Array Technologies has shipped its first solar tracking system for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) 50MW PV installation in south Sacramento County, California. The utility-scale project is being developed by Recurrent Energy with Swinerton Renewable Energy acting as the EPC for the installation.
SolarEdge Technologies has gained certification for its module-embedded power optimizers, rendering them ready for commercial deployment. The optimizers, now recognized and listed for use in North America, are embedded as a junction box in smart modules and are capable of arc detection and termination.
Solar racking and mounting system supplier Silverback Solar has extended its engineered racking system warranty to 20 years. Although the previous warranty duration was not specified, the company has made the decision following 10 years’ real-life testing of the systems’ impervious coatings on the attachment and connector equipment, as well as Allied Tube and Conduit’s Gatorshield steel tubing, which is an integral part of Silverback’s mounting systems.
Three years after solar mounting manufacturer Quick Mount PV moved into its present Concord, California facility, the company revealed plans to move all company operations into a larger, 133,000 square foot home base in Walnut Creek, California. The relocation will take place during the middle of the first quarter in 2012, which, the company states, will allow it to meet the ever-increasing demands for its products.
Convergence Energy’s 1MW solar farm in Delavan, Wisconsin is underway, and DEGERenergie has supplied 114 of its MLD tracking systems of the DEGERtraker 6000NT for the project. Fifteen of these systems have already been implemented at the Delavan location, with the remaining 99 planned for installation over the coming weeks.
Skyline Solar has announced the news that it has been awarded with three new patents in relation to its scalable CPV technology, two of which were awarded through the US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Green Technology Pilot Program. The patents take the total number of CPV-related patents to seven for the company, and include 108 specific claims regarding BOS system and LCOE cost reduction innovations.
Solar PV mounting systems specialist, PanelClaw is revealing its next generation of ballasted commercial flat roof solar mounting systems at Intersolar North America. PanelClaw's ‘Polar Bear’ FR Gen II and ‘Grizzly Bear’ FR Gen II solar racking solutions feature design enhancements that are claimed to deliver lower project costs and offer greater design flexibility.
A new research report by GTM Research, Solar PV Balance of System (BOS): Technologies and Markets, is reporting that in 2012 balance of system costs will surpass PV module costs on a cost per watt scale. The report, written by Manhal Aboudi, identified BOS costs in 2010 at US$1.43 per watt, or 44.8% of a standard, utility-scale crystalline silicon (cSi) solar project. As solar PV module prices continue to drop, GTM suspects that in 2012 the BOS cost for the same project will increase to 50.6%.
TecnoSun Solar Systems’ US Division, TecnoSun Solar USA, is settling into its new US headquarters at the University of Toledo’s Nietzsche Commercialization Complex in Ohio. The site will be the home base for the company’s marketing, sales, manufacturing, installation and servicing of its 1 and 2 axis solar tracking systems in North America.
TE Connectivity revealed its first thin-film solar module product at Intersolar Europe in the form of its Solarlok automated junction box. The 2-rail junction box is suited for automated mass production, which the company said would contribute to lower costs and shorter assembly times for module manufactures. TE Connectivity advised that it recognized that not all manufacturers are capable of a fully automated production and highlighted the Solarlok’s ability to be assembled manually as well.
