US tracker manufacturer FTC Solar has launched an automated 80 degree hail stow angle for its flagship 1P Pioneer tracker.
The 80 degree range of motion is an improvement over the 60 degree range of motion previously available for the tracker, and aims to better protect modules deployed in “hail-prone regions,” according to the company. The trackers can be automated to enter hail stow positions in response to third-party weather data, or can be manually overridden by operators at any time.
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“Solar developers and asset owners need certainty that their systems can withstand extreme weather,” said FTC Solar CEO Yann Brandt.
Solar projects are under increased scrutiny to remain productive amid a combination of challenging phenomena: an increase in extreme weather, posing physical threats to solar projects, and modules themselves becoming larger and thinner, and thus less resilient to those threats.
Figures from kWh Analytics show that hail accounts for 73% of financial losses for US solar projects, despite representing just 6% of the total number of loss incidents, and earlier this year, Jon Previtali, senior principal engineer at VDE Americas, told PV Tech Premium that these changes in the size and shape of modules means that extreme hailstorms can destroy up to 50% of a project.
FTC Solar also noted that its updated 1P Pioneer tracker would work with its SUNOPS digital management platform, which has been in operation since the company first launched its automated hail stow programme last year. Last month, the company launched a new tracker to protect against extreme wind conditions in particular, as it looks to improve solar project resilience from a range of environmental threats.
The launch of a new product continues FTC Solar’s positive year, which saw the company post quarter-on-quarter revenue growth of 57.6% in May. Sustained revenue growth and a decline in operating expenses has driven the positive financial trend, and comes just over a year since the company implemented a reverse stock split in order to meet the minimum stock price required to list on the Nasdaq exchange.
