Solaria announced that SunEdison has agreed to license Solaria’s manufacturing technology to cost effectively mass produce its new line of ultra-high efficiency 400-watt solar modules.

“SunEdison’s solar materials team has completed the development of the new 400-watt SunEdison ZERO WHITE SPACE solar module. This architecture squeezes more electricity out of the module by reducing the amount of unproductive white space surrounding each cell,” said Bang Nguyen, SunEdison’s vice president of solar materials operations. “By licensing Solaria’s state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, we’re able to get SunEdison ZERO WHITE SPACE modules to market much quicker. These new modules are our most efficient yet, and are ideally suited for home and business applications where space is limited.”

“SunEdison is a visionary company and we are excited to enter into this collaboration to pursue our combined goal of accelerating the ubiquity of solar technology,” said Suvi Sharma, CEO, Solaria Corporation. “Combining Solaria’s high-density power generation solutions with SunEdison’s market leadership will continue to accelerate the availability of affordable and efficient solar.”

Building on an IP portfolio of more than 100 patents and a highly automated manufacturing line, Solaria’s cost and efficiency improvements are unmatched for a variety of large applications. By leveraging its core technology to develop and deliver new applications, Solaria offers solar solutions optimized for rooftop and utility PV, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), and greenhouses. Through Solaria’s partnership-driven approach, Solaria enables market leaders across its three core segments to surpass competition via their own “powered by Solaria” branded products that leverage Solaria’s leading edge technology.

Solar Power World

SunPower has launched its Helix platform, the world’s first fully-integrated commercial solar solution combining solar power production and energy management.

“Unique in the solar industry, Helix is a complete solution that optimizes power production and maximizes value for our commercial customers, such as Bed Bath and Beyond,” said Tom Werner, president and CEO of SunPower. “Integral to each Helix component, from the solar cells to the energy management system, is SunPower’s 30 years of innovation and experience delivering some of the world’s most efficient, reliable solar technology.”

Helix is a pre-engineered, modular solution that is built to last and fast to install, enabling customers to scale their solar programs quickly with minimal business disruption. The Helix platform is standardized across rooftop, carport and ground installations. Features include:

• SunPower solar panels, the most efficient solar panels on the market today, produce 60 percent more energy from the same space over the first 25 years than conventional panels. Leading the industry in environmental sustainability, SunPower panels manufactured in Mexicoand France are the first and only solar panels in the world to receive the Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver designation.
• Mounting hardware that maximizes roof coverage, enabling Helix to achieve the leading energy density in solar with 72 percent more energy generated over 25 years when compared with conventional solar power systems.
• Plug-and-play power station – the only one available in the U.S. commercial solar market – eliminates the need to strip and land wires on site, reducing labor costs during installation and improving reliability.
• SunPower EnergyLink is a comprehensive, powerful energy intelligence software (EIS) for solar, which, unlike other EIS products, quantifies real time demand charge savings, and identifies demand peaks and savings opportunities.

Bed Bath & Beyond is one of SunPower’s first Helix customers’, with construction expected to begin on systems at eight stores early next year. The major retailer launched its solar program in 2006, and currently generates a total of 17.5 MW from SunPower systems on 26 facilities in four states.

“The cost savings we expect to see with the new SunPower Helix systems, such as plug-and-play power stations that greatly reduce installation time, will enable Bed Bath & Beyond to grow our solar program more quickly, delivering operational savings at more of our facilities,” said Robert Eckhardt, head of architecture and renewables development for Bed Bath & Beyond. “Minimizing the complexities of solar system installation is critical for keeping projects on schedule and meeting return on investment goals. Helix is designed to meet those challenges.”

“With standardized Helix components, we have eliminated the inefficiencies and added costs of complex system design,” added Werner. “Helix makes the complex simple, allowing our commercial and public agency customers to easily and intelligently manage their energy use and costs and maximize solar power production over the long-term.”

With more than 20 MW of Helix systems sold to date, SunPower will begin installing Helix early next year.

More information on Helix can be found on SunPower’s blog and at www.sunpower.com/helix.

Solar Power World

Solar Power World

In a recent webinar Mara White, product manager for Outback Power discussed how inverters and storage work together. Here’s a recap of a Q&A with listeners. You can watch the full webinar here.

Solar Power World:  A lot of people are asking about net metering and solar storage. They’re wondering about its impact on the solar and storage market.

White: Net metering is going to be very region specific—program by program and utility by utility. Even within the larger state of California, we’re going to see three or four different programs along the coast. It really depends on what the utility requirements are and whether that grid connected with the battery chargers are going to comply. Quite often, the majority of them absolutely do.

SPW: Why aren’t nickel metal batteries usually considered for renewable energy?

White: Nickel metal hydride batteries are not a mainstream technology. The vast majority of the form factors are for smaller systems. Nickel isn’t within the capability of most of the inverters, it would fall under custom battery settings. The place you see it used most right now is in electric vehicles, like the Prius. The issue with the nickel iron chemistry is that it has a low efficiency factor for recharging. It does have a very long life, but it’s not very efficient. It takes a lot more energy to keep the battery topped off than it would a more common lead-based or lithium system.

SPW: People also have some questions about using different battery technologies with different types of inverters. Do you have to check if the inverter will work with specific types of batteries or are they universally compatible?

White: You can use different storage technologies with one inverter. Generally you’ll pick one to go with because the inverter does not like to work from two. For instance, you wouldn’t have a lead-acid system paralleled with a lithium system. One thing to keep in mind when using lithium batteries is that they require battery management systems. Most lithium battery management systems are part of the battery pack, so many inverter manufacturers will include that component as well, because of the communication that has to happen in those systems. Looking at pairing programability and voltage windows is also important when matching inverters and battery technologies.

SPW: Are you able to add storage to microinverter systems? 

White: The primary way of adding storage to microinverters is AC coupling; it’s the least difficult way to do it. Becasue the microinverters are aggregated on the roof, and you’ve got a pair of wires usually coming down from the roof that feed into a sub panel, it’s pretty easy to back it up with an AC coupling system.

SPW: Are there any design constraints with AC coupling, most particularly with respect to sizing batteries and back-up inverters?

White: It really depends on the original grid-tie system is. The AC coupled inverter should be oversized to compensate for efficiency loss; you normally would not take an AC coupled inverter to it’s nameplate when your only source of energy coming into it is from a PV array. Specifically, the multiplier is 1.25 over capacity on the inverter.

If you’re doing a hybrid type system, whatever loads you want to operate when the power has failed need to be within the capacity rating of the inverter. There’s factors that we use that calculate that. There’re standard NEC factors that are used in the size of the circuit breaker ratings. Typically if your have normal residential loads, you’d follow similar NEC guidelines. If you have a lot of big well pumps or things like that, then generally we recommend you stay within the surge rating of the inverter so you size that into your calculation. It really comes down to how much energy storage you’re willing to put in those kinds of systems. This determines what size inverter you’re going to need.

SPW: People are asking a little bit more about how to calculate loads. How is this done?

White: There’re quite a few online load calculation software programs available for free online. We usually recommend that a customer looks at those first. Then they can also look at their current energy usage. Their power bills are really important as well, as you can also get devices to measure what each load is drawing. You can plug them into your outlet and then plug the device into it. This will tell what’s going on with those loads. Calculating loads is definitely a crucial part of the design process.

SPW: One question about fire safety and battery back up installation. I heard a firefighter speak on this in one of our past webinars, but if you could also touch on this topic. Are there any best practices for helping out fire safety professionals when you’re dealing with a solar storage system maybe that’s different than just a solar array in general?

White: This can be fire code specific. There are parts of the fire codes that can specify space around panels for accessing for if personnel have to go on the roof to make any holes for smoke ventilation. There can be differening battery bank compliance codes as well.  Many of the charge controllers and other systems that would be directly interfacing with the batteries all contain disconnects, which would be the first point at which the firefighter would interact with the system. Disconnects are usually included for the PV coming from the roof, the AC disconnect on the house and the DC disconnect. Most systems, specifically battery backed-up systems carry labeling that would let the firefighter know what part of the system is active.

SPW: Reducing battery prices is reliant on refining storage technology and increasing volume. Is there a way to reduce the cost of storage on solar systems from the soft-cost side, such as on installation?

White: Probably the largest single contributor to lowering your cost of your backed-up system is reducing the number of loads that you’re trying to back up. That has the largest impact on the system costs. Everything you’re trying to operate and you’re expecting to work properly in the backed-up state, you’ve got to provide sufficient energy for to run. Probably the first thing you do in any system that you’re considering either running off grid backing up, is to consider conservation first and look at ways of reducing the load that you’re going to run in the back-up interval. You typically don’t see electric heating or any of the loads that are more easily operated by any other source of fuel. These are generally taken off the electrical system. When we talk about critical load panel, critical is the key word. What’s absolute necessary to run? The freezer and fridge? Some lighting and entertainment? Although we do have customers who want to run the whole place, but it’s going to cost a lot of money and involve a huge system. They want to run their whole house, they have lots of money and they have huge systems.

Solar Power World

SCHURTER expands its wide range of current compensated chokes with high current types for PCB mounting. The new DKIH series are available for single and three phase applications with rated currents from 10 to 50 amperes. Due to its open design, the chokes are light weight and compact, ideally designed to suppress EMI noise caused by power applications on the PCB.

Like all other aspects of electronic design, the power portion is often built today using discrete components on printed circuit boards. With the trending integration of components, to achieve smaller and smaller form factors, thermal problems and high currents on the PCB can arise. It also becomes increasingly challenging to meet EMC requirements with a filter package due to the resulting space constraints; therefore a filter on PCB with discrete components is a good solution. Next, the capacitors and a common mode choke, with asymmetrical effective inductance, are very effective to dampen EMI noise.

The new DKIH-1 series is suitable for single phase AC or DC applications from 10 up to 50 amperes. Light weight and compact, the common mode chokes are easily placed on the PCB with through-hole technology (THT). They are designed and approved according IEC 60938, UL 1283 and CSA 22.2 no. 8. The voltage rating is 300 VAC (IEC, UL), 250 VAC (CSA) and 425 VDC. Inductance ratings range from 0.30 to 0.90 mH.

The new DKIH-3 series is suitable for three phase AC applications from 10 up to 50 amperes. The common mode chokes are also designed according IEC 60938 and are rated 600 VAC, making them suitable for many applications. Inductance ratings range from 0.08 to 1.10 mH. The DKIH-1 and -3 have a wide temperature range of -40 to +100°C.

They are available with a standard pin out or customer specific pin out. Variations in the winding are also available on request.

The DKIH product family is designed for use in applications such as frequency converters for photovoltaic or energy storage, charging stations for electric vehicles, UPS systems and switch mode power supplies.

Solar Power World

Solar Power World

Solar Power World

Alectris, a leading global solar asset care innovation firm, and MASE, Modern Arabia for Solar Energy, today announced its alliance on Arabia One Solar, a 10-MWp AC solar PV plant in Jordan. MASE, established by the Arabia Group of Companies, will lead field operations and maintenance services for the solar plant, supervised and supported by the global asset care technical expertise and plant management software capabilities of Alectris. The project represents the development and use of a new business model to meet the criteria of the world’s financial community and increase bankability of photovoltaic systems in emerging solar markets.

Arabia One Solar
A clean energy initiative of Jordan’s Round I Renewable Energy Program, Arabia One Solar is supported by tier one sponsors and internationally recognized bankable EPC, equipment and service providers including financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (FINNFUND). IFC is a member of the World Bank Group, the largest worldwide development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. In addition to Arabia Trading & Consulting (an Arabia Group company), Arabia One Solar sponsors include Ennera Energy and Mobility and Hanwha Engineering & Construction, who will also construct the project.

The Arabia One Solar PV power plant is located in the Ma’an Development Area, 218 km south of the Jordan capital of Amman. Once constructed, the plant will have a total of 45,192 photovoltaic modules with a total peak power of 11,523.96 kilowatt-peak (kWp). The energy output will be sold to Jordan’s National Electric Power Company under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

A Model to Increase Bankability in Emerging Solar Markets
The project employs a new business model for emerging solar markets. These markets hold high solar potential but have little or no industry infrastructure including qualified contractors or operations and maintenance resources to ensure long term asset productivity.

First this model draws on solar operations and maintenance expertise at the project design and development stage to engineer bankability and financial assurance into the plans for the investment team. Second it ensures long term financial viability of the asset by structuring and deploying operations, maintenance and management of the site based on worldwide best practices. Finally the strategy benefits the emerging market by providing for the rapid evolution of regional expertise by drawing on a global subject matter expert with the expressed purpose of informing the technical and infield success of the regional partner.

“The eco-system built around Arabia One Solar improved the bankability of the project for the investors and the lenders,” explains Vassilis Papaeconomou, Managing Director of Alectris. “Working together the strengths of the partners are enhanced to meet the criteria of the investment community. We can make solar more attractive for emerging markets by aligning the expertise of local companies like MASE with global best practices, including those employed by our team. We see only success with the MASE team, who bring excellent country and solar experience to the table.”

The Alectris’ Solar ERP, ACTIS, will be installed on Arabia One Solar from the start of the plant’s operation. Alectris will provide O&M services in alliance with MASE, moving to a full technical and operational knowledge transfer to the Jordanian based company further into the project’s life span.

“The solar industry in Jordan and the MENA region is growing too quickly to organically build our operations, maintenance and asset management expertise and software tools,” said Tareq Khalifeh, Director of Operations for MASE. “Our team is well versed in the development and construction of photovoltaic systems. By joining with Alectris, we can inform our operations and maintenance discipline quickly engendering deep confidence in our ability to manage Arabia One Solar and our portfolio of utility and retail distributed generation solar plants.”

Solar Power World

In this edition of Solar Speaks, Dylan Anderson, senior director of project and quality engineering at NEXTracker, discusses the company’s flagship product, the horizontal, individual-row Self-Powered Tracker (SPT). Since 2013, NEXTracker has brought more than 1 GW of trackers to the market, and it has another gigawatt underway. Among the reasons for the company’s success is the tracker’s innovative technology allowing commissioning during construction and increased O&M efficiency. Learn more about NEXTracker in this Solar Speaks podcast.

Solar Power World

In a recent webinar Mara White, product manager for Outback Power discussed the huge opportunity for storage and the growth of the solar market. Here’s a recap.  You can watch the full webinar here.

Storage is a critical part in the PV industry, as we see a lot of different fragments or segments of market data in the news. We have the opportunity to dig a little bit deeper into how the energy storage market fits into solar and some of the drivers as we look forward over the next three years. We can overlay the energy storage market on top of some of the solar market data.

Solar’s on a roll
PV as a whole is a $14 billion business right now in the U.S. Over the next three years, PV plus energy storage is going to exceed that half mark to $8.2 billion by 2018. Really, that means that there’s been more solar installed in the past 18 months than the 30 years prior. Ten years ago, we used to have a solar system go in about once every 1.5 hours, and currently there’s a solar system going in once every four minutes. Cumulatively, for the U.S., we have more than 13,000 MW installed.

We have 55 GW of solar installed globally, U.S. solar installation capacity is right in between the Asian and EMEA markets. The adoption in recent years has mostly been driven by government incentives and aimed at promoting the adoption of renewable energy. Historically the market’s been dominated by Europe, or countries that have offered incentive schemes, but recent years you can see, beginning in 2012, lot of that growth has had a down turn where incentives were cut heavily during that time. In 2014 it starts to pick up in some regions. A lot of the expected growth between now and 2018 is going to be in Asia and in the Americas. In the market projects chart, there’s a little dip in America in 2017 due to the expiration of the ITC. This type of global view includes both grid connected and off-grid PV. Storage has historically been seen in the off-grid market.

How storage could help drive solar post-ITC
Now, let’s discuss how the development of storage for PV is essential to increase the ability of PV systems to replace existing energy sources. Annual PV storage is expected to grow from 50,000 MW to more than 70,000 MW in the next three years. Annual PV installations with energy storage is a subset of the whole industry, but growing at a substantial rate. Reports from six months ago showed solar really dropping off in 2017. Now, storage is anticipated to be a new market driver to help the PV industry stay consistent, and even pick up speed over the next three years. Storage in grid-connected applications is a new market, and storage plus PV is being used to replace existing energy sources.

The solar grid-connected residential and off-grid markets are expected to grow substantially over the next three years. These are small markets that could really encroach into the larger market.

Market opportunities in solar plus storage
Turning installed megawatts into dollars, PV energy storage revenues are forecast to rise from $3.2 billion as of 2014 to $8.2 billion in 2018. Off-grid systems currently drive most of the PV plus energy storage revenue, only about 9% of the revenue from solar plus storage is from grid-connected systems.  But grid-connected systems are projected to drive 28% of solar plus storage revenue by 2018.

Really, energy storage can be deployed in most PV markets today. You’re going to see growth across grid-connected segments projects, with the largest growth in the commercial utility portions.

For example, in many regions the commercial electricity tariff varies throughout the day, and the charges are applied to bills based on peak electricity demand. Energy storage can be used to reduce usage at certain times of the day, and therefore drive down electricity bills.

Whereas on the grid-connected residential level, home owners install PV to generate electricity during the day, but often have their highest demand in the morning or after work. Storage can be used to retain surplus electricity and use it at a later time. New grid connected residential solar plus storage installations are also expected to exceed the growth of retrofitted installations, when you add storage to an existing solar site usually through AC coupling. Having designs for new systems will be a benefit because they will enable more flexibility, primarily more options for interoperability and newer technologies.

The biggest hurdle to solar plus energy storage
In PV plus energy storage, the price of storage technologies is one of the biggest hurdles, especially in the off-grid world. All battery chemistries are predicted to decrease in price over the next few years. The blended average of these prices will remain pretty constant. This is really based on kW/hr based on nameplate.

Looking outside of storage in solar
It’s always good to double check the data from a different perspective. Looking outside of the PV industry, you can see a list of disruptive technologies including energy storage specific to renewable energy: IHS ranks the top 10 global technologies transforming the world as 10. artificial intelligence, 9. biometrics, 8. flexible displays, 7. sensors, 6. advanced user interfaces, 5. graphene, 4. energy storage and advanced battery technologies, 3. 3-D printing, 2. cloud computing and big data, 1. the internet of everything. Energy storage and advanced technologies will be critical to maintain the reliable electricity grid.

Right now solar makes up 0.06% of the world’s electricity. We expect that solar move to replacing the gas line over the next 20 years, as gas in turn replaces coal. The by proposition here is that residential energy storage is where PV was six or seven years ago, and the factors that lead PV to this mass affordability will have to have a similar effect on storage. Battery cost are declining, in the past decade there have been dozens of start up companies and far safer and more efficient types of inverter and storage technologies.

Other drivers for energy storage
You can see the cost of a completely installed system has multiple components, especially in the storage installations. You’re going to have a huge contributing factor of battery prices declining and panel site prices declining, so the complete installed system overall is still heading down. With the increased volume and popularity, there is a lot of different reasons people are adding solar. It may not just be the back up that primarily has been the driver for the off-grid business so far. People install solar for a variety of reasons. It could be be to save money, benefit the environment or provide back-up power.

Another driver includes world-wide grid challenges. Having a means to store the power for energy sources so you can safely and reliably use it later and have power in times of crisis is going to help drive the storage business. Germany is one of the most advanced and has the most mature PV markets in the world. Even the grid stability in that area is a huge driver for some of the energy storage. We know that the grid architecture across all of Europe is definitely under certain conditions can be a problem. We see energy storage uptake across the world being a bellweather for domestic needs already. In the U.S., California gets about 15% of its electricity from renewables, with the goal of more than 20% percent by 2020, just five more years. Programs and incentives help drive renewables and help stablize California’s grid. Also, storms like Katrina and Hurricane Sandy also drive battery back-up.

In a survey from one of our larger installers, 11% of their residential customers had energy storage back-up but more than 50% were interested in having it in case of an outage. There’s still a quarter of people who say no way, but given the population offering energy storage is still a huge market opportunity.

Solar Power World

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Energize NY today announced the expansion of Energize NY into the Central New York and Mid-Hudson regions to help more communities reduce their energy costs and protect the environment through energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Its mission aligns with Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision strategy to build a clean, resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers.

A community-based energy efficiency program, Energize NY has operated primarily in Westchester County since 2011. By bringing its finance, residential and commercial programs to the Central NY and Mid-Hudson regions, it expects to stimulate approximately $15 million in energy cost savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 36,000 metric tons, equivalent to removing 7,600 cars from the road.

NYSERDA is supporting the Energize NY expansion through Governor Cuomo’s Cleaner, Greener Communities, a statewide initiative encouraging communities to incorporate sustainability goals and principles into local decision-making, and then form partnerships to transform markets that lead to the reduction of emissions and the generation of economic development benefits.

Energize NY is New York State’s Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Finance program, which offers low-cost, long-term financing to commercial and not-for-profit building owners for energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy improvements. The financings are repaid through an annual charge on the property’s tax bill.

Energize NY also provides technical support and tools to residential and commercial property owners to improve energy efficiency and/or add renewable energy to their buildings, and to help building owners access NYSERDA and local utility programs.

“Energize NY’s expansion into the Mid-Hudson and Central NY regions highlights the State’s commitment to support a range of financing and outreach options to stimulate energy efficiency and renewable energy in New York,” said John B. Rhodes, President and CEO, NYSERDA. “This partnership is one more element of a comprehensive strategy to help the State achieve Governor Cuomo’s ambitious energy goals.”

“Our goal is to help New York State residents, both homeowners and businesses, stop wasting energy and save money by improving the energy performance of their buildings,” said Mark Thielking, Executive Director of Energy Improvement Corp., which operates Energize NY. “We work with our member communities to realize the many benefits of reducing energy waste in local buildings–decreased personal and business spending on energy, increased profitability for local businesses, increased local economic activity and job creation, and reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants associated with energy consumption.”

Currently, Energize NY is actively working with 50 potential solar and energy efficiency projects, totaling $15.8 million in project financings. Its residential program serves 14 communities in Westchester County and has helped nearly 900 homeowners make energy efficiency upgrades, saving approximately $1.6 million annually on their energy bills. Its commercial team has worked on 235 projects.
“Energize NY and its clean energy programs is an important part of our economic development and environmental conservation strategy. Their programs not only help commercial building owners improve their bottom lines by recapturing wasted energy dollars, but also increase local economic activity,” said Steve Neuhaus, Orange County Executive. “I am proud that Orange County was the first county in our State to implement the Energize NY program.”

Energize NY Finance is available to participating municipalities, like Orange County, which are members of Energy Improvement Corporation (EIC), home of Energize NY. There currently are 23 members, including Dutchess, Orange, Ulster and Tompkins, with many other counties in the process of joining. There is no cost to join Energize NY.

“Any program that saves residents money by promoting energy efficiency and also protects our environment is a win for everyone,” said Ulster County Executive Mike Hein.
EIC is a mission-driven, local development corporation that works with its member municipalities and building owners across New York State to unlock energy savings in their buildings, saving money, fuel and greenhouse gas emissions. It drives demand for clean energy upgrades to existing buildings through community-based marketing and outreach, building owner support and by providing affordable and accessible project financing. For more information on Energize NY programs, visit http://www.energizeny.org/.

Cleaner, Greener Communities supports projects that the Regional Economic Development Councils have identified as important to the economy of the region. It is funded through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s first market-based regulatory program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI is a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector.

Solar Power World

In keeping with SunLink Corporation’s rapid expansion across the board, the company revealed today that as part of its expanding international footprint it has completed delivery in connection with projects in Western Honduras totaling 37 MW.

With a legacy of successful PV installations in locations like Puerto Rico, SunLink’s activity in Honduras — Latin America’s second largest solar market in 2015 – is part of a larger push into the region and beyond. The Latin American projects represent one piece of SunLink’s robust fixed-tilt, roof-mount and tracker portfolio throughout the Americas, with total installs of over 1 GW.

“Every major player in the solar market is contemplating international solar activity as a way to mitigate risks associated with the predicted temporary 2017 dip in the domestic market – whether that’s through projects, M&A or strategic alliances. We already have a respected international track record, and are expanding it rapidly not as a short-term balance sheet bolster like so many others, but as part of our long-term investment and commitment to advancing universal solar power adoption for the benefit of the environment and security worldwide,” said Michael Maulick, CEO of SunLink. “The industry knows it can rely on SunLink’s proven expertise when it comes to servicing complex political, economic and/or environmental geographies. Our extensive R&D and state-of-the-art engineering means our products surpass expectations in extreme environmental conditions, and our international supply chain accommodates the tightest of logistical timeline requirements on a global scale. Add to that our valued PowerCare engineering and project management services, and you have a winning formula for long-term success for SunLink, our partners and the regions in which they do business.”

SunLink’s efforts in Honduras are noteworthy as the Latin American region carries a top rank amongst burgeoning global solar markets with a project pipeline of almost 30 GW this year, surpassing the U.S. and Japan. Known for its robust project solutions in demanding markets, SunLink is making its full line of tracking and fixed tilt systems available for project developers in Latin America.

To learn more about SunLink’s valued solar solutions for large-scale ground-mount projects, visit: http://www.sunlink.com/groundmount.

Solar Power World

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) introduced two photovoltaic array simulators, the N8937APV and N8957APV, to help engineers develop, verify and maximize the performance of inverter maximum power point tracking algorithms and circuits.

Engineers need to ensure their solar inverters are capable of converting maximum power from the solar array to which they are connected. Developing and verifying the performance of inverter maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms and circuits is challenging. MPPT algorithms are complex, and under-the-sun testing with a comprehensive set of temperature and irradiance conditions is difficult, expensive and time consuming.

“Small increments in power production have a dramatic effect on the profitability of solar power generation,” said Kari Fauber, general manager of Keysight’s Power and Energy Division. “Keysight’s new PV array simulators help engineers capture as much energy as possible from their inverters, to improve the economics of solar power generation.”

Engineers can use the new Keysight N8937APV and N8957APV photovoltaic array (PV) simulators in a laboratory or on a manufacturing line to simulate the output characteristics of a real-world photovoltaic array. The N8937/57APV PV array simulators are autoranging, single-output, programmable DC power sources that can quickly simulate I-V curve characteristics under different environmental conditions (temperature, irradiance, age, cell technology and more), enabling engineers to quickly and comprehensively test their inverters.

The N8937/57APV PV array simulators provide stable output power, built-in voltage and current measurements and autoranging output voltage and current from 500 to 1,500V and 10 to 30A. The autoranging capability makes the units more flexible than traditional rectangular-output power supplies because they expand the power curve to provide more voltage and current combinations.

In addition to using the N8937/57APV units to simulate PV arrays, engineers can use them for other test and measurement tasks. They provide 15-kW autoranging, programmable DC power for design verification and ATE applications that require just the right amount of performance at an affordable price. Engineers can easily configure multiple units in parallel to create a single power supply that offers more than 90 kW of power.

More information on Keysight’s N8937/57APV is available at www.keysight.com/find/N8937APV and www.keysight.com/find/N8957APV.

Solar Power World

Ecoplexus Inc., a developer of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, announced the closing of financing for a 25-MW solar PV project in Whitakers, N.C. The project will be installed with approximately 150,000 Solar Frontier modules and will achieve commercial operation in late 2015.  Its completion will mark the ninth Ecoplexus project in North Carolina and a total of 53 MW in Q4 2015. Representing $45 million in project costs, the project increases Ecoplexus’ current IPP asset base which will stand at 77 MW by year-end.

The project has a signed long-term PPA contract with Dominion North Carolina Power.  Once fully operational, the system will provide North Carolina with approximately 40 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity annually, enough to power an estimated 3,800 households. The renewable power generated will offset 27,404 metric tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the emissions sequestered from nearly 23,000 acres of forest annually.

“We are pleased to contribute to Dominion’s renewable energy portfolio and play a role in providing North Carolinians with affordable clean energy,” said John Gorman, CEO of Ecoplexus.  “With our office in Durham, NC and our projects in the region, we are committed to delivering real and lasting benefits to North Carolina and neighboring states.”

Charles Pimentel, COO of Solar Frontier Americas commented, “We are pleased our advanced CIS modules were selected for this PV project developed by Ecoplexus, a company dedicated to building high quality, clean-energy plants.”

Solar Power World

Standard Solar, a leading solar energy company specializing in the development and financing of solar electric systems nationwide, installed a 47.9-kW solar array on the roof of the Alice Ferguson Foundation’s (AFF) new education building, one of the greenest most energy efficient structures in the world. The building is designed to meet the net-zero water, net-zero energy, zero-waste and carbon-neutral requirements of the Living Building Challenge.

Maryland Senator, and President of the Maryland Senate, Mike Miller speaks at the building’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.

The 174-module array, which will produce 63,509 kWh a year, will help AFF reach its energy goals for the building. “Thanks to the array installed by Standard Solar, we are able to generate our own electricity and export any excess power to the grid,” said Lori Arguelles, Executive Director at the Alice Ferguson Foundation. “We are pleased to partner with a local company like Standard Solar as we work together to change the future of energy design and usage in buildings.”

The education building—nicknamed ‘Grass’—features the solar array, along with geothermal wells and walls and a roof designed to be a three-fold energy efficiency improvement over the average building, making this first part of the educational campus a light year leap ahead of the current best practices in construction. When completed, AFF’s educational campus will consist of an overnight lodge and two sleeping cabins in addition to the recently unveiled education building. The renovation and upgrades to the Foundation’s campus represent an ongoing commitment to education, stewardship and advocacy for the Potomac River watershed.

“I had the opportunity to tour the site last month and was particularly impressed by the seeming simplicity of this attractive, technically sophisticated, energy-forward building,” said Tony Clifford, Standard Solar’s CEO. “It is an incredible achievement for the Foundation.”

“As a business located in the watershed district, Standard Solar is also concerned about its preservation,” he continued. “That’s why we were so excited to be involved in this important project and constructing the array on this building — the Foundation does exceptional work to protect the environment, and we were happy to help in any way we could.”

The foundation celebrated the building and this great step in its environmental education endeavors with a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 23.

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Photovoltaic (PV) Power inverters are an integral part of solar energy systems, converting DC power output coming from solar panels into AC current that can be fed into a commercial electrical grid or into an off-grid local electrical network. In the interface to the power grid, electro mechanical AC relays play a critical role as switching devices and to provide necessary safety “circuit-break” functions.

As PV power applications continue to proliferate from micro to string inverters, to commercial and even utility-scale PV systems, manufactures of these critical components must focus on the changing landscape with appropriate engineering solutions.

Over a number of years, Zettler Group, a global manufacturer and distributor of electromagnetic and electronic components, has continually expanded its line of AC side Solar relays that spans across an extended range of quite compelling product characteristics:

• covering PV inverter applications from under 20 kVA to over 100 kVA,
• handling continuous currents from 10 A to as high as 200 A and
• switching currents ranging from 12 A to 100 A, and
• featuring min. contact gaps from 1.5 mm to 4.6 mm.

These solar relays have been successfully designed into inverter applications by market-leading manufacturers of PV systems.

Since early on, Zettler Europe was one of the first companies to have successfully developed and produced a 35 A and 50 A PCB solar relay ( AZSR235/250) with a small footprint of just 25mm X 40mm and the capability of handling 2 X 35A (50 A) at a holding power of only 80 mW.

As pertinent safety standards such as IEC 62109 and UL 62109 evolved and converged internationally, additional capabilities of relays deployed in solar inverter applications became necessary to fulfil ever higher isolation requirements, quickly raising the bar in design challenges – especially with respect to wider contact gaps. For example, in inverters deployed at altitudes of 3000 m to 5000 m above sea level, contact gaps of at least 2.22 mm became a standard requirement.

Equally important, as the demand for higher kVA capacities of solar inverters keeps expanding, higher switching currents need to be accommodated by relays used in these applications.

Zettler responded to these increasing demands, by developing a series of 80 A, 120 A and 200 A  AC side solar relays, some of them in close cooperation with its inverter producing customers.

These developments often require rather innovative design approaches, as not all relays can be structurally modified to achieve widening contact gaps, while handling ever increasing current flows and also being able to accommodate demanding, inverter-design driven specifications with respect to physical size, energy efficiency and relay safety features.

Zettler’s 200 A AZSR1200 solar relay is a perfect example.

In close cooperation with one of its leading PV inverter industry customers, and with a great amount of research and testing, Zettler has developed a patent-pending contact system that works without the otherwise usual contact springs and is able to effortlessly overcome the reset force of the contact spring, or to move it in the first place.

In the AZSR1200 the conventional contact spring was replaced by several highly flexible copper strands that are suspended from a ‘gallow’- shaped device, requiring little to no initial spring tension. Only negligible amounts of friction and the elasticity forces of the copper strands have to be overcome to move the 200 A contact into its operating position.                                  

This approach allows peak operating and holding power performances to be achieved; with a holding power of only 0.6 W (also suitable for PWM)  and a contact gap of 4.6 mm, this 200 A PCB relay has entered a dimension that was hardly imaginable just a few years ago.      

Another significant advantage of this contact configuration is the avoidance of contact welding risks that are often associated with short circuit currents in conventional contact spring solutions. The magnetic force between parallel contacts springs, created by short circuit currents, usually pushes the contacts apart and causes them to open which frequently leads to contact welding and relay damage.

With the AZSR1200 contact system the opposite occurs: the stronger the surge current, the more the contacts are pressed together. Even temporary short-circuit currents of up to 3000 A, therefore, would not pose any welding risks for the relay contacts.

An equally innovative engineering approach was applied in the development of AZSR180, a single pole AC side 80 A solar relay that features a thermally conductive copper bridge, riveted directly behind the contact studs of two movable parallel contacts.

This patent pending “thermal bridge” allows the two parallel contact springs to be “thermally connected” which, in turn, provides for an even-leveled distribution of any excessive heat between the two contacts that can result from significantly uneven distributions of currents carried in one vs. the other contact. Uneven resistances and currents in parallel relay contacts are not uncommon.

Even in the extreme instance of a total failure of one of the two parallel-connected contacts, in which one would be completely isolated while the other would have to carry the entire current in a severe overload condition, the “thermal bridge” of the AZSR180 will prevent a critical overheating of the latter contact that would otherwise and inevitably result in the destruction of the relay.

The above mentioned design elements of the AZSR1200 and AZSR180 relays have also both been combined into Zettler’s most recent development for the next generation of solar inverters, the brand-new AZSR1120 relay, a single pole 120 A AC side relay that requires only about 40 % of the volume space of the 200 A solar relay, yet still performs with very favorable, low self-heating characteristics.

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Ericsson signed a cooperation agreement with E.ON and ABB to jointly develop smart energy solution for various industries. New services and products will be introduced to the market through the innovation company Brunnshög Energi AB, launched by E.ON. The partnership initially covers four areas: commercial real estate, transportation, solar energy production, and data centers.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), E.ON, ABB have signed a cooperation agreement in Sweden to develop innovative products and services to deliver smart energy solutions for a number of industries, to help businesses reduce energy and operation costs and improve consumers’ comfort and productivity. The intelligent products created within the framework of the partnership will be launched and introduced to the market through Brunnshög Energi AB, E.ON’s start-up innovation company.

Together, ABB, a power and automation specialist; the energy company E.ON; and Ericsson, the communication and technology services provider, will focus initially on four targeted areas: commercial real estate, transportation, solar energy production and data centers. The collaboration focuses on meeting customer needs identified in Brunnshög, an area in Lund, Sweden with the vision to create a world leading research and innovation environment and a European model for sustainable urban planning.

Fredrik Rosenqvist, Director Business Innovation, E.ON, says: “With E.ON’s new strategy Improving People’s Lives, we put the customer in focus and help drive the transition towards a sustainable society. ABB and Ericsson are two strong partners and together we have the opportunity to develop new ideas and products that are fully in line with the rapid development in the rest of the world. I am convinced that it will be important for the transition that is happening right now towards more sustainable and customer-focused energy solutions. This transition requires more cross-border partnerships with academia and leading innovative companies.”

The aim of the partnership is to work together to increase the pace of innovation to offer solutions that improve energy and operational efficiency in the selected target areas. At the center of this collaboration is data gathering, analysis and dissemination in a way that benefits both business and consumer stakeholders.

The initial pilot project is already underway focusing on the commercial real estate area to reduce operating costs through improved energy efficiency while improving the comfort and productivity of building occupants. ABB’s integrated building automation platform is delivering building energy management functions, as well as gathering building data, which is securely providing meaningful data to Ericsson’s cloud-based service enablement platform. E.ON will use this data to provide a variety of apps and services for building operators and occupants allowing for better transparency, analysis and control to improve their daily activities.

Johan Söderström, CEO of ABB Sweden, says: “ABB’s Next Level strategy emphasizes the importance of partnership to achieve sustainable growth. Our technology strategy focuses on the benefits of the application of the Internet of Things, Services and People. We see great potential for creating smart solutions together with Ericsson and E.ON for both commercial and domestic users. Brunnshög is a hub for leading edge research, creating a platform for innovation in a number of fields.”

In the transport sector, the collaboration will work to meet the future mobility needs of people and goods. By combining connected vehicle and various forms of collected data analysis, new innovative business ideas and scalable models for sustainable transport will be developed.

In the solar energy production area, the parties are looking at solutions to simplify production to make it more commercially attractive to produce solar energy. In the data center area, the parties are working on complete solutions for cost optimization, improved performance and smart power utilization with the aim of reduced energy consumption and environmental impact as a result.

Charlotta Sund, Head of Region Northern Europe and Central Asia at Ericsson, says: “Ericsson believes in the all-transforming power of ICT and we see our goal in helping other industries to grasp new opportunities that the Networked Society offers to deliver economic and social benefits. This partnership supports Ericsson’s vision and strategy. We already have a partnership with E.ON on smart metering and together with E.ON and ABB we will enable new markets.”

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Solar Power World‘s exclusive one-on-one interviews with industry experts at Solar Power International 2015 are now available as podcasts.

Have a big road trip coming up? Listen to our Solar Speaks Live playlist on SoundCloud!

All Solar Power World podcasts are available for free through the platform. Happy listening!

You can also watch the interview videos here.

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Due to rapid growth in solar installations in 2015, and forecasts for another record year for installations in 2016 IHS has flagged a potential solar wafer supply shortage throughout the entire supply chain. This concern comes despite recent announcements of large capacity expansions in diverse geographical locations from leading solar module suppliers.

Key Facts

• There is increasing likelihood of a potential shortage of tariff-free solar cells in the United States, and several cell and wafer producers are already warning of a potential wafer supply bottleneck in the coming months
• Increasing demand for high efficiency solar modules from key downstream markets has led to intensive demand for high efficiency wafers
• The current trade case’s barriers to importing silicon to China could also aggravate the shortage for high efficiency wafers in 2016
• The wafer industry’s capacity expansions plans will not keep pace with the IHS forecast for demand growth in 2015 and 2016
• Most tier-1 module and wafer suppliers have limited product availability, until the second quarter (Q2) of 2016, partly due to high demand from installations in China
• In an environment of declining polysilicon prices, the average selling price (ASP) for multi-crystalline wafers has been gradually rising  since June, which is improving wafer manufacturers’ profit margins

IHS Analysis

Global installations are forecast to increase by 33 percent this year, to reach from 58.7 gigawatts (GW), Growth will slow to 12 percent in 2016, with global solar PV demand reaching 65.5 GW. The increase in demand first affected module manufacturers, but it has progressively trickled upstream to cells and wafer producers; in [the third quarter (Q3) of this year], this increase in demand finally reached polysilicon producers.

Compared to the overall module industry, capacity expansions in the wafer industry are far more capital intensive, while margins for wafer manufacturers are currently much smaller than for most module manufacturers. This is one of the reasons wafer capacity expansion plans have been much more conservative than new module capacity announcements. A second reason is that many large vertically integrated manufacturers have opted to differentiate their capacities for various products now, rather than having matched capacities for every node in their supply chain, as in previous years. Many of these manufacturers have increased their in-house module capacity, while keeping a significantly lower wafer capacity. They are instead opting to purchase wafers from third-party companies, to reduce their capital expenditures and allow greater flexibility in their manufacturing capacity, in reaction to the fast-moving dynamics of the solar market.

The downstream market increasingly requires higher efficiency products. A large proportion of installations in 2015 require modules rated at 255 Watts and greater, which use high efficiency wafers. This requirement for high efficiency has further accelerated the consolidation of the wafer industry and the removal of most outdated capacity – coinciding with a period of high-demand from China and the United States, which has contributed to the potential short-term supply shortage.

The top 10 wafer producers in 2014 represented 60 percent of global production, and that share is forecast to remain flat in 2015. The average utilization rate of tier 1 wafer producers worldwide this year is forecast to exceed 90 percent; however, most of these producers will be sold out until the end of the year, and some will be sold out through the second quarter of 2016.

Total wafer production will reach 72.2 GW in 2016, which could be insufficient to meet demand. Assuming the top 10 producers maintain the same market share they held this year, a total production of 43 GW would be required from them in 2016; however, the total capacity of the top 10 producers will only reach 36 GW in 2015. Just two companies plan to increase their capacity in 2016 – GCL by 1 GW and Longi by 500 MW; therefore, there would be still a 5.5 GW shortfall, even if the top 10 companies were to operate at full utilization. This gap could further increase with new policy developments, like the recent announcement from Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) to add another 5.3 GW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity quota in 2015, which is to be connected to the grid by the end of June 2016.

As a result of strong market demand and insufficient supply, wafer ASPs have slowly started to rise since June. This price increase is significant, considering the declining prices for polysilicon — and costs of wafer production – this year.

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