom is a fully flashed and grounded system and includes everything necessary to complete a rooftop solar installation.

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TRACKERS

Motors With Integrated Electronics And Inclinometer Options

Tracker Arrives Faster, Cheaper AllSun Trackers www.allsuntrackers.com

Dunkermotor www. dunkermotor. com

The AllSun

Motion solutions

Tracker

for solar trackers

complete

get smarter and

pallet system

provide lower total

allows for

cost of ownership (TCO) thanks to all-in-one design.

free, same-

Dunkermotoren’s STM (Solar Tracker Motor) product

day shipping of the

line now packs brushless DC motor, gearbox, power

dual-axis solar tracker to the installer

and controls electronics, fieldbus and optional onboard

or job site. Using the rails of the tracker’s frame, the complete

inclinometer in one completely sealed unit.

system reduces procurement time and costs. The AllSun Tracker has been used for residential installations to 2.1-MW farms.

Grease-Free Design Exosun www.exosun.net Exosun’s ExotrackHZ is a horizontal single-axis tracker that can deliver up to 25% more output than fixed-tilt systems. Its modular construction simplifies the installation process and its grease-free design

System Is Instrumental In San Antonio

enhances system reliability and minimizes long-term O&M costs.

Ercam www.ercam.es

At the heart of this

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technology is the

The simple, low profile, backtracking dual-axis tracker

Exobox control system,

from Ercam Trackers increases energy production by about

which monitors up to

26% (annualized) and captures time-of-use rate premiums

4 MW of trackers for

that single-axis trackers leave on the table. The company

efficiency. A 20-year

has completed delivery of its first 50 MW of the 500-MW

warranty is available.

Alamo projects in San Antonio.

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Mount On Difficult Topography Solar FlexRack www.solarflexrack.com

Engineered With Installers In Mind

Our distributive drive system allows

HST Solar hstsolar.com

installed on more demanding sites

HST Solar’s ground-mounted solar tracker platforms deliver the industry’s fastest install times. Designing our systems with EPCs and electricians, it has developed quick-deploy racks that require minimal ground preparation and no concrete foundations or driven pile. Its prewired and packaged products are deployed using advanced layout software, unskilled labor

the Solar FlexRack Tracker to be — places where using conventional trackers would be impossible. This single-access tracker also provides developers and EPCs the ability to maximize revenue on sites normally targeted for fixed-tilt installs.

and no heavy machinery.

Following The Hillside Terrafix www.terrafix.com The photovoltaic industry demands reduced costs and increased performance. The new single-axis tracker from Terrafix is the solution. The CONTOUR-Track is designed to eliminate grading by following hillsides and undulating terrain up to 30°, which allows sites to be used that were previously never considered because of high grading costs. The flexibility of the CONTOUR-Track, which can be built on a ram or screw foundation, in addition to its competitive pricing, make it the tracker system to watch.

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SOLAR INVERTERS From micro to P.O., central to string, solar inverters are getting more efficient.

They’re getting smarter, too, with better monitoring capabilities, communication and even Wi-Fi. Manufacturers are also realizing it’s all about getting increased power density in leaner designs. We’ve listed a selection from each segment so you can compare models side by side and decide which is best for your project.

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CENTRAL A Utility-Interactive Inverter Advanced Energy www.advanced-energy.com Advanced Energy’s 1000NX is a utility-scale central inverter with utility-interactive controls to ensure continuous connection of large solar arrays to the electrical grid. Integrated voltage ride-through and frequency controls keep PV installations operational during power fluctuations, low-voltage events and grid-reliability issues. The 1000NX’s single engine design minimizes maintenance costs while its bipolar 1000-V topology drives down overall balance of system costs.

Compact Inverter With High Efficiency AEG Power Solutions www.aegps.com AEG Power Solutions’ Protect PV.500 and 630 OD UL are compact, high efficiency central solar inverters. They are both UL-certified, and designed for American utility-scale applications on ground-area installations in harsh outdoor environments. The line has a power stack with measuring and control technology enabling DC input voltages of up to 1000 VDC and peak efficiencies of 98.4%.

Multiple Modules Means Maximum Reliability Bonfiglioli www.bonfiglioliusa.com Bonfiglioli’s RPS TL-UL has multiple, independent inverter modules to ensures maximum system reliability. A single fault will affect only one subfield, while the balance of the system continues to operate, which minimizes loss of energy production. The inverter also has a range of ratings (from 367 kWac to 1.40 MWac), ensuring a match with any size array.

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Delivering Efficiency Without Derating Danfoss www.danfoss.com Danfoss‘s QLX central inverter series (1MW to 1.5MW) delivers maximum efficiency without derating even under harshweather operation. This series redefines high performance in Sunbelt regions with a NEMA 4 sealed inverter section.

The series achieves peak efficiencies up to 98% and works at ambient temperatures from -20°C to +50°C without derating.

Designed To Be Durable Ingeteam www.ingeteam.com Ingeteam’s Ingecon Sun Power Max U provides a maximum AC power output of 500 kW up to an ambient temperature of 50° C (122° F), with a maximum efficiency of 97.2%. This model is designed for outdoor installation (NEMA 3R), with capability for lowvoltage ride through and injecting reactive power and controlling the active power delivered to the grid.

A Skidless Inverter Station Eaton www.eaton.com Eaton’s Power Xpert 1,500-kW solar inverter is 98% efficient with a skidless inverter station. An MV pad-mount transformer is connected to the inverter by a direct-coupled throat connection reducing cable requirements, pad size and commissioning time. A segmented design enables the system to run at partial power in the case of a fault.

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High-Speed MPPT For Maximum Harvest Power-One www.power-one.com Power-One’s Aurora Ultra has a maximum efficiency of 98.4%, 1000Vdc maximum input and up to four high-speed MPPT channels for maximum energy harvest. It’s available for applications with 480Vac output from an external transformer. It has closed-loop liquid cooling and a NEMA 4X enclosure. Independent, field-replaceable inverter modules maximize reliability, ease maintenance and reduce susceptibility to a single fault.

Cooling Without An Air Conditioner Parker Hannifin www.parker.com Parker Hannifin’s 890GT-S PV accepts up to 1000V DC input and is available in power ratings to 2 MW. It integrates IGBT power conversion and low loss powdered metal core inductors with Parker’s twophase cooling without an air conditioner. Exterior access panels ease installation and maintenance.

Slew-rate control for real and reactive power makes it grid friendly, and MPPT control ensures the maximum energy harvest.

Maximum Yield For Minimal Cost Santerno www.santerno.com The Santerno TG 760 1000V TL-NA inverter delivers maximum yield for minimal cost. It comes in indoor or outdoor versions and operates at temperatures up to 122 °F with 98% CEC efficiency.

Modular construction with Tier-1 components delivers maximum reliability with easy access for service. It can include high-precision AC power meter to offer real-time efficiency measurement in all working conditions.

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Options For Grid Management Solectria Renewables www.solren.com Solectria Renewables’ external transformer SGI 500XTM and SGI 750XTM inverters are designed to maximize return on investment through high efficiencies, easy installation, a wide operating voltage range and integrated customized options.

They have a 98% CEC-weighted efficiency and offer grid management options such as real power curtailment, reactive power control and voltage and frequency ride-through.

A Central Inverter That Comes With Options Schneider Electric www.schneider-electric.com Schneider Electric’s Conext Core XC-NA inverter has an enclosure that‘s NEMA 3R rated with skid-mounted or PV Box solutions available. It has an integrated DC combiner with a variety of fuse options from 250A to 400A along with available current monitoring. It’s available for power outputs from 540 kVA to 680 kVA and is UL listed to 1000 Vdc.

High Performance In Power Plants TMEIC www.tmeic.com TMEIC’s Solar Ware Samurai is a utility-scale central inverter for high performance in power plant applications. It features a full 1.667-MW rating with an efficiency maximum of 98.7%, with minimal efficiency degradation up to 100% load. They employ heatpipe technology to easy operations and maintenance and improve uptime. They also include TMEIC’s 3-level NPS IGBT technology.

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MICROINVERTERS A Single Unit For Four Modules

A Microinverter With More Enphase Energy enphase.com Enphase’s fourth-generation M250

APS America apsamerica.com

microinverter is rated at 96.5% CECweighted efficiency and optimized for solar modules up to 300W STC. Its

The APS YC1000-3 is a single unit

integrated ground feature eliminates the

that connects four solar modules

need for a separate copper grounding

(up to 310W STC each) to provide

electrode conductor. Enphase’s software

from 208V to 480V 3-phase

and online platforms allow owners to view and share their systems, and installers to perform

grid voltage. It maximizes power

operations and maintenance. Also, an application programming interface allows creating custom

generation for each module to

applications, such as building management software, billing integration and mobile apps.

boost efficiency by up to 20%.

The performance of each module can be individually monitored from a home computer.

Designed To Conquer Shady Issues SMA America www.sma-america.com SMA’s Sunny Boy microinverter features 96% CEC efficiency, simple installation, an innovative communications platform and is especially applicable for residential systems and rooftops with complex, shaded situations. High reliability is achieved with the Sunny Multigate-US, which allows for fewer components exposed to heat stress under the module and greatly improves communication reliability. Improved cabling eliminates the need for a trunk cable.

More Energy With Fewer Modules Power-One www.power-one.com Power-One, a member of the ABB Group, offers its MICRO high-voltage inverter. This 300-W product provides more energy production with fewer microinverters on the roof. It supports 345-W PV modules to provide 45% higher power on the roof than most solutions. It has selectable settings for a variety of grid standards, including Hawaii, and a wide input voltage range, 19 to 75V. 12 • 2013

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TrueAC Modules SolarBridge Technologies solarbridgetech.com The SolarBridge Pantheon II integrates AC cabling and equipment ground for lower cost and faster installation. It can be integrated into solar panels for “TRUEAC” modules designed to capture up to 25% more energy per site and cut installation time up to 50%. TRUEAC modules are roof-ready to simplify the design and increase the reliability of PV systems.

POWER OPTIMIZERS

OFF-GRID

A SmartModule System Tigo Energy www.tigoenergy.com Tigo’s Junction Box ES Series can be integrated into solar panels to create “SmartModules” for residential, commercial and utility-scale projects. This system optimizes the power output of each module, delivers module-level

A Hybrid Pure Sine Inverter

data for operational management and performance monitoring and

Magnum Energy www.magnumenergy.com

allows deactivating the high-voltage DC bus for safe

Magnum Energy’s MagnaSine Hybrid (MSH) is a hybrid

installation,

pure sine-wave inverter designed for home backup

maintenance or

power. The MSH-RE series combines energy from the

fire fighting. The

AC input and batteries to power inverter loads. This

junction boxes

allows the inverter to recharge the battery when there

maintain conversion

is surplus power or deliver more power if the loads

efficiencies at

require more than the AC input can supply by itself.

statistically 99.6%.

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STRING

One Model Satisfies All Chint Power Systems America www.chintpower.com

Designed To Deliver LCOE Advanced Energy www.advanced-energy. com The AE 3TL (600V and 1000V) is

Chint Power Systems America’s 600 Vdc models [20 kW(480 Vac) and 14 kW(208 Vac)] have a 97% CEC efficiency (20 kW) and are flexible for use commercial applications from 10 kW to 500 kW. Dual independent MPPTs eliminate the need for a series of power levels since one model satisfies all applications efficiently. DC and AC disconnects and fusing are integrated. A wire box is integrated but separable so array combiners aren’t needed.

a three-phase inverter designed

The Best Of Both Worlds

to deliver reduced levelized cost of electricity. Its lightweight and easy-to install design reduces

Danfoss www.danfoss.com

shipping and labor costs.

Shortened run-lengths reduce overall balance of system costs.

The inverter’s modular and

The MLX series from Danfoss marks a new concept

distributed design allows site

for decentralized set-ups. Neither a string inverter nor

owners to maximize space. The

a central inverter, it combines the best of both worlds

inverter’s features allow greater

representing a novel approach to system set-up. The

uptime and higher system yield.

MLX is designed for medium to large-scale commercial applications in multi-region grids and climates. Built to maximize output a MLX-based solution is scalable, reliable and simple to replicate across markets.

Built-In Wi-Fi Fronius International www.fronius.com The Fronius Galvo offers a standard built-in Wi-Fi interface. System data can be uploaded to the Fronius Solar.web server and its smartphone apps without cables. Also, voltage and frequencydependent power manipulation in periods of grid overload will prevent the Fronius Galvo from switching off, relieving stress on the grid and safeguarding inverter energy yield. Plus, the company’s hinged mounting system makes installing and servicing easy.

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An Ideal Solution Without Transformers

A Hybrid System

Ideal Power Converters www.idealpower.com

Ginlong USA www.ginlong-usa.com

Ideal Power’s 30-kW PV inverter, the IPV-30kW-480, Ginlong’s GCI-5K-H single-phase

targets medium-size commercial installations and solar

transformerless hybrid inverter

parking structures, typically ranging in size from 25kW to

supports a hybrid solar and wind

250kW. The inverter supports standard grounded PV arrays

grid-tied system with a single

(unipolar and bipolar configurations) without requiring

inverter, in place of the industry

internal or external transformers. Its lightweight design

standard practice of using

allows simple wall-mount installation indoors or outdoors.

two inverters, thus simplifying installation and reducing cost.

Single Or Triple Options

The hybrid system has more constant power production, not

KACO new energy kaconewenergy.com

only benefiting the customers but also the utility grid.

KACO new energy’s blueplanet 50.0 TL3 line (32kW, 40kW, 50kW) offers a single or three MPP model option. Each is available with integrated visible, lockable AC and DC disconnection means nearly 98% CEC efficiency and sealed electronics. Monitoring is achieved with a standard integrated webserver, on-board data-logging functions, a graphical user interface and Modbus read and control functions.

A Modular Approach Power-One www.power-one.com Power-One, a member of the ABB group, TRIO Inverter 1000-V DC string inverter, certified to UL1741, takes a modular approach to commercial systems for high flexibility.

Its 1000-V DC output helps reduce balance of system costs as much as 40%. Additionally, they’re small and lightweight enough to be wall–mounted, avoiding the expense of cranes or concrete pads without sacrificing industry energy harvest.

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Mitigating Shade And Reducing Weight SMA www.sma-america.com SMA’s Sunny Boy 3000TL-US/3800TLUS/4000TL-US/5000TL-US has a transformerless design for high efficiency and reduced weight.

Maximum power production is derived from wide input voltage and operating

Fixed Voltage Allows Doubling String Length SolarEdge www.solaredge.com SolarEdge’s 3-phase fixed voltage inverters (SE9k, SE10k, SE20k) offer 98.0% weighted CEC efficiency. The inverters maintain a fixed-string voltage that enables doubling string length 2.5 to 4 times longer than traditional systems. The string length is based on power not voltage simplifying system design for installers. They are also light with low volume, which increases options for placement.

temperature ranges. Multiple MPP trackers and OptiTrac Global Peak mitigate the effect of shade and allow for installation at challenging sites. A secure

For Challenging Commercial Applications

power supply feature provides daytime power in the event of a grid outage.

SolarMax www.solarmax.com SolarMax’s MT A series has output power ranges from 12kW to 18kW with multiple MPPTs. Maximum input voltages of up to 1000V enable longer PV strings to reduce cable losses, while harvesting more energy.

Increased power density helps reduce installation time and cost. The series is NEMA 4X-rated MT for commercial applications with challenging environments. SolarMax offers its MaxTalk communication service software to parameterize decentralized plants.

Compact, Transformerless Three-Phase Inverters Solectria Renewables www.solren.com Solectria Renewables’ PVI 23TL and PVI 28TL are compact, transformerless three-phase inverters with dual MPP tracker. AC and DC disconnect, user-interactive LCD and an 8-fuse string combiner come standard. They’re small and lightweight for easy installation and maintenance. They include a DSP control, protection functions and thermal design for high reliability and uptime. They have a 10-year warranty (15 and 20-year options).

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SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES From charge controllers to switches, even the small parts matter when it comes to solar. Choosing quality components can have a big impact on the life and bankability of your solar project. Here’s a quick look at some of the current technologies available for your system.

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Custom-Built Batteries

BATTERIES & STORAGE

Crown Battery www.crownbattery.com Crown Battery’s CRP Power Module battery series are custom-built and tested for renewable energy applications. They have up to 3690 amperehour capacity and are made using robotic welding and other advanced technology manufacturing. They’re designed for off-grid applications and for uninterrupted power supply for grid-connected users. The series contains 13 models, all 2-volt batteries. Terminal options include stainless-steel threaded stud terminals and inserted brass terminals.

The Right Energy Storage Solution EnerSys www.enersys.com The EnerSys 1-MWh OptiGrid energy storage solution that combines the right battery chemistry, powerconditioning system, monitoring system and shelter/ container. It can be customized with chemistries such as tubular technology, flat-plate VRLA, flat-plate flooded or lithium ion. It’s designed for utilities, as well as end users, including commercial, industrial, government agencies and renewable project developers.

A Battery Built To Last Rolls Battery www.rollsbattery.com Rolls Battery Engineering’s FC-420 flooded calcium stationary battery’s antimony isn’t used in the grid structure, so it can sustain prolonged periods in float applications with nominal maintenance. It uses calcium in its grids to lower internal resistance and off-gassing during charge and reduce self-discharge rates. Its positive plate is thicker and than other models (>4mm vs.

2.5mm) and wrapped in glass matting and a polyethelene envelope to extend life.

Battery Sizing Calculator Trojan Battery Company www.trojanbattery.com Trojan Battery’s battery sizing calculator properly sizes battery banks for off-grid renewable energy systems. After filling in an electronic form, the calculator recommends a Trojan battery model. The calculator also allows customers to run “what if” scenarios to find specific battery options to meet their budget or configuration requirements. The battery sizing calculator application can be found at www.batterysizingcalculator.com.

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Deep-Cycle Batteries Have High Peak Capacity U.S. Battery www.usbattery.com U.S. Battery RE Series deep-cycle batteries include features that give them high peak capacity, cycle life and reliability for use in solar powered homes and businesses. The batteries use Diamond Plate technology, consisting of highly efficient synthetic tetrabasic lead sulfate (TTBLS), crystal structures.

Solar Charger For Portable Power

CHARGE CONTROLLERS Boosting Solar Energy

PowerFilm www.powerfilmsolar.com

Blue Sky Energy www.blueskyenergyinc.com

The PowerFilm R14 rollable solar

Blue Sky Energy’s the Solar Boost 3000i

charger is well suited for portable

MPPT charge controller allows charging a range of batteries using conventional solar modules without suffering power losses from voltage mismatch. The device increases charge current up to 30% or more compared to conventional controllers. It regulates the transmission of power from the solar module to the battery to improve efficiency while increasing system safety and battery life.

solar power. With an output of 14W, the R14 can charge a variety of different sized electronics and batteries.

The R14 is also fully

A Versatile Solution For Small Systems Midnite Solar www.midnitesolar.com

encapsulated and uses marine grade connection so that it can be left out in all weather without

Midnite Solar’s KID is a 30 amp MPPT charge

worrying

controller for solar, wind or hydro. The KID

about panel

is a versatile medium sized charge controller

damage.

and ideal for small renewable energy systems.

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A Field-Proven Combiner Box

COMBINER BOXES The OutBack Power PV Combiner Series

SunLink www.sunlink.com SunLink’s HomeRun LTE solar combiner boxes feature lower prices, a more compact, corrosion-resistant design and a streamlined feature set without sacrificing signature HomeRun

OutBack Power www.outbackpower.com

quality. Proven on 150 MW of installations, all HomeRun solar combiner boxes are ETL listed to UL 1741 and are available with integrated mounting hardware.

The FLEXware PV Combiner Series boxes accommodate the overcurrent protection requirement from 150VDC to 600VDC fuse holder applications. The OutBack Power FLEXware series features rain-proof, powder-coated UL-type 3R aluminum chassis, easy wiring configuration and dual-output lug terminals for up to 2/0 AWG conductors.

COMPONENTS

Switches Require Less Space And Wire ABB www.abb.com The ABB Low Voltage Products division offers new OTDC switches, including 250, 320 and 400 ampere models designed for solar. These small footprint, twopole disconnect switches achieve a 1000-VDC rating per UL 98B. Dual-magnetic breaking arc suppression provides high performance while being simple and safe. It occupies up to 50% less space while providing reduced wiring costs compared to other switches.

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Five Times The Fatigue Strength

Cable Offers Resistance To UV Sunlight

Alcoa Fastening Systems www.afshuck.net

General Cable www.generalcable.com

Alcoa Fastening Systems says its HuckBolt lockbolt delivers five times

Providing Protection For PV Installations

the fatigue strength of conventional nuts and bolts, and is engineered to provide the high strength, reliability and vibration-resistant

CITEL www.citel.us

performance even in the most extreme environments such as with

General Cable’s line of SunGen PV wire is made in accordance with both UL 4703 and CSA RPVU90, offers superior resistance to UV sunlight and meets the requirement for direct burial.

many solar applications. Its pintailless design makes it highly resistant

CITEL’s DS60VGPV surge protection

against corrosion.

devices (SPDs) are certified to UL 1449 third edition DC standards. CITEL’s VG Technology maximizes surge current handling capability while allowing low residual voltage. This extends life up to five times the typical MOV-only SPD. The DS60VGPV has been tested to meet the 2016 UL standards, which require a robust short circuit current rating and intermediate current testing.

Compact, Cost-Effective Circuit Protection Eaton www.eaton.com Eaton’s PVGard circuit protection solutions help reduce space and costs while increasing safety and reliability. The PVGard molded case circuit breaker and switch are rated to 600V (DC) per pole for solar applications. The breakers and switches do not require jumpers to connect poles in a series.

Integrated arc chute technology increases safety and can reduce installation costs and space requirements up to 66%.

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Wire Management For Every Need ILSCO Corporation www.ilsco.com ILSCO’s wire management clips can attach onto a thin metal edge to hold cables or wires. They come in stainless steel and nylon, with and without cable ties. Directional angled teeth bite into the surface for a secure grip. ILSCO’s offering allows installers to find clips to suit the needs of a particular installation’s ground and power wire.

Certified Terminals For High Voltage Marathon Special Products www.marathonsp.com Marathon Special Products’ High Voltage Power Block series are high voltage (1500 AC/DC) versions of its traditional power block configurations that will meet growing demand for UL certified terminals for use at voltage levels greater than 600V. The series has a modular single pole design to accommodate both bare and prepared (lugged) wire with multiple splicing, distribution and studded terminal combinations.

Insulation And Continuity Testers Megger www.megger.com The Megger MIT400 series of insulation testers conform to IEC1010-2for category IV 600V applications. The units include a wide measurement range and adjustable insulation test voltages providing 250,1000, 50 or 1000V. An application instrument offers voltages from 10 to 100V in 1-V steps. Some models include data storage and download capability. A 200 mA continuity measurement is available for fast cable resistance measurement.

Networking Makes Monitoring Easier Moxa www.moxa.com Moxa’s UC-8100 series computer and software platform allows system providers to offer monitoring service for remote field devices. The series will act as a compact, highly flexible, vendor-agnostic data logger that connects to inverters, string combiners, smart meters and other devices made by any manufacturer, then transmits that data over Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or cellular.

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An Alternative To MetalEnclosed Switchgear S&C Electric Company www.sandc.com S&C’s System VI switchgear combines Vista Underground Distribution and Custom MetalEnclosed Switchgear to provide an alternative to metal-enclosed switchgear. Units of Vista gear include 600-A load-interrupter switches and fault interrupters, sealed in an SF6-insulated, elbowconnected tank. Air-insulated bushings on one or both sides of the tank allow joining multiple units of Vista gear or to metal-enclosed switchgear modules.

Photovoltaic Circuit Breakers and Disconnect Switches Schneider Electric www.schneider-electric.com Schneider Electric’s PowerPact photovoltaic circuit breakers and disconnect switches are designed for the commercial and utility markets in 600 to 1,000V applications. They feature a compact design and come with factory-installed terminal covers and serial connectors that come pre-configured to ensure that

Chip Simplifies Development Of Qi Charging Stations Texas Instruments www.ti.com Texas Instruments offers its next-generation wireless power transfer circuit to support the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) 1.1 specification. The bq500212A transmitter requires one-third fewer components than competitive solutions. The circuit allows designers to quickly take to market Qi-compliant wireless charge pads or stations that can operate from a USB port or 5-V power adapter.

each phase is properly isolated and allows for superior wiring protection. Many accessories are also available.

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Switches Allow More Space With Less Cost Woehner www.woehner.com Woehner USA introduces Telergon’s S6000 DC load break switches for use in string combiner boxes, re-combiner boxes and inverters for DC applications. Its design allows a smaller footprint, and the elimination of bridging link accessories reduces the total installation space and labor cost.

MONITORING

Manage Your Portfolio To Match Your Business AlsoEnergy www.alsoenergy.com AlsoEnergy’s PowerTrack is a software that provides energy management services to gather data from various sources. PowerTrack is designed from the ground up to handle a virtually unlimited number of sites, allowing you to organize your portfolio to match your business environment. It securely stores the data, and presents it in a way that allows for easy analysis and understanding.

Cloud-Based Monitoring Draker www.drakerenergy.com Draker’s Intelligent Array Software is a cloud-based software that enables energy monitoring, performance analysis and asset management from any webenabled device. The software is made up of robust web applications with advanced analytical tools to enable active O&M. 12 • 2013

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PV Systems Are A Long-Term Investment

Monitoring With Cellular Communication Itron www.itron.com

Meteocontrol www.meteocontrol. com

Itron’s solar meter embedded with a cellular communications module provides a way to measure and manage solar production data across a wide geographic area. The meters leverage secure and simple cellular

meteocontrol is a

communication networks. Installation is “plug and play.” The company’s managed

technological leader and

services for ongoing monitoring of production data, simplifying deployment and

one of the most innovative

lowering the overall total cost of ownership for solar providers.

service providers in the solar energy sector. The company

Monitoring Is Key To Lower Maintenance Costs

has supported solar projects for more than 30 years, and develops and markets services and products in the energy and

Locus Energy locusenergy.com

weather-data-management areas. This foundation of experience and know-how makes meteocontrol a

Locus Energy’s LGate 120 and LGate 320 smart meters are able

coveted consultancy partner

to communicate with the inverter and other third-party devices

with large-scale national and

like weather stations. Collected information can be integrated into Locus Energy’s web-

international projects.

based SolarOS software platform, or a third-party platform, for gathering data for asset optimization, troubleshooting and performance guarantee/billing functions, making these monitors key to lowering O&M costs over a fleet of systems.

Know Your Power Consumption eGauge www.egauge.net eGauge is a web-based electric energy and power meter that can measure up to 12 circuits on up to 3-phases (120V−480V, 50−60Hz). It can measure and record whole-house consumption and solar generation. The data can be viewed on any web-enabled device through the built-in web-server. The measurements can also be accessed through BACnet and/or can be pushed to a server via our XML API. 60

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Intelligent Control And Supervision skytron energy www.skytron-energy.com

More Flexible Planning Solar Data Systems www.solar-log.com Solar Data Systems’ Solar-Log models come with an LCD display to see the current operating status during installation and operation. Some

skytron energy’s utility-scale

models also come with a color touchscreen,

monitoring, control and supervision

a USB port or RS485/422 ports. In the three

platform includes intelligent string

newest models, the number of inverters doesn’t

combiners, data loggers, weather

define the product line. Instead, they are divided

and irradiation sensors and central

by plant sizes in kW, which allows for more

power-plant controllers as well

flexibility in the planning phase.

as control-room visualization and monitoring software. All functions of a complex power generation plant are covered: real-time condition monitoring and data acquisition, long-term data storage and grid-

OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

stability management.

AE Solar Energy SiteGuard Advanced Energy www.advancedenergy.com Advanced Energy’s SiteGuard service lowers the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and simplifies O&M for the entire PV site. SiteGuard saves project developers time, money and inefficiencies of working with multiple service providers.

Available in most regions worldwide, SiteGuard covers everything from AE inverters to PV modules, electrical systems, tracking systems and regular reporting.

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SunPower Introduces CleanFleet SunPower us.sunpowercorp.com CleanFleet is the proprietary robotic solar panel cleaning technology and service created by Greenbotics, a company recently acquired by SunPower. CleanFleet robots operate at night to avoid disrupting daytime energy production and use 90 percent less water than manual cleaning methods. Regular use in dry, dusty regions can increase annual energy production by up to 15 percent. CleanFleet expands energy services for customers with the SunPower Oasis Power Plant product.

SolarBrush Cleaning Robots

SERVICES

SolarBrush www.solarbrush.de The robots secure efficiency of solar power through automated cleaning. Deposits like dust and sand lead to massive losses in efficiency of

A One-Stop Shop For Your Solar Needs

solar panels. SolarBrush robots clean the whole row in a structured manner, autonomously.

Several of the lightweight and wireless robots can

Blue Oak Energy www.blueoakenergy.com

be deployed by a single person, off-peak, at night.

Since 2003, Blue Oak Energy has been designing, building and maintaining some of the top solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across the U.S. The award-winning company, founded by CEO Tobin Booth, was created with the singular vision of solar electricity becoming an attainable energy choice for all. With an elite team of professionals solely dedicated to the solar industry, Blue Oak is focused on providing worldclass solar solutions in the distributed and utility generation sectors.

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Build A Worry-Free Solar Energy System

NABCEP Company Accreditation

EDF Renewable Energy www.edf-re.com

NABCEP www.nabcep.org

EDF Renewable Energy offers two primary options to customers

NABCEP Company Accreditation provides a way for

looking to build solar energy systems. Its team can help you decide

residential PV installation companies to distinguish

which makes the most sense for you. EDF Renewable Energy

themselves by adhering to a set of industry

develops your system from start to finish — with no upfront costs to

recognized best practices. The NABCEP Company

you. You enjoy stable electricity pricing over the life of the system.

Accreditation program provides consumers a way to identify companies that are committed to high-quality installation standards, trained and qualified staff, safe work practices and customer accountability.

Solar, From Beginning To End SOLON www.solon.com

Intertek PV Performance Certification Program

SOLON Corp. is a leading provider of large commercial and utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) system solutions to the North American market. SOLON delivers complete and costeffective turnkey PV systems to its partners with a streamlined approach from project development, design and construction to financing and operation.

Intertek www.intertek.com Intertek’s new PV Performance Certification Program was launched to address significant issues of long-term module performance.

The program offers manufacturers a means to demonstrate, control and maintain the long-term performance and reliability of their PV products and helps them attract investors, gain confidence with EPC teams and obtain government subsidies with Intertek’s Performance and Reliability label.

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Testing For Your Solar Components TÜV Rheinland PTL www.tuv.com For over 20 years TÜV Rheinland PTL has been the leading provider of safety testing, performance testing and market certification for the photovoltaic marketplace. Its comprehensive service offerings can support each sector of the photovoltaic marketplace — from supply chain to investment and installation — from initial manufacturing to final product, our experts can help. TUV Rheinland PTL provides local support with global market access reach.

SITE ASSESSMENT Solar Tie Series 3TIER www.3tier.com Using a proven satellite

PV Power Plant Suite of Services

methodology, data files of 3TIER’s Solar Time Series

Underwriters Laboratories www.ul.com

provide up to 16 years of hourly irradiance, wind,

UL is broadening its reach across the value chain, beyond

and temperature

the testing and certification of materials, components and

values at

products and into the PV power plant with services that

any location

increase stakeholder confidence. Built on deep knowledge

worldwide. The Solar Time Series is valuable input for the

of codes, standards, technologies, testing and measurement,

company’s PVSyst and many other energy, design, and

a comprehensive suite of services is aimed at assisting in the

financial modeling tools for performing solar analysis and

procurement, construction and operation of the PV plant.

evaluating project feasibility.

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Reduced Pyranometer Maintenance

Making PV Testing Easy Seaward Group www.seaward-groupusa. com

Kipp & Zonen www.kippzonen.com Kipp & Zonen’s CMP10 is a secondary standard pyranometer that reduces maintenance. Its internal desiccant does not require inspection or replacement for at least 10 years. Based on the company’s CMP 11 technology, CMP10 extends this quality to applications where

Integrated Pyranometer For Monitoring Lufft www.lufft.com

Kit meets all of the commissioning test requirements of IEC 62446 and those of local, national and best practice guidelines such as NABCEP. It combines the Seaward Solar PV150 installation tester with the advanced Solar Survey 200R multifunction

maintenance is difficult and/or forms a major part of the cost of ownership.

The Seaward Group’s Solarlink Test

Lufft knows that solar energy project

irradiance/survey meter;

monitoring is critical. Its weather forecasting

offering a complete

solutions help assure efficient production

solution to PV

and protects valuable solar equipment from

installation

damage from hail and extreme weather.

testing.

All-in-one weather stations with integrated pyranometer for project monitoring reduce costs while not sacrificing accuracy. The Lufft R2S 24Ghz Doppler radar precipitation sensor detects hail. The Lufft all-in-one weather station will monitor project efficiency.

It’s About Throughput and Accuracy Solmetric www.solmetric.com Solmetric’s 1000V I-V Curve Tracer can be used in commissioning, auditing, operations-and-maintenance and troubleshooting. New features also include a temperature and incident angle-corrected irradiance sensor delivering accurate readings in lower light conditions, SmartTemp blending module backside temperature with Effective Cell Temperature for the best cell temperature measurements, and a database of more than 12,000 modules.

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[D EV ELOPMENTS ]

Solar Means Business At Harvard Harvard Business School has completed an 80-kW rooftop solar installation on its new executive education facility. The project uses 320 AC modules with integrated microinverters, which can generate AC power directly from each panel. Harvard is one of the first universities to install ACPV, representing a growing trend to use such technology in larger commercial and institutional systems.

for the project to maximize system production and efficiency.”

Using a web-based monitoring system, facilities staff can keep tabs on ACPV system production anywhere, anytime — down to each module. Green-screen monitors will let Tata Hall occupants see how much energy the solar array is producing at any given moment to offset enough of the building’s power consumption.

The project demonstrates Harvard University’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gases 30% by 2016. Sustainability and renewable energy projects at Harvard Business School have contributed to the school’s 62% recycling rate, 23% reduction in energy use and 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The PV array Solar is an excellent investment for universities, is the second at the Harvard Business School, though the university also hosts about four others. which are under increasing pressure to reduce ET Solar provided the installation’s solar modules, which costs and energy consumption. include integrated SolarBridge Pantheon II microinverters factory-installed on each panel.

— Bill Mulligan, president and CEO of SolarBridge Technologies “Solar is an excellent investment for universities, which are under increasing pressure to reduce costs and energy consumption,” says Bill Mulligan, president and CEO of SolarBridge “The project’s complexity included a multi-tiered roof with Technologies. “When an institution with the prestige and longevity of many mechanical units and attachments resulting in shading Harvard Business School chooses ACPV for its solar projects, you on various parts of the arrays throughout the day,” says Scott can be assured that significant long-term financial and environmental Howe of Solect Energy, the Massachusetts contractor that benefits have been demonstrated.” SPW installed the Harvard project. “AC solar panels were a good fit Wind and shade were a particular challenge for solar at the campus building, Tata Hall. Harvard selected ACPV because manufacturers say the technology can maximize the output of each solar panel. Shadows from roof structures and equipment would present issues for DC-based systems using string inverters, because shade on any panel would compromise the power output of the entire module string. ACPV, therefore, is said to increase system up-time and reduce operations and maintenance expenses by eliminating any single point of failure in the system.

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[D EV ELOPMENTS ]

New Inverter Breed Combines Benefits Of String And Micro Models Technology Research Corp., a subsidiary of Coleman Cable, has designed and developed a new class of inverter, which it calls the Smart Phase Micro-Parallel Inverter. These inverters mount to either the solar panels or frame0 and are designed to ease installation, diagnostics and maintenance.

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A micro-parallel inverter has the safety and data of an AC microinverter with the installation convenience and placement flexibility of a DC string inverter. Inverter performance, health and status are relayed by power-line communication to an energy and monitoring controller, which updates a self-launching website for remote viewing and data extraction. The data resolution is sufficient to trace performance and faults to individual panels, inverters and modules. The architecture has four independent channels per inverter. The inverter remains operational, generating power and relaying performance, health, diagnostics data and alerts to the maintainer with as few as one solar panel and one inverter channel functional. The software

architecture allows remotely updating the inverter’s firmware and the controller software.

Grid-tied systems can be modified or designed to automatically transition to either emergency or off-grid power.

This efficient self-aware inverter is the key to an adaptable renewable energy system that can operate in or automatically transition between states. In a grid-tied state, the inverter enables a system that provides supplemental solar power to a system that is tied to the utility power grid. The inverters stop generating AC power when the grid fails or browns out.

This allows power crews to safely work on restoring power.

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[ DEVEL O P ME N T S ] In an emergency power state a transfer switch is used to automatically disconnect from the grid when voltage drops below a set level. The system then turns on a battery-powered AC generator (sized to the anticipated load).

The system behaves as an off-grid one would. The solar panels resume power generation synchronized with the batterypowered generator. During extended periods of low solar illumination the batteries will need to be recharged. An automatic transfer switch is used to turn off the battery-powered generator, start a fuel-based AC generator and connect it to the system to recharge the batteries.

As solar illumination returns, the solar inverters provide synchronized power

to the system. Once the batteries are charged, the automatic transfer switch shuts off the generator and the system runs off the batteries and solar sources.

Emergency power systems are suitable for areas where weather or grid conditions may cause outages or brown outs. In an off-grid state, the system behaves as an emergency power system without the grid tie. Off-grid systems are good for rural power or in remote areas where deforestation is undesirable. SPW

Discuss This and other Solar issues at www.engineeringexchange.com

Inverter Characteristics

• 1.2kW instantaneous and 1.1kW continuous output power • Robust performance and graceful degradation up to 4 panels per inverter • Continues to operate with as few as one panel and one channel • Standard cabling and connectors are used and the AC inverters eliminate the need for DC combiner boxes.

• Easy single handed blind mount installation • Smart grid data collection; web-based reporting, control and alerts • Self-diagnostics • Remote software and firmware upgrades

Request www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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[SOLAR

SNAPSHOT ] Top brands in the U.S. are demonstrating commitment to clean energy by installing solar on warehouses, stores and facilities. This infographic from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Vote Solar’s 2013 Solar Means Business report shows which companies are leading the way.

Solar is also growing globally, as can be seen in the chart to the right from the NPD Solarbuzz Quarterly report. During the third quarter of 2013 end-market demand from the global solar photovoltaic industry reached 9 GW. This record demand represents an increase of 6% compared to last the second quarter of 2013, and is almost 20% more than the same quarter of 2012. SPW

89.43 MW

Walmart

Home & Living

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Market

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[ SO LA R

S N A P S H O T ]

“Solar Snapshot” provide a glimpse of the solar industry in pictures. If you have an infographic you’d like to see on this page, email it to Editorial Director Frank Andorka at fandorka@ solarpowerworldonline.com.

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