Renewable Energy: A Year in Review

December 2023

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

Technology • Development • Installation

RENEWABLE ENERGY: 2023 SPECIAL ISSUE

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A YEAR IN REVIEW

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SALE

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12/7/23 1:23 PM

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staff PUBLISHER Courtney Nagle cseel@wtwhmedia.com 440.523.1685

EDITORIAL Editor in Chief Kelly Pickerel kpickerel@wtwhmedia.com @SolarKellyP Managing Editor Kelsey Misbrener kmisbrener@wtwhmedia.com @SolarKelseyM Senior Editor Billy Ludt bludt@wtwhmedia.com @SolarBillyL

CREATIVE SERVICES & PRINT PRODUCTION Senior Graphic Designer Mariel Evans mevans@wtwhmedia.com

FINANCE Controller Brian Korsberg bkorsberg@wtwhmedia.com Accounts Receivable Specialist Jamila Milton jmilton@wtwhmedia.com

MARKETING VP of Digital Marketing Virginia Goulding vgoulding@wtwhmedia.com Webinar Manager Matt Boblett mboblett@wtwhmedia.com

ONLINE DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION Web Development Manager B. David Miyares dmiyares@wtwhmedia.com Digital Media Manager Patrick Curran pcurran@wtwhmedia.com

Renewable Energy 2023: A Year in Review Welcome to this special edition of Solar Power World and Windpower Engineering & Development, what we are calling “Renewable Energy 2023: A Year in Review.”

Each year, the staff of WTWH Media’s two renewable brands reflects on the last 12 months to prepare for what’s trending into the next year and remember all the progress already made. This special handbook features a few standout stories you may have missed as well as outlooks on what’s to come.

In addition to installation tips, service guides and O&M best practices, our editors provide their picks for the top solar products of the year as well as an overview of the U.S. wind market. The Inflation Reduction Act is accelerating renewable energy adoption from coast to coast, and we’ll see even more developments in 2024 as government guidelines are further clarified. Be sure to check our two websites for the absolute latest on how the solar and wind industries will shake out in 2024. We’re ready for more solar, storage and offshore wind project announcements!

CUSTOMER SERVICE Customer Service Manager Stephanie Hulett shulett@wtwhmedia.com Customer Service Representative JoAnn Martin jmartin@wtwhmedia.com Customer Service Representative Tracy Powers tpowers@wtwhmedia.com Customer Service Representative Renee Massey-Linston renee@wtwhmedia.com Customer Service Representative Trinidy Longgood tlonggood@wtwhmedia.com

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Editor's message 12-23_REH.indd 4

SOLAR POWER WORLD | 2024 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK

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What’s Inside

THE 2024 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK

An Introduction to the Renewable Energy Handbook ............................................................................... 4

Solar Power

Wind Power

Solar Market Overview ........................................... 8

Wind Market Overview ..........................................54

2023 Top Solar Products ..................................... 10

2023 Windpower Leadership Winners .............56

2023 Solar Power Leadership Winners ............20

Collaboration...........................................................58

Tracking.....................................................................22

Offshore Market......................................................64

Residential Storage................................................26

Floating Wind...........................................................70

Cable Management................................................30 EV Charging......................................................... 32 Community Solar.....................................................34 Utility Energy Storage...........................................36 Mounting.................................................................... 41 Agrivoltaics...............................................................45

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www.solarpowerworldonline.com

12/8/23 10:43 AM

AVALON High Voltage Energy Storage System

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solar market overview

Solar success varied per market in 2023 The past year in solar shook out differently for small-scale solar installers than for large-scale contractors, but steady growth continued overall.

Residential companies were hit with some tough obstacles, including a new net-billing structure in the largest solar state and high interest rates across the country.

The highest interest rates in decades have impacted every loan product, and solar loans were no exception. EnergySage found residential solar loan terms doubled from a 1.99% interest rate in 2022 to a 3.99% rate in 2023 on a 25-year loan term. That increase translates to an additional $30 per monthly payment for a $30,000 solar loan, according to EnergySage.

At the same time, California’s big shift to a new net-billing regime officially began in the spring. The change lowers homeowner compensation for selling solar electricity back to the grid and lengthens the payback period for installations. The California Public Utilities Commission expressed hope that the new structure will encourage more battery installations to combat the duck curve of solar production on the electric grid, but solar installation companies may be struggling to adjust

to the new regime. Roth Capital Partners asserted that many residential solar companies have filed for bankruptcy in response to those forces.

“Between the changing netmetering landscape in California to start the year, and the slowdown in overall consumer demand challenging the solar industry this summer, 2023 has been a tumultuous period so far,” said former EnergySage CEO and founder Vikram Aggarwal.

High interest rates hit the largerscale solar market too, but extra IRA incentives for this segment pushed momentum in the opposite direction.

The Dept. of the Treasury and Dept. of Energy opened applications for the 1.8-GW Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program in the fall, paving the way for extra incentives for projects that serve disadvantaged populations.

Solar projects sited in defined “energy communities” also became eligible for additional credits starting in 2023.

The IRA’s incentives for domestic solar component manufacturing started to bear fruit too. New factory openings and contract manufacturing partnerships dominated headlines last year for all solar components, from panels to trackers.

“A year ago, obviously, the IRA

was passed, and that is incentivizing companies like Nextracker, companies like Unimacts to invest,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of SEIA, at a Nextracker ribbon cutting in Las Vegas. “Since the passage of the IRA, there have been 59 announcements of new solar manufacturing within the United States.”

With those headwinds, U.S. solar progress continues to hit milestones.

According to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission data, more new solar was installed in the country in the first eight months of 2023 than any other energy source — fossil fuel or renewable.

“Without interruption, each month solar energy increases its share of the U.S.’s electrical generating capacity,” said SUN DAY Campaign executive director Ken Bossong. “Now, 50 years after the onset of the 1973 Arab oil embargo, solar has grown from virtually nothing to a major part of the nation’s energy mix.”

Though not without its policy and financing challenges, the solar industry is poised for even more growth as the IRA continues to strengthen U.S. solar manufacturing and installations for communities most in need of reliable, clean energy. SPW

SunPower

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What Does It Take To Keep Solar Energy Generation Alive?

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top products

Solar Power World editors pick their Top Solar Products of 2023 With increased consumer interest and more investment dollars entering the market, solar power is so hot right now in the United States. All that increased activity also brings improved ideas to a maturing market. From advanced solar panel technologies to multitasking inverters, the solar industry is still aiming to make things better, stronger and faster for installers and consumers, and 2023 was a great year for product announcements.

The editorial team at Solar Power World checked out as many products as possible at the various tradeshows we attended, and read through many more spec sheets and case studies, to find our favorite gadgets from the last year. Some are new, some may have been overlooked from previous years, but all are making a big difference in the everyday installation efforts of the industry. We think you’ll agree.

TOPCon technology pushes solar panels to next level AS SEEN IN CANADIAN SOLAR’S TOPBIHIKU MODULES As the solar industry settles into its “mature” status, one can reflect on previous predictions to see if targets are being met. After more than 20 years of experience, it seems solar panel technology analysts know their stuff — multicrystalline designs moved to sleek, monocrystalline models as expected; full-sized baby cells transitioned to half-cut cells three-times larger; conventional polysilicon was pushed aside for passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) technology. This consistent success put some weight behind the prediction that PERC would eventually be surpassed by tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) designs. But was the industry right?

We have our answer — yes, and 2023 was the blast-off moment. Almost every major solar panel brand announced a TOPCon model this year, and it’s the only technology anyone wanted to talk about at the RE+ tradeshow. PERC

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designs did the industry well for many years, but they’ve reached their limit on improving efficiency. The next step to bump efficiency is adding a tunneling oxide layer to a PERC cell, and TOPCon will carry the industry to the next breakthrough.

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Canadian Solar got the party going in Q1 with mass production of its TOPCon panel with an efficiency of 25% — 1.5% higher than the average cell efficiency of mainstream PERC products on the market. The company’s new line of TOPBiHiKu (bifacial) and TOPHiKu

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12/7/23 2:11 PM

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top products

(monofacial) modules have high power outputs too, from 420-W at the lowest for monofacial and 705-W at the highest for bifacial panels. This is the perfect tech for the utility-scale market, which looks for high-power modules that convert the most sunlight into electricity.

PVEL tests hundreds of solar panels each year for its reliability scorecard,

and after only seeing one TOPCon module in 2022, the lab had 37 TOPCon panels from six manufacturers in its “Top Performer” category in 2023, including from early TOPCon supporters Jinko and Trina. The next emerging panel design may be heterojunction technology (HJT), and PVEL tested nine HJT models this year, up from

two in 2022. But HJT adds a layer of amorphous silicon to crystalline silicon cells, which takes more effort to adapt on manufacturing lines than just switching to TOPCon. The easier manufacturing choice is the answer to quick efficiency gains, and we’re just at the beginning of what TOPCon can do for our mature market. SPW

New mounting solutions reduce number of rails on residential solar installs AS SEEN IN PEGASUS SOLAR’S SKIPRAIL Across market levels, solar installation is a task of making a construction project work within the confines of a space that was likely not devised with solar in mind. That is especially the case on residential rooftops, where the only objects occasionally found above the shingle, tile or metal roof line are vents or chimneys. Installing residential roof mounts is an art of retrofitting a surface meant to keep the elements out with a whole solar array and all the roof penetrations that accompany it.

Not all rooftops are built with the same surface area, so mounting rails don’t come in standard lengths. Solar

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installers are often responsible for cutting them to the right size for the roof, splicing spans of rails together where necessary and covering the ends with caps to conceal any sign of incisions.

There are plenty of rail-less mounting options on the market, but for the project owner that would prefer the stability of rail — and the contractor who would like to carry less rail to the roof — there’s SkipRail from Pegasus Solar.

SkipRail is an interrow module clamp that can reduce the number of rails needed on a pitched-roof solar installation. It works by securing to the frames of modules between two rows

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and uses the metal frames as structural support. According to Pegasus Solar, SkipRail can achieve this because PV modules on the market are built to standards to withstand extreme environmental conditions — conditions that aren’t common in most U.S. states.

So, this attachment can use a module’s inherent structural strength to reduce whole rows of mounting rails.

SkipRail works with the proprietary Pegasus Rail system on arrays that are built in a dual-rail layout, or with two rails supporting each panel row. On an array that would normally be composed of three panel rows with six supporting rails, SkipRail would only require four rails for the entire system by attaching between the panel rows and providing extra stability. Additionally, SkipRail electrically bonds the system.

A lot of the residential solar mounting market is focused on creating lower-profile attachments with built-in flashing — and Pegasus also released its own version of that too — turning some attention away from potential improvements to rail and mounting clamps. But there will always be installers or customers who prefer to use one mounting system over another, and perhaps there are still improvements to be made across the portfolio of racking and mounting systems on the market. SPW

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

12/8/23 10:48 PM

ADVERTORIAL

SOLAR SPOTLIGHT:

Scaling energy storage while facing a climate crisis AS THE EFFECTS OF a changing climate increase in both frequency and severity, the need for technologies that can decarbonize and support electrical infrastructure is paramount. In this episode of Solar Spotlight, Zolaikha Strong, senior director of policy and regulatory affairs at Generac Power Systems, discusses the significance of energy storage in the contexts of grid stability, individual energy resilience and the greater mission of combatting climate change.

A written portion of this podcast is below but be sure to listen to the full episode on your preferred podcast service.

SPW: What are you hearing from customers in terms of interest in battery storage?

Zolaikha Strong: I think there’s a definite interest in exploring opportunities with battery storage, especially as we are seeing a surge of unpredictable weather patterns. Folks want to be able to understand how they can build a more resilient system within their homes. We’re seeing storms in Puerto Rico, New Jersey, California, Texas. With all this unpredictability, there’s definitely that interest.

Also, I think that one of the advantageous things that’s happened through these conversations regarding climate change is the fact that people will have a better understanding of how to control their own power. Especially, as we say, behind the meter

where a lot of these batteries fall into, people understand how to integrate solar and get solar panels on their houses. A clear way to help support your home is having a storage system that is able to give you power when there is that incompatibility with the weather.

How does climate change affect the need for resiliency in the United States?

Climate change is playing a role globally.

We in the United States, I believe, have a better handle of understanding what it is, understanding the implications of it. And when you have an idea of what it is, it’s actually happening, there’s opportunities to find solutions. I think climate change is now a conversation piece that I hear across very different diverse groups that are starting to understand the impact of some of the decisions that we’re making here. And as we’re seeing, it’s happening in our own backyards, whether they’re storms or the fires that we saw in Maui. It definitely, for lack of a better word, is really hitting home and it’s companies like ours and others that are really starting to provide the solutions to be better stewards for the environment for all of us.

What role do demand-side energy resources play in building resiliency?

I think it plays an extremely essential role.

When you have demand side resource, you

are given an opportunity for, whether it’s an individual homeowner or somebody that maybe as a commercial facility, to be able to control their usage and to understand their usage. And by understanding their usage, they’re able to help support the grid and provide more resiliency on the grid.

What do people in our industry need to consider when educating those who may have a weaker understanding of technology?

Keep it simple. I think that’s a really important thing to know. Those of us that are in this industry, and in this world, we deal with very complex technical issues on pretty much on a daily basis. And to be able to sit down and explain to a group of people who it’s not their day to day, we really have to make sure that we have things simplified in a way that people can see these opportunities as solutions, these demand side resources as solutions, for their own needs.

Why is it important for communities to feel represented while learning about solar?

One of my favorite personal things that has come out of this infrastructure bill is the environmental justice initiative, as well as a real influx for low-to-moderate income communities and disadvantaged communities, communities that have never been represented in the past. Climate change solutions, demand side response solutions, any of this stuff, for it to be integrated, we need to have everybody on board; we need to make sure all communities are represented; we need to make sure that, going back to your question on education, that we’re not educating people at a level where it doesn’t show them the impact within their own homes.

We need to discuss cost savings; we need to discuss climate change. SPW THIS ADVERTORIAL IS SPONSORED BY

WWW.GENERAC.COM

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top products

AI technology streamlines large-scale O&M inspections AS SEEN IN ONSIGHT TECHNOLOGY’S UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLE (UGV) Solar projects are a relatively lowmaintenance power source, but still need at least annual checks to comply with contractual and warranty obligations. For huge projects spanning many acres, that usually requires O&M technicians to walk miles of rows and inspect every panel on sites that may be very remote with challenging weather conditions. The demand for a skilled technician workforce is only rising as more enormous solar projects are installed.

“It’s a little overwhelming for somebody to go walk around and try to document an entire site when it has up to a million solar panels in it,” said Derek Chase, CEO of OnSight Technology. “The scale of the industry was really putting a lot of pressure on human resources to keep up.”

Drones are one tool that can monitor sites instead of humans, but they’re looking at arrays from above when many problems like wiring and connector issues are only visible from the ground-level, Chase said. A new AI-powered robot from OnSight Technology inspects arrays from a human’s vantage point using an optical

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zoom camera and thermal imaging.

The OnSight robot scans and analyzes every solar panel and every connector in a system. The robot then creates a comprehensive report, prioritizing the most urgent issues so technicians can head to the site and start repairs.

“It’s really taken the mundane aspect out of the high-dollar technicians’ hands and put them into the more technical work, where they actually have to physically swap out a solar panel or connectors or whatever the situation may be,” Chase said.

Robots are leased to customers, shipped to sites and commissioned there by OnSight technicians. From there on, the devices are operated 100% remotely.

One robot can analyze 1 mile per hour on a site and tackle between 50 and 100 MW of inspections per month.

A large site will typically call for three or four robots spaced throughout the area, with multiple chargers that allow them to strategically dock when they run out of power. The robots can run for around 10 hours per day before needing a charge.

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When technicians leave the job, they take their knowledge and experience along with them. But the O&M robots hang on to their findings and transmit new knowledge to a central neural network that just keeps building.

“When one robot learns something, it gets deployed to the entire fleet, so we never lose that knowledge base. It only continues to grow going forward.

And that robot will stay out there forever. It’s never going to get tired of the job,” Chase said.

OnSight’s current customers include Duke Energy, McCarthy and NovaSource Power Services. OnSight didn’t disclose the current size of its fleet, but Chase says the plan is to reach 100 robots in the next three years.

The robots are also trained to do commissioning work — which, for huge projects, means scanning every single panel barcode for miles and miles.

While there’s a real fear of AI technology replacing human jobs, tedious O&M work may be better left to the bots, while the experts can spend more time fixing the problems. SPW

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Large-scale ESS pack more energy in standard containers AS SEEN IN HITHIUM’S ∞BLOCK

Large-scale energy storage systems are about as visually exciting as their residential counterparts — they’re just bigger boxes in muted, industrial tones.

And just like residential ESS, grid-scale systems come in varying sizes, both in physical space and storage capacity. LG Energy Solution offers a 24-ft (287 in.) container at 2.45 MWh, and the Tesla Megapack is about 29 ft (347 in.) long and rated at 3.9 MWh. Some type of standardization would be helpful for storage developers working on multiple should-becookie-cutter projects, speeding up permitting and commissioning.

We’ve got some steps in the right direction: Both Hithium and CPS Energy released 5-MWh LFP energy storage systems this year using standard 20-ft container structures. Not only is the container smaller than other popular brands’, but there’s also a whole lot more storage capacity.

In addition to using larger battery modules — Hithium’s container uses 314-Ah battery modules instead of 280-Ah or smaller, which have commonly been used in the past — these 5-MWh systems can pack in more storage capacity in a smaller space because they use liquid-cooling technology to optimize system performance. Getting rid of bulky, air-cooled HVAC systems allow for the overall container to shrink and more battery modules to stack inside. Hithium has also designed a new way of positioning the battery racks so they can be closer together without fear of thermal runaway. The LFP chemistry helps in that safety consideration, too.

Of course, the energy required for each project differs, but the opportunity to have a greater energy density in a smaller space will save a lot of money on projects. And bringing some consistency to grid-scale project design will be helpful to push the storage market to new bounds. SPW

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Inverter perks avoid pricey electrical panel upgrades AS SEEN IN SOLAREDGE’S LATEST HOME HUB AND WAVE INVERTERS Going solar isn’t cheap, but knowing you’re investing in technology with an eventual return on investment is good motivation to cut the check. When that solar system can’t be installed without a costly main panel upgrade, it could be a dealbreaker.

Older homes typically have 100amp electrical panels. Historically, these homes have been restricted by the National Electrical Code to a maximum solar inverter size of 3.8 kW — just about half of the average system size of 7.5 kW. To install a larger system, a homeowner used to have no choice but to upgrade the main panel to higher amperage.

“A lot of homeowners would be like, I don’t know if I want to do this, because all of a sudden the bill just went up $4,000 or $5,000,” said Chris Thompson, VP of product and technical marketing at SolarEdge.

Inverter manufacturers are working to eliminate that upgrade requirement for many situations using new power control system (PCS) technology.

SolarEdge is rolling out new versions of its Home Hub and Wave inverters with integrated PCS technology, which turns a formerly passive electrical panel into an active, smart one. Without this intelligent metering and control technology, the electrical code assumes the home’s load center will be running at maximum capacity, with all appliances at full output. In reality, homes are typically only using a small portion of the overall available amps. Power control systems ensure that limit won’t be exceeded.

“Your load center is basically monitoring itself and it kind of acts as a traffic cop to make sure that not too much power is being put onto the load center,” Thompson said. “We see this as making solar more accessible to more

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people, because it lowers the barriers to entry; it lowers the cost to add solar.”

Homeowners have full visibility into their systems and energy usage through SolarEdge’s monitoring app.

Thompson said some other inverter manufacturers are introducing PCS technology through a separate meter, but he sees a distinct advantage to integrating the capability directly into the inverters.

“It’s very easy to install, very fast to install, very low cost and very reliable in the sense it’s a very accurate meter — the communication is all built-in,” Thompson said.

Giving homeowners the capability to invest in larger solar + storage systems without the need for a main panel upgrade is becoming more important as home appliances and vehicles become increasingly electrified. Investing in more solar power is much more appealing to homeowners than shelling out money for a load center upgrade.

“You could get a much bigger solar array for $4,000 or $5,000 that will give you a much better payback, because you are getting energy out of it,” Thompson said. “People hate paying for the main panel upgrade because you can’t say, ‘Oh well, I get more solar out of it.’ It’s just a cost of doing the transaction, and it’s painful.” SPW

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top products

Weather monitoring systems make solar production more predictable AS SEEN IN VAISALA’S AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION SOLAR EDITION Solar systems, like everything else on Planet Earth, live and die by the presence of the sun. Pointing PV modules toward the sky and hoping they’ll provide enough energy to support the entity they’re tied into sounds simple enough in theory. But the reality is our planet is a dynamic place that is affected by forces outside of our control. This big blue rock is spinning and hurtling through space, orbiting a giant burning star that we’re trying to harness as a power source; the planet’s skies at any time are filled with clouds that can blot out the sun or open and drop loads of rain, snow or hail to the ground below.

Whether installed in a fixed position or rotating throughout the day, there are variables that can hinder a solar module’s energy generation. And since humanity hasn’t invented a way to control the elements, the next best option is to monitor, predict and prepare for less-than-ideal conditions for solar PV. One of those solutions is the Vaisala AWS810 Solar Edition, a weather and solar irradiance monitoring station.

AWS810 measures real-time global and local diffuse light and reflected solar irradiation conditions on-site for solar projects. Vaisala designed the weather station to be simple to install, with modular componentry that can be expanded as needed. As for weather measurements, AWS810 monitors wind speed and direction, precipitation, humidity and atmospheric pressure, as well as module temperature and soiling.

The system offers optional wireless monitoring access that can connect with SCADA and cloudbased management platforms. AWS810 comes with proprietary Vaisala Weather Transmitters (WTX530), but the system can also integrate with third-party sensors. Some optional components available to AWS810 are an albedometer, rain gauge and rear-side plane of array sensor. The system is powered by an attached solar module.

Optimizing solar plant performance is a matter of anticipating and mitigating the effects of outside elements. Luckily, there are options like Vaisala’s AWS810 on the market to help those modules make more energy as the world continues to hurtle through space. SPW

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tracking systems

The importance of wind testing when choosing a solar tracker supplier

By Chase Anderson, Director of Product Development, Terrasmart Challenging weather conditions are becoming the new normal for solar developers and asset owners, requiring new measures to manage risks and ensure returns.

Understanding the importance of wind testing and how different types of wind forces impact tracker design and production can aid power producers in securing the right single-axis tracker technology for their site and region.

A variety of elements impact how wind affects solar trackers on each individual site, ranging from local weather phenomenon and topography to the influence of other nearby structures or objects. Because no two PV sites are the same, each demands site-specific customizations, which adds complexity to designing these projects.

If wind profiles aren’t properly

accounted for in a tracker’s design, asset owners may face a chain of events, including remedial expenses and downtime as well as lower energy yields, and ultimately falling short of financial targets.

Looking at the technical nuances involved in designing for different types of winds and understanding how proper tracker testing can influence tracker design features such as stow angles and damping drives the stable aerodynamics for long-term performance.

There’s something in the wind Careful assessment of a site’s wind conditions makes it possible to ask the right questions from the start.

Variability in wind speed, turbulence and direction all can have unexpected effects on solar trackers

and their surrounding environment.

Understanding wind effects helps developers and EPCs account for uncertainties and optimize yield.

• Wind effects can be classified into three main categories: static, dynamic and aeroelastic.

• Static wind forces exert steady and constant pressure on a tracker, which can cause deflection or bending of the structure that affects the performance and accuracy of the tracking mechanism.

• Dynamic wind forces are less predictable, fluctuating in speed and direction, which can cause significant vibrations and stress on a tracker, reducing tracking accuracy and causing panel misalignment as well as component wear and tear.

Advanced aerodynamic models that consider turbulence, gusts and other variations should be used to account for these dynamic wind loads.

• Aeroelastic wind forces occur when a tracker interacts with surrounding airflow. Among the aeroelastic effects are resonant vibration, torsional flutter and torsional galloping, all of which can cause uncontrolled vibrations or oscillations, leading to misalignment, reduced tracking accuracy or component failure.

Tracker design must focus on countering these effects to achieve aerodynamic stability.

Tracker design must focus on countering these effects to achieve

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tracking systems

aerodynamic stability, according to Canadian engineering firm RWDI, which specializes in wind testing. Each component in a tracker’s structure must be assessed to ensure optimized resistance to wind loads. A number of potential failures need to be taken into account, including: • Resonant vibration, which occurs when the frequency of a wind gust matches the structure’s natural frequency, potentially causing catastrophic failure.

• Torsional flutter, which is a selfexcited aerodynamic instability that can cause large amplitudes in the array’s torsional motion, leading to tracker failure.

• Torsional galloping, which uniquely includes vertical motion.

Tracker failure occurs when high wind speeds overcome the structure’s resistance.

Not only is understanding wind effects critical to equipment design, but knowing how to weather wind gusts can also optimize a tracker’s performance.

Knowing about anomalous wind on a specific portion of a PV site, for example, means that a wind fence could be used to reduce wind speed and turbulence, improving tracker stability and accuracy. Sophisticated sensors could be deployed to detect wind variations and adjust a tracker’s position to optimize energy production. It’s also possible to reduce a tracker’s profile, increase its rigidity or design it with specific materials that resist wind loads and aeroelastic effects.

Knocking the wind out of tracker design with testing Wind tunnel testing plays a critical role in solar tracker development. Smallscale models are used to assess how a new tracker might handle any number of wind conditions, revealing design limitations early in development. After adjustments to the design, a full-sized,

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tracking systems

cost-effective tracker can be produced that minimizes risk.

Upwind terrain simulation is among the critical components of wind tunnel testing. This type of simulation replicates real-world obstructions that might affect wind forces, such as trees and buildings or even other tracker rows on the site.

Upwind behavior simulation includes different elevation curves, modifiable surface roughness, moveable barriers and representations of various wind events, including such phenomena as hurricanes and tornadoes.

Bending with the wind through stow angles Stow angle and associated static and dynamic wind loads must be carefully considered when designing a windresilient solar tracker. A useful mitigation strategy is damping, which dissipates or controls vibrational energy or

oscillations in a system.

Dampers are a key part of developing an optimal stow strategy, especially for solar trackers at 0° stow, which are susceptible to torsional forces that cause twisting and spinning motions along the axis of a torque tube. During development of a windresilient 1P tracker, different tilt angles were tested in a wind tunnel to develop an optimal stow strategy. The testing demonstrated that lower tilt angles provided fewer static loads on the structure and less force on the system overall. A 0° tilt angle provided the lowest coefficient value, as the lateral load was close to zero.

Higher tilt angles placed additional stresses on the structure, requiring more foundations or increased foundation and torque tube sizes to withstand additional lateral forces. By contrast, a 0° stow strategy implemented with the right degree of overdamping and

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Battening down the hatches with damping Proper damping — which restrains vibrations and oscillations — is crucial for ensuring a solar tracker system’s stability. Determining the right amount and type of damping depends on a variety of factors, such as the design’s stow angle, wing length and the structure’s mass.

Again, testing is key here. A system that is underdamped can become unstable, requiring costly mitigations such as supplemental dampers to address torsional forces that might otherwise cause tracker damage or even failure.

For the 1P solar tracker discussed in the previous section, which had a 0° stow strategy and a 30- to 40-m wing length, it was found that two to four dampers per row were sufficient to create a properly damped structure.

Knocking the wind out of instability with multi-row testing Testing a tracker design can’t be done in isolation. It is essential to conduct multi-row testing to balance stiffness and damping to maximize performance and mitigate long-term risks. Positioning, shielding and wind vortices all can affect the aeroelastic performance of different segments of a solar array in various ways.

Multi-row testing rotates the table to simulate wind testing from multiple angles to determine the impact of static and dynamic wind on

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stiffness to resist deformation was found to require fewer foundations.

The ideal design for a 0° stow should balance stiffness, damping and weight to control tracker costs, protect assets and maintain efficiency.

While stowing at high-tilt angles can be safe, it may lead to increased wind loads on foundations and other parts of the structure, requiring stiffer systems or overdamped designs to mitigate dynamic fluctuations that cause aerodynamic instability.

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a system’s perimeter and central rows.

Pressure taps can determine peak static and dynamic wind loads to provide coefficient values needed to design optimized 0° stow angles. The values also help determine the ideal number of foundations and the most cost-effective array height.

While a 0° stow angle was ideal for the example 1P tracker, with all rows behaving the same way as wind blew over the panels at stow, the perimeter zones received higher loads in a prestow position before impacting the central zones downwind.

It is important to verify aeroelastic effects to maintain efficiency, avoid mechanical wear and tear, reduce downtime and lower efficiency. Testing multiple rows enhances a system’s overall design and allows strategy adjustments to ensure that perimeter zones don’t negatively affect the array’s central rows.

Plucking the wind out of a system’s sails Pluck testing — pulling and releasing a tracker to simulate a gust of wind and evaluate its dynamic behavior — validates a tracker’s stiffness and damping ratio. The process also includes high- and low-amplitude tests and a shake test. Results are compared to aeroelastic wind testing outcomes to balance the design.

It is essential to incorporate the indicated angles of rotation into pluck test calculations to predict potential rotations of up to 15° accurately. A pluck test that accounts for lower angles may be easier to simulate, but it could throw off accuracy.

Proper pluck testing ensures that a tracker will perform as expected in realworld wind conditions, preventing costly downtime.

When evaluating tracking technologies, consider manufacturers with extensive testing that can provide robust data to support all aspects of system design. SPW

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residential storage

Powering whole homes with solar + storage is now possible — and smart

By George Kuo, Senior Director, Product & Solutions, Canadian Solar American homeowners were expected to have installed a record 5.6 GW of residential solar in 2022, according to BloombergNEF. While the residential storage market has been slower to take off, various factors may indicate that consumers could be willing to include batteries along with their PV systems.

As grid constraints, public safety power shut-offs, fires and other natural disasters have become increasingly common, homeowners feel the painful, inconvenient effects. At the same time, while electricity costs for fossil fuel power continue to rise, California’s recent netmetering policy changes provide lower credits for selling surplus solar back to the grid and incentivize homes that reserve excess power in batteries. Other states facing grid instability may soon follow. Additionally, energy storage of at least 3 kWh of capacity is now eligible for personal income tax credits of up to 30% under the new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Families that take advantage of the clean energy credits in the IRA can expect to save roughly $23,000 in 2023.

The results of the most recent midterm election provide certainty that the IRA will transform American industry and boost renewables, electric vehicles and other sources of zero-carbon energy.

The bill will entice homeowners who seek lower electric bills for heating and cooling, cooking, internet, lighting and electric vehicle charging.

Technology has continued to evolve, and manufacturers have developed some exciting solutions.

While traditionally, users had to choose between powering critical and non26

critical loads with partial home battery backup, today it’s possible to have a solar-backed storage solution that can hold enough power to run a home’s air conditioning, major appliances and charge an EV, all while keeping the lights on. With product advancement and generous government incentives, it doesn’t have to be more expensive than powering critical loads. Fast configuration and flexible features bolster the benefits of on-demand power, storm protection, lower utility bills and full-home energy management with minimal maintenance and intelligent integration. Installers are embracing these new all-in-one systems due to their flexibility, intelligence and minimal crew required to install, set up and support the products.

Closing the education gap The market potential for whole-home storage is twofold, with viability for first-time residential solar projects

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residential storage

or retrofits of existing PV systems.

The major obstacle to widespread residential storage is the same that the industry faced with selling home solar: education. Again, the task will mainly fall on installers interacting directly with current and potential customers.

Solar power providers can help clients by providing information about the products and highlighting the benefits of resiliency, cost and scalability to fuel future energy needs.

Here are some essential points for installers to keep in mind when helping homeowners understand how they can benefit from whole-home residential storage options while also considering a smooth implementation and maintenance experience for satisfied customers.

Full home vs. critical load Critical load backup: Traditional residential energy storage technology

can only provide enough electricity to power essentials such as heating, lighting, refrigeration and outlets for small appliances and charging devices.

Full-home backup: Including enough storage for electricity to power the entire home eliminates the need for homeowners to choose which loads will be available during an outage.

Whole-home load management covers critical and non-critical loads such as air conditioning, water heaters, laundry, ovens and stoves.

Additional important factors for homeowners and installers to consider when deciding between partial vs. fullhome backup include: Cost: Residential energy storage is modular. Homeowners can add more battery modules or units to accommodate more loads. Installers can help homeowners understand how many units it will take to provide

partial or full home backup and how this affects cost. In discussing cost, it’s also important for homeowners to understand that, with technology advancements and IRA tax benefits,

““ The major obstacle to widespread residential storage is the same that the industry faced with selling home solar: education. full-home backup doesn’t have to be more expensive. It’s understandable to assume that whole-home load management systems would cost significantly more, requiring multiple inverters, larger batteries and longer installation times. However, innovative

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residential storage

residential energy storage systems offer slim, stackable battery modules, DCcoupled hybrid inverters and turnkey systems with increased intelligence and maximum storage capacity. The flexibility to power partial or fullhome backup appeals to homeowners because they can maximize efficiency at their discretion and validate their investment. Installing energy storage solutions in smaller increments allows them to right-size their home, customize capacity and optimize usage and consumption, ultimately leading to substantial cost savings over time.

Meanwhile, the IRA includes $80 billion in rebates, including as much as $14,000 in money back. These subsidies allow homeowners to make additional upgrades like electric water heaters and cooktops that decrease the use of expensive fossil fuels.

According to estimates from the nonprofit Rewiring America, families that use funding from the bill to switch to greener technology could save between $1,050 to $2,585 per year on energy bills. Homeowners can also stack federal incentives combined with those of state programs, as with solar and storage in California.

Installation: Previous non-partial home power products have been complex to configure and costly to maintain, but high-tech advancements have made wiring less complex, modules lighter and installation and configuration faster. Distributors can assist by helping installers understand

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the intricacies of new systems so that installers can, in turn, help homeowners weigh the pros and cons of adding different-sized units for the best longterm fit.

Space and aesthetics: While homeowners may picture bulky, unattractive storage units of the past, today they can enjoy sleek, stackable models that occupy much less space.

Many energy storage providers offer slim weather-resistant units with the flexibility for housing indoors or outdoors and can be wall-mounted or placed at ground level.

Safety: Residential energy storage systems vary by size, capacity and battery chemistry; however, the most trusted global energy providers develop solutions with safety as the top priority, focusing on building long-term solutions that comply with the most stringent safety standards. Solutions like Canadian Solar’s EP Cube contain lithium-iron phosphate batteries and completed UL 9540A safety tests, signifying a superior safety rating and a key differentiator in the emerging marketplace.

Performance: Manufacturers take these measures to certify the battery modules effectively prevent thermal runaway and ensure overall performance, chemical stability and longer service life. Installers value simplicity and speed when it comes to serving a customer. The advancements in these whole-home solutions help installers work more efficiently and expand their services with reliable, high-

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performance products requiring minimal maintenance and support.

The future of energy independence It’s important to note that homeowners also hear critics and naysayers of clean energy initiatives downplay the uptick in residential solar and storage and deny that these solutions are sustainable globally for future generations. With so much confusion and overwhelming information, consumers are relying on industry experts to be trusted sources. It’s the installer’s role to help homeowners choose the smartest solution to ensure their needs will be met and that their investment will generate a return.

Understanding the advantages and details of installing a full-home backup system is key to helping consumers feel confident that they are making intelligent decisions for their homes and the environment. Homeowners can also feel good about reducing emissions by relying more on clean energy.

Residential solar coupled with storage investments can help dramatically cut carbon pollution. The billions in funding promised by the IRA are set to energize the future of residential solar and energy storage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 40% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Energy storage continues to evolve, with new solutions coming to market daily that offer sleek design, fast configuration and built-in intelligence.

Leading global energy providers must meet the growing demand for residential solar with a vision to instill energy independence, an easy installation process and relief for the homeowner. The ability to power an entire house in a cost-effective manner is an exciting step in the future of residential energy independence and, in turn, combatting the effects of climate change. With further consumer education, we should see vast market growth in 2023. SPW

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cable management

The rise of above-ground solar cable management systems

By Glenn Bills, Solar Business Development Director, Gripple Solar is playing a central role in the global push to reduce carbon emissions and move towards net-zero. In 2019, the global solar energy market was valued at $93 billion and is forecasted to reach $244 billion by 2027. This huge growth is being driven by the rising demand for electricity in developing countries, combined with rapid urbanization.

To meet the demand, solar farms are rapidly spreading across the world, with large-scale facilities being created across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and India, to name just a few.

This rapid expansion is leading to increased innovation in the way solar farms are designed, built and managed.

There are clear variations in the way different countries approach cable management — and these differences have potentially far-reaching implications for the performance, efficiency and ongoing management of solar farms in those locations.

Common cabling methods String cables are commonly managed

above-ground. However, they are often secured using basic tie wraps, rather than full catenary systems. Because tie wraps are not intended for long-term use, they will degrade in a relatively short space of time, leading to failures and increased O&M costs.

In addition, cable ties don’t allow for expansion and contraction of the ground structure, which can cause ties to damage the cable conductor insulation.

For home-run cabling, trenching is still the most commonly employed method, but again, this approach is costly, labor-intensive and at risk from unexpected delays.

The alternative is to manage home run cables above-ground, and in the United State this is already widely used. However, although it is growing in popularity, this approach is not yet widespread in other markets, such as Europe.

There are many disadvantages to underground cable management, including increased labor and material

costs, the time taken to carry out work and the environmental and business disruption caused by excavating and digging trenches.

Regardless of geography and ground type, there is a strong argument for moving all cable management aboveground using advanced catenary systems.

Why switch to above-ground cable management?

Managing cables above-ground has many benefits over underground cabling — namely, speed, cost and ease of access. These advantages apply throughout the life of the site, from initial build through to ongoing maintenance.

Quicker and more cost-efficient Suspending power cables is much quicker and more cost-effective than underground cabling. Above-ground cable management solutions such as Gripple’s cable management system are designed to be long-lasting, easy to install and maintain and simple to transport. Most above-ground systems can be installed with minimal training using only hand tools, reducing the need for specialist labor and equipment and leading to significant cost savings.

With no need to break ground or bring heavy plant machinery on site, installing cables above-ground is also quicker, so the site can be up and running in less time than it would take with traditional, underground methods.

As many of the kits are lightweight and easy to handle, logistics and freight costs are also kept to a minimum.

Greater control and less risk Working underground is unpredictable, with sites being subject to movement,

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cable management

flooding and other environmental changes. They can even be home to local wildlife which can create delays and problems both during install and for ongoing O&M. Managing cables above-ground offers EPCs more predictability and control, during both installation and with regard to testing and maintenance.

Projects are no longer at risk of delays due to soil conditions, flooding or problems with foundations.

Once the installation is complete, ongoing management is easier and more predictable too. With aboveground cable management systems, the risk of ground disturbance and seismic activity is greatly reduced.

With above-ground systems, health and safety risks are also reduced.

Installations are usually carried out at chest height, out in the open, which removes the risks involved with working in trenches. Most aboveground systems include a catenary line to support electrical/data cables.

This can be easily mounted directly to the ground-mount structure with additional support from ancillary piles if needed. Contractors simply install and tension the catenary line and attach the specially designed hangers using hand tools, then simply drop in the cables.

It’s as easy as that.

Above-ground cabling opens up new opportunities for developing land such as brownfields and landfills — sites that wouldn’t previously have been available for development because of their unsuitability for trenching.

Easier maintenance Once the installation is complete, ongoing O&M is much easier too. With above-ground cable management systems, maintenance teams can quickly locate and address any issues, minimizing downtime and lost revenue.

In addition, having that visibility and direct access makes upgrading or expanding a site much more straightforward too.

Selecting a catenary system Catenary systems are designed to be used above-ground and can be used for both home run and string cable management, while avoiding all the problems that are associated with lesssophisticated cable ties. They protect against abrasion and are designed to last for the lifetime of the project.

It is important to choose a system that is quick to install and to consider the type of catenary tensioner. Many use turnbuckles, which can be difficult and time consuming. By contrast, the Gripple system uses a Dynamic wire joiner, which takes just seconds to install and tension with a Gripple Torq Tool.

Look carefully at the design of the hanger — some simple versions have the potential to cause cable damage due to low surface areas causing pinch points. Hangers should have a broad surface area and feature side loading, in

order to minimize potential cable issues during or after installation.

Finally, consider the reliability of your chosen supplier. If you’re managing large-scale installations, do they have the experience, stability and manufacturing capability to support the rollout and management of your global projects over the long term?

Above-ground cable management for solar farms and facilities is becoming more prevalent both in the U.S. and across the globe, with innovative new cable management systems making installation and management far easier and more cost-effective.

It’s clear to see that the future’s bright for solar — and when it comes to cable management, above-ground systems are proving to be the superior choice. SPW

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ev charging

Want to avoid red tape with EV charger interconnection?

Go off-grid

By Tom McCalmont, CEO and Co-Founder, Paired Power The $5 billion in funding promised by the Inflation Reduction Act will inevitably help fuel the fire in demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States. However, as the excitement and anticipation of these unprecedented incentives for EVs begins to wear off, the implications of how challenging it might be for existing utility grids to make use of these incentives to provide society with more chargers are surfacing.

Earlier this year, Mckinsey & Company predicted that 50% of zeroemission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2030 would “require 1.2 million public EV chargers and 28 million private EV chargers by that year. All told, the country would need almost 20-times more chargers than it has now.” This demand will only be exacerbated with the new IRA legislation and incentives for people to purchase EVs.

With such tremendous demand for EV charging, the already monumental backlog of charging site permitting and interconnections with U.S. utilities is expected to grow exponentially.

Waiting years for charging stations to be connected to the utility grid so they can finally be put into use is a serious barrier to entry for businesses and building owners that cannot be ignored. Enter the exponential opportunity for off-grid EV charging solutions.

What makes grid modernization challenging?

Bottlenecks in infrastructure and permitting in a building boom are inevitable, yet EV charging faces particularly unique challenges, especially when you factor in grid connectivity. The reality is that permitting and approvals have gotten even more difficult over the last few

NREL

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decades, and while there are initiatives in place to alleviate this red tape, it still takes time for this to be executed.

Just last year, the Dept. of Energy released a new initiative to help cut back on the lengthy permitting and interconnection process as they found the average project (including solar, energy storage and wind development) can take close to four years from the time it enters the interconnection queue to being up and running. However, like many government initiatives, change takes time, and for interconnections, this can mean years of delay, if not decades.

Additional factors making it hard to accommodate a new generation of power include the fact that utilities are often slow to add new generating capacity as they require new transmission lines. These can often take decades for permitting approval and subsequent construction to occur.

On top of this, customer sites can suffer dramatically higher bills through demand charges with the addition of EV chargers, especially if they max out the number of grid-connected chargers the site’s service capacity can handle but still have a desire for more. Additionally, demand charges can quickly add up for facilities, businesses or individuals looking to add EV chargers to their properties. Because this monthly demand fee to maintain the electric utility’s infrastructure can fluctuate based on how much energy is used in peak months, grid-connected EV charging sites can quickly become expensive to use and maintain. Moreover, according to McKinsey & Company, the process

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ev charging

to upgrade infrastructure and meet regulatory requirements can be lengthy and expensive.

ideal for critical applications such as emergency services, evacuation shelters, grocery stores, hospitals and more. Off-grid solutions also protect utility infrastructure from large demand loads that could cripple distribution networks and its aging equipment.

Utilities should view off-grid solutions as an insurance policy in their efforts to modernize grid operations.

The energy revolution of the 21st century depends on society’s ability to actually transition to cleaner energy solutions. It’s expected that utilities will be slow in adopting renewable energy generation broadly, especially when permitting and connectivity are added into the equation. Offgrid solutions sidestep the long wait times and eliminate the friction points of cost and availability that help the grid modernize and transition to 21st century energy needs. SPW

MAKERS OF

What can be done to alleviate these pain points?

For several reasons, off-grid EV chargers are a great solution to these pain points. They can be installed quickly (sometimes as fast as singledigit hours); they are often less expensive, reduce grid impacts from EV loads, and they can be more flexible than grid-tied EV chargers.

In the face of permitting and interconnection challenges, off-grid charging solutions hold the key to meeting EV growth without the wait.

More cost-effective: By generating solar electricity, users can avoid paying for power from the grid. This is particularly important for businesses, as demand charges typically make up a huge percentage of electricity bills. Due to the renewable nature of solar energy, once the infrastructure is in place, it’s free and relatively unlimited. With traditional grid-connected chargers, the user has a lifetime commitment to pay for the energy. On the flip side, solarpowered charging makes it so users never have to pay for the electricity.

Increased flexibility: Regardless of nearby grid connection capabilities, off-grid EV chargers can be installed anywhere, making them ideal for locations where connecting to the grid could be challenging — like in remote locations or sites with space constraints, or businesses with temporary leases.

Often, a local utility will want a location to upgrade its energy services when EV charging is being offered to ensure maximum needed energy to charge EVs. This can be expensive, timeintensive and, quite frankly, isn’t always necessary. Off-grid solutions can serve as an alternative to this lengthy and expensive initiative.

Exponential environmental benefits: When renewable energy sources are used to generate electricity

— like for an off-grid EV charger — carbon emissions are eliminated, which is a clear advantage over grid-tied EV charging. Grid-connected EV chargers often charge at night, which more often than not relies on energy produced from fossil fuels. An off-grid charger that stores daytime solar energy in a battery and then delivers it at night is ultraclean with 100% green power. Offgrid solutions provide a simpler way to provide EV charging while reducing the users’ overall carbon footprint.

Resiliency and reliability: As they are not reliant on the utility grid, offgrid chargers can continue to operate even if there is an outage on the local network. As public safety power shut-off (PSPS) events and outages due to grid constraints, fires and other natural disasters become increasingly common, having a reliable alternative power source is critical to providing relief. Moreover, these solutions are

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community solar

How to get financing for your community solar project

By Michael Jones, VP of lending business development, RSF Social Finance Interest in community solar projects has grown explosively over the last decade, with 1,600 projects currently operating nationwide. Policies in 22 states and Washington, D.C., now support community solar, and 17 of those states have enacted provisions to encourage projects in low-income communities.

This kind of infrastructure serves as an equalizer in the switch to clean power, providing affordable renewable electricity to businesses and households across the economic spectrum.

But despite their value to communities, small- and medium-size community solar projects often struggle to find financing. They’re not large enough for major funders, but they’re often too big for community lenders that aren’t familiar with community solar technology or economics.

Developers in this niche can scale this hurdle, though, with careful planning and by seeking mission-aligned funding.

Often, finding the right funding for your community solar project simply requires you to show your work at every step.

Following these suggestions can set up community solar projects to attract the right kind of capital.

Prove you can make the project happen Demonstrate to investors that you’re knowledgeable, organized and trustworthy by identifying and explaining each of your project’s components. Funders want to know that your project is set up for success in three fundamental ways: It’s fully permitted and financially viable; partner relationships are strong and clearly defined; and your project plan

accurately accounts for as many costs as possible.

Show that you’ve locked down your location by providing either proof of property purchase or a lease agreement. Next, make sure all your local and state permitting is in order so you’re ready to begin construction or operation. Nail down who your offtaker — the power purchaser — is going to be. Funders will want to know you have a power purchase or market participation agreement fully executed and ready to go. Keep in mind that the strength of your offtaker can be a factor in securing financing — it is easier to underwrite a deal if your purchaser is a large, established corporation than if it is a new or small organization.

Also, if you have multiple offtakers, funders will want to know you’ve hired

Dim

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an experienced administrator who can handle the added complexity.

Before seeking investors, secure all the permits and approvals you need to operate. This includes working with your local utility to execute an agreement for connecting to the grid and to determine what other factors or components are required for operating in your location.

Make sure your construction partners are also fully signed on and your contracts are defined and executed.

Account for construction costs as much as possible by determining the type of equipment you’ll need and proving that it’s all purchased or contracted, or that you have committed pricing. Once all this is in place, use modeling software to complete a cashflow analysis to determine the debt financing and equity that the project can support. To make sure you haven’t overlooked anything, have a design or project engineer review your plans for financial feasibility as your final step before seeking funding.

Map your funding plan before knocking on doors Funders will also want to know that you have explored, understood and pursued the types of funding that suit your project — and in the right order to make the most of the financing at your disposal. Financing for a typical community solar project can include a combination of tax equity and institutional debt, or public grants, tax equity and debt.

Debt financing is beneficial because it typically comes with longer terms than other types of private funding. But securing it will require you to prove viability by lining up all other funding in advance.

Start by seeking public grants.

Local, state and federal agencies offer grants to facilitate clean energy production. Private funders will be more impressed if you have already been awarded grant funding than if you’ve just applied for grants.

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Next, seek tax equity. A typical structure will pay a return to the tax equity provider over the first five or six years of operation based on a predetermined split of project cash flow. Once the tax equity is repaid, the allocation of project cash flow usually changes in favor of the project developer for the remainder of the project’s life.

Find the right funders Once you understand your optimal funding structure, it’s time to find the right partners to finance your community solar project. This is often the biggest lift for developers because there’s no foolproof source or method for finding aligned investors. Expect this step to take some time.

One of the best ways to start is by talking to other solar developers.

Investors in community solar frequently fund multiple projects. Also explore the few institutional lenders — Amalgamated Bank is one — that provide both tax equity and debt, which can significantly streamline your capital raise.

Nonbank lenders like RSF Social Finance can also be a funding solution.

They may offer more specialized attention and consultative advice and are often willing to take on smaller deals than large commercial banks do, making them an ideal fit for small- and mediumsize projects.

Impact investors generally can be a flexible source of capital, and many are

especially interested in solar projects serving low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color.

Push for policy change One of the best ways to ensure a bright future for the community solar field is to join with other developers to push for public programs and policies that create opportunities.

California’s public Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, for example, has a Climate Catalyst Program that supports clean energy lenders. The state’s Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing Program helps landlords in low- and moderate-income communities install solar panels on multifamily developments. Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey also have programs that boost solar development through public financing. Any of these initiatives can be a model for other states.

Another way to help advance community solar is to join trade associations like the Solar Energy Industries Association and American Clean Power that are pushing for policy changes promoting solar development.

Pursuing funding is never easy, even in profitable, future-focused industries.

Developers that demonstrate a strong understanding of their project’s needs and the solar finance field will be wellpositioned to find the right funding.

Those who engage in field building will expand opportunity for everyone. SPW

White Pine Renewables

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utility energy storage

10 energy storage design considerations that can make or break your project

By Joe Jancauskas, Senior Electrical Engineer, Castillo Engineering Unlike battery energy storage systems (BESS), solar systems come in a wide variety of visually apparent, unique flavors: fixed-tilt ground-mount, tracker, rooftop, carport, floating and mixed-use agricultural arrays. BESS, by contrast, are predominantly grids of container boxes and step-up transformers, appearing very similar on a surface level.

One would likely assume there is not much electrical difference between each BESS. However, when digging deeper, a plethora of critical subtle and hidden differences in the balance of plant electrical design are discovered that must be considered to ensure a wellintegrated, high-performing and costeffective BESS project. Listed below are 10 of the key design considerations that the Castillo Engineering team

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has encountered in its efforts to produce code-compliant, reliable and economically buildable BESS designs.

1.

High energy density and conductors Energy densities, particularly with the most popular lithium-ion technology batteries, are extremely high within the relatively small BESS footprint. This means that somewhere on site will have multiple, very large sets of conductors connecting items of equipment — most likely underground, usually in conduit. As a result, it is essential to determine and implement techniques that can minimize the overall cross-sectional area of the conductor to reduce installation costs while also

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creating a design where the necessary number of conduits can actually stub up within the designated floor access panel. This task can be especially challenging with floor access panels that appear to have been dimensioned arbitrarily small, making it difficult to fit large circles within this small square.

2.

Maximum battery-string voltage and central inverters The maximum battery-string voltage allowed by the technology is often not an economical match for large central inverter DC input voltages and requires a DC/DC converter. In these instances, it’s important to determine whether the DC/DC converter is

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utility energy storage

packaged within individual containers or is a separate, large device for multiple containers. Similarly, it’s necessary to determine if the DC/AC inverters are packaged within the containers or if they are a separate, larger device for multiple containers. Depending on the number of building blocks in the system architecture, the amount of large, parallel cable runs may need doubled with the accompanying doubling and tripling of the number of cable lugs to attach and bolts to fasten.

3.

Auxiliary loads There are several factors to consider when it comes to auxiliary loads to minimize project costs.

First, is the auxiliary power for cooling and heating the BESS an independent feed from the utility so the HVAC can be provided even when the utility recloser is opened? Second, it should be established whether the auxiliary power loads are clearly defined or if they appear to be an ultra-high, overly cautious value, thereby requiring costly oversized equipment. Additionally, it needs to be determined, out of that large list of auxiliary loads, which of these truly require an external circuit from the balance of plant auxiliary power panel and which ones are actually internally fed auxiliary loads that can be ignored. Battery designers often don’t differentiate between internal and external power sources, as they often lump them together under the general category of auxiliary loads.

4.

Communications and cabling One common BESS design challenge is that communications diagrams often do not indicate what sort of cabling should go between the various points. For the bidirectional power flow, it is necessary to establish the maximum full load amps in each direction based on the sitespecific number of battery racks at a given operating current.

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identical looking container right next to it contains an inverter and only half the number of battery racks, so it gets AC power conductors. Was there a reason that they placed the one with the AC power output conductors the furthest from the step-up transformer and utility point of interconnection?”

9.

5.

Determining applicable codes When it comes to determining applicable codes, there can sometimes be conflicts or gaps between NEC Article 480, UL 1788, UL 1973, UL 9540, NFPA 101, NFPA 855, NFPA 5000, IFC Chapter 12, NFPA 1 Chapter 52, and locally adopted more restrictive requirements. It will be essential to know how many code rules change if the project involves a hybrid BESS plus solar PV installation. Finding the one-stop expert in the jurisdiction who can give a clear answer as to which codes apply will also go a long way toward ensuring the project is executed as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.

6.

Cut sheets, design guides and installation manuals BESS designs are evolving so fast that the cut sheets, design guides and installation manuals often have outdated, conflicting or missing information. Multiple RFIs and document revisions may fail to clarify things. It is a fortunate, but now rare, circumstance if the answers make pragmatic, experience-based adjudications of the information, provide numerous explanatory notes regarding design elements as required to provide clarity and don’t increase the level of confusion.

7.

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Gray NEC code areas The NEC has spent much of its evolution dealing with

less sophisticated, non-automated equipment that does not have onboard supercomputer-type processing capability. As a result, there are several gray code areas that the NEC does not properly address. For example, suppose the BESS has been elegantly designed with multiple fail-safe protection levels in order to prevent an overcurrent from occurring, and it has also passed exhaustive UL testing and been certified.

Will the AHJ, owner’s engineer or another third-party codebook lawyer demand that a 3,000-amp external fused disconnect be installed with a 60-week lead time? The industry is probably at least two NEC code cycles away from any language on this gray area.

8.

Lack of clarity regarding terminology As a result of rapid BESS growth and continual technological innovations, there is still a great deal of confusion, misunderstanding and lack of agreement about specific terminology.

Here are some recent examples from projects Castillo Engineering worked on: “We don’t consider that a battery, that’s just a cell.”

“We don’t connect those cables to the battery rack. We need to connect them at the end of the string of interconnected battery racks.”

“That container over there just has batteries in it and only needs DC power output cables connected to it, while the

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Increase in underground conduits and standpipes There are going to be a lot of large electrical conduits underground with BESS, but these conduits are also starting to have some non-electrical company. Many containers come equipped with a standpipe at either end so firefighters can attach a hose and flood the compartment with water, should that be required. Depending on the intensity of the fire, there probably won’t be many volunteers to step up and attach that hose, so BESS installation manuals are starting to recommend that the standpipe connections be made at some distance from the container. Therefore, not only has the number of large underground pipes drastically increased, but water pipes are running under and over electrical ducts.

Lack of terminals Assuming one is installing a BESS product with excellent documentation and well-labeled terminations, there are still issues that may present themselves in later stages.

Don’t be surprised if the lead electrician is ready to terminate the main BESS ground in the master controller, and it appears that no terminals have been provided for it. SPW

10.

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10/23/23 11:58 AM 12/7/23 1:31 PM

ADVERTORIAL

SOLAR SPOTLIGHT:

Solar mounting hits the deck OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, the shape and size of mounts used in residential solar projects have changed to a lower profile attachment that can be installed over the shingle instead of slid underneath like metal flashing sheets. The next obstacle in residential solar design was expanding these top-mounted attachments that could primarily be installed on rafters onto the decking surface of the roof. Ryan Estrada, technical program outreach manager, and Nico Martinez, senior product manager at Unirac, are here to discuss what’s new with solar mounting and, more specifically, the advancement of direct-to-deck attachments.

A written portion of this podcast is below but be sure to listen to the full episode on your preferred podcast service.

roof leaks. So, if you can reduce the number of attachments that are penetrating that roof, that really helps. Then it also helps reduces labor time for crews.

SPW: What are the latest trends in solar PV racking technology?

Nico Martinez: We’re starting to see railless make a little bit of a comeback here in the solar racking industry. We’ve also seen a big push for open channel rail systems, both of which we provide here at Unirac. But rail-less, we’re starting to see a lot of of our competitors starting to focus on those types of systems. There are some big pros there. It can help reduce the number of attachments, which as we all know, one of the ways that your crews get called back to a house is with

How do racking manufacturers ensure due diligence in testing direct-to-deck connections?

RE: An interesting topic here because the typical test standards used in the industry are made for connection into the rafter. And so the test standards haven’t fully caught up to what the industry is doing with deck attachment.

So your typical rafter-attached test standards are ASTM 7147, which is a specification for testing and establishing allowable loads of joist hangers. And then there’s 1761 which is the standard test for mechanical fasteners and

Ryan Estrada: Another trend we’re seeing is polymeric or chemical flashings for roof attachments. What’s gained a lot of popularity now is the butyl mastic roof attachments, and these will go directly on top of the shingle. So, the benefit there is you don’t have to pry nails, you don’t have to risk damaging shingles in cold weather when it gets really rigid. You don’t have to pop up nails and create holes and then backfill them, and it’s been tested and tried and true in different industries, and now it’s making a comeback in solar power on top of your comp shingles.

wood-based materials. The gaps that we see in using these standards for direct deck is that it’s really limited.

NM: What we’ve discovered when we’re doing some side-by-side comparison testing with our competitors, especially on the directto-deck attachments, is that these loads that some of our competitors are claiming, No. 1, we’re having a hard time meeting, and No. 2, it’s in a very controlled laboratory setting.

What we really tried to focus on in our testing — and this is why we’ve taken a very strict engineering approach, I know some people may think we might be a little overly conservative sometimes — but the reason that we do that is we don’t want our cause the issues on your roof, on your solar, because once that starts happening, it’s not just bad for Unirac, but it’s bad for the entire industry.

Why does Unirac go above and beyond the minimum building code requirements?

RE: We can all agree that we’re going to have more severe weather events in the future.

And we’re seeing a high frequency of severe weather, and we expect that to continue.

Roofs are designed to withstand uniform loading, so uniform snow loads or uniform wind loads. When you attach direct to deck, you’re turning that uniform load into point loads. Once you reach a certain threshold, you can actually start to weaken that roof.

We really do our research and due diligence in identifying that and we’re not just making solar mounting systems, it’s an ecosystem that’s tied in with building and construction, we have to follow the building codes.

Not all direct-to-deck connections are bad, right? It’s just a matter of knowing what the limit is and what that threshold is. SPW

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residential mounting

Solar mounting innovations highlight need for product versatility in roof attachments

By Andrew Wickham, Director of Products and Engineering, SnapNrack The history of rooftop solar mounting solutions is one that reflects the relentless pursuit of efficiency, durability, ease of installation and homeowner satisfaction. What’s incredible about the evolution of solar mounting is how it has evolved and come full circle with new products that have been used in the construction industry for many years, proving to be a time-tested technology.

Original solar systems were mounted to roofs using a combination of standard building materials such as Unistrut, sealant, butyl pads and offthe-shelf screws. Solar installers felt the pain of using these products originally designed for other purposes and that

quickly led them to develop a new product category: solar racking.

As the solar racking industry started to grow, different companies found ways to innovate in different areas.

Some focused on installation efficiency and installer ease-of-use, while others focused on roof protection and code compliance. Due to influence from roofing industry groups, the solar racking industry focused more on mechanically flashed solutions secured to a structural member.

As solar has become more mainstream and the industry has started to grow with new professionals and new

insight, solar racking manufacturers have moved away from traditional mechanical flashings and rafter mounting. This has led to a recent boom in innovation within solar mounting around direct-to-deck solutions and chemically flashed solutions.

The current challenges in solar mounting (and the solution) Currently direct-to-deck solutions are a popular choice for rooftop solar installations, but installers and homeowners have raised their concerns about these attachments. Using four to six fasteners in traditional installations

SnapNrack

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increases the number of fasteners secured to the roof with direct-to-deck mounting, and this commonly raises worries about potential roof leaks.

Installers are constantly focused on maintaining the integrity of the roof structure, and the excessive use of screws can cause hesitancy around the overall stability and weatherproofing of the installation.

The truth is that missed pilot holes are the main cause of roof leaks in the solar industry, and direct-to-deck mounting solutions eliminate the need for pilot holes. This means what’s needed is a solution that’s direct-to-deck mounting but has a reduced number of fasteners and still meets structural engineering requirements.

So how does one reduce the number of required screws? By changing the screw itself. The construction industry has long required specific screws for specific applications, whether it be drywall anchors, wood screws, sheet metal screws or concrete anchors. Now is the time for the solar industry to start using specialized screws to reduce the quantity of fasteners and provide a secure mounting solution while maintaining the roof integrity and structural loading requirements.

The SnapNrack DeckAnchor is an example of this type of product as it provides a unique solution for mounting to the roof deck using two screws instead of four to six.

Peel and stick sealing technology using butyl has become the most recent trend among solar racking companies for roofing attachments. Butyl is a proven means of weatherproofing and sealing that has stood the test of time in many industries such as roofing, automotive and aerospace. When applied properly, butyl is an incredibly strong solution for waterproofing solar attachments on roofs.

Most manufacturers use standard 1/8”-thick butyl, which may not fill all the holes, crevices and irregularities of a textured composition shingle 42

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residential mounting

roof. Without adequate butyl, these attachments can require using additional sealant to properly bond. This has resulted in applying additional sealant or more butyl strips to cover gaps or changes in shingle layers.

These limitations on standard butyl have hindered the adoption of the sealing technology by many solar installers in the industry. This reluctance has led to improvements in butyl that have resulted in thicker and more reliable sealing solutions. Some of these solutions include butyl that’s three-times the thickness of standard butyl strips, as well as solutions that include a layer of foam for enhanced malleability.

The goal is to ensure a proper seal throughout the life of the solar system, even with changing roof conditions. This enhanced sealing not only contributes to the overall durability of the installation but also provides peace of mind to both installers and homeowners. For example, SnapNrack

AnchorFoot has a 0.2”-thick butyl pad that is three-times the thickness of industry-standard butyl.

With the diversity in roof types and conditions across the industry, it’s important to understand the need for multiple installation methods and attachment styles. There are cases where a roof has unique structural considerations such as structural insulated panels, truss joists, I-joists or metal purlins, and will require a directto-deck mounting solution.

Additionally, there are situations where the roof decking is inadequate to support direct-to-deck attachments due to sheathing thickness or other environmental conditions and requires a rafter mounting solution. The key takeaway here is that there is a need for versatility across different installation conditions.

Installation companies and crews do not need to carry multiple attachments for composition roofs when they can

have a single solution that provides installation flexibility. This is why a solution with the ability to mount directly to the deck as well as to a structural member is ideal. What’s even more ideal is if the solution has multiple fastening options for each situation and allows for rafter mounting using a single lag screw or two wood screws as well as deck mounting using four wood screws or two SnapNrack DeckAnchors.

The history of rooftop solar mounting solutions is marked by a continuous pursuit of innovation to address a variety of install challenges to varying roof applications. Recent products have shown that the industry is evolving to make solar installations more efficient, reliable and adaptable to diverse roof conditions. As new technologies are embraced in the solar industry, rooftop solar mounting solutions will continue to increase both homeowner confidence and installer satisfaction. SPW

SnapNrack

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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agrivoltaics

Preserving American farmland through solar

Solar and farming can successfully cohabitate.

By Geoff Sparrow, VP of Development, Green Lantern Solar Solar and farming have more in common than many people realize, and they can uplift each other in unexpected ways. The two industries currently have an unprecedented opportunity to work together to alleviate some of their most pressing issues.

One of these issues is where developers can site the commercialscale solar that we must deploy to mitigate climate change and meet our country’s clean-energy goals.

Locally sited, commercial-scale solar, which includes community solar, has the advantage of bringing entire communities the benefits of solar energy — cleaner air, economic stimulation and energy independence, to name a few.

Farmers and rural communities stand to benefit significantly from local solar. For that to happen, solar developers need to ensure these communities are aware of the benefits.

We need to show how solar can help address some of the most serious challenges faced by today’s farmers and their communities.

Farming has always been a volatile business, and climate change is only exacerbating that reality. Increasing severe and unpredictable weather has made it even more difficult to keep family farms operating and rural communities thriving.

Solar can help with that.

Jack’s Solar Garden in Colorado. NREL

www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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SOLAR POWER WORLD | 2024 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK

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agrivoltaics

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Addressing community concerns Commercial-scale solar isn’t prevalent enough that people are familiar with these projects, and they often lack an understanding of their advantages.

Because prime farmland tends to be situated along main travel corridors, solar projects sited on farms are usually visible from roads. That may lead community members to oppose the projects if they consider them an eyesore. In addition, they may have the common misconception that solar farms will displace actual farms and prevent them from being available for farming in the future.

As developers, we have the opportunity to reverse these misconceptions. To do that, it’s key for developers to engage communities in discussion and education. That means inviting the community to voice their questions and concerns and then making an authentic effort to listen to, understand and address those concerns.

Asking farmers directly about their biggest challenges can pave the way for solar developers to show how effectively solar can address those challenges. In fact, solar can provide a straightforward, holistic solution to multiple issues that farmers are facing: crop production, energy operating costs and revenue streams.

Benefits of solar for farms and rural communities Sunshine is like another crop that farmers can harvest — one that can pay more than hay.

That payment comes in the form of land lease payments for solar projects, which provide farmers with a guaranteed, consistent revenue stream. This revenue stream has several advantages for farmers: it adds to their farming revenue, takes no extra work or investment and 46

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is 100% profit. The rates for the term of the lease are set when the farmer enters into the agreement with the solar project developer, providing them a predictable, long-term income stream — unlike crops, whose future prices are unknown. Solar installations can also offset energy expenses for farmers.

Adding solar as a crop may even provide enough extra income to keep a farm operating — and keep it in the family.

The surrounding community can also benefit materially from the economic stimulation that solar installations bring, with local jobs, increased economic activity and longterm tax revenues. In the case of community solar installations, residents and local businesses also gain access to electricity bill savings.

It’s important for developers to emphasize to farming communities that when a solar project is built on a farm, the farmer still owns the land. At the end of the project’s life cycle, the farm can resume normal operations.

The conditions for those normal operations will even be improved.

In locations where a solar project is deployed in place of crops, the land where it is installed will not be farmed for at least 20 years. Pausing the constant tilling of the soil — which releases carbon into the atmosphere and destroys the microorganisms in the ground — regenerates the soil. After the solar array is decommissioned, the land can be restored to prime farmland, with significantly improved soils and increased crop productivity.

But crop production doesn’t necessarily need to pause when solar is installed. More farms are now colocating solar panels, livestock grazing and crops, in a practice known as agrivoltaics. While still in its infancy, agrivoltaics greatly benefits farms and their surrounding communities.

Many crops, such as lettuce, peppers and tomatoes, do better with the intermittent shade from solar panels, resulting in higher crop yields.

Studies are being conducted across the United States to determine which crops thrive with solar panels. The shade from the panels also reduces a farm’s water

use. This benefit is especially welcome in a state like California, which has some of the country’s prime agricultural land and has also been dealing with years of drought.

It’s also becoming more common for solar farms to incorporate native grasses or pollinator-friendly plants with solar panels. Attracting pollinators can increase yields on farms with solar installations and even on neighboring farms, benefitting the larger community.

Livestock grazing can be combined with solar farms, helping maintain the vegetation while providing some shade for the animals.

When farmers and their communities get the facts about solar, they can readily see its many benefits.

Learning about those benefits can shift rural communities from seeing solar as a threat to seeing it as a way to preserve American farmland. As solar developers, it’s up to us to spread the word that solar is a win-win-win for farms, rural communities and our country as a whole. SPW

NREL

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www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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1st Solar & Metal Roof System Approved to FM 4478

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THE EXTREME HIGH PERFORMANCE HOME ENERGY SOLUTION Introducing the Anker SOLIX X1 Home Energy Solution, a cutting-edge addition to Anker’s home energy lineup.

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APsystems introduces its next-generation AC-coupled smart Energy Storage Solution for residential. The systems includes the ELS single-phase battery charger solution together with APsystems low voltage batteries, Also compatible with an expanding list of LiFePO4 battery brands, it becomes the ideal AC-coupled storage solution for residen­ tial PV applications. With automatic energy management features based on intelligent software and integrated monitoring, system owners can choose between back-up, selfconsumption and time of use modes to secure critical loads during power outages and maximize energy savings for their houses.

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APsystems

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

EMMVEE’s TOPCon Modules:

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

The Avalon High Voltage Energy Storage System is

EMMVEE has introduced TOPCon modules, which are designed to maximize solar energy efficiency. These TOPCon modules include: • Titanium Black (N-Type Monofacial Glass to Black Back Module) • Titanium Clear (N-Type Double-Sided top clear glass top sheet module) • Titanium Duo (N-Type Bifacial Glass to Glass Module) • Titanium White (N-Type Monofacial Glass to White Back Paper Module) EMMVEE’s homemade cells are what makes their product unique. It is one of the few manufacturers of TOPCon cells that enable them to tightly control the supply chain. This integrated approach enables the company to meet increasing demand and supports the business community through timely supply chains.

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made up of a stackable, slim designed High Voltage Battery that pairs with a High Voltage Inverter and Smart Energy Panel. The energy storage system is equipped with a single, intelligent, and user-friendly app that seamlessly manages the entire system.

Its versatility is highlighted by its suitability for both indoor and outdoor installations. The system offers adaptability with both AC and DC coupling, featuring a 200A pass-through and a grid transfer switch. The Avalon HV ESS is truly an all-in-one, whole-home backup system.

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Product Spotlights 12-23_REH.indd 51

Fortress Power

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

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The new RT-CONDUIT MOUNT features Roof Tech’s 25+ year field-tested and industry-trusted, AlphaSeal® system.

Our RT-CONDUIT MOUNT is designed for a variety of usage options. Made for ½” to 1” conduit, it can be used with a single hole strap or conduit hanger and can be used for rafter or deck (plywood or OSB) installation. The screw, mount, and flashing are all included. Contact us today to try out some samples.

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Specifically designed for high wind uplift performance of installed solar panels, PVKIT HUR (High Uplift Resistance) is part of Centroplan’s solar and metal roof system – making it the strongest direct-attach metal roof PV system in the world.

With a 105 psf rating, the HUR increases wind uplift resistance of mounted solar modules. It is also the first solar & metal roof system approved to FM 4478.

Designed to withstand extreme wind uplift forces such as hurricane forces, and heavy snow loads, PVKIT HUR features a design that improves the structural integrity of the module-to-roof attachment. Learn more about this partnership: https://www.fmapprovals. com/product-alerts-and-news-events/news/ photovoltaic-system.

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

SunModo proudly introduces NanoRack™. There isn’t any rail, but it’s unlike any other rail-free system on the market. NanoRack™ solves the rail-free headaches of precise measuring and complex wire management. Assemble it on the ground, and it aligns itself on the roof. Save money & time on every job with NanoRack™.

• Even easier than a rail system.

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Product Spotlights 12-23_REH.indd 53

12/7/23 5:23 PM

wind market overview

Offshore wind leads the market in 2023 news Even with momentum from the Inflation Reduction Act, 2023 was a quiet year for the U.S. wind industry. Most news for the U.S. market was made in offshore developments, with turbines being installed on both the South Fork Wind project off New York’s coast and the 806-MW Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. Two major Ørsted projects (Ocean Wind 1 and 2) off the coast of New Jersey were canceled though, with the offshore giant citing supply chain bottlenecks as the decision to scrap the 2-GW portfolio, a trend seen across the globe.

Wood Mackenzie says the global offshore wind supply chain, excluding China, will need $27 billion in investment by 2026 to meet its targeted growth in annual installations. The research group forecasts annual offshore capacity additions to hit 30 GW by 2030, but that is nowhere near governmental offshore wind targets of 80 GW per year.

“Governments have made clear their commitment to offshore wind as an important pillar of decarbonization and energy security. However, the supply chain is struggling to scale up and will be an impediment to achieving decarbonization targets if change does not happen,” said Chris Seiple, vice chair of power and renewables at Wood Mackenzie. “Adjustments and new

54

policies by governments and developers will be required to transform the supply chain to deliver offshore wind projects at industrial scale.”

The United States is trying to scale its offshore supply chain with more assembly sites being suggested at various ports and support vessels entering waters. The Dept. of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is also modernizing its regulations to streamline the offshore wind permitting process, reforms that are estimated to save developers $1 billion over a 20-year period.

Still, the global on- and offshore wind sector is leading renewable development. Wood Mackenzie estimated that over 1 terawatt (TW) of wind energy had been installed across the world by the end of 2023 — and the next terawatt will be reached by 2032.

“After needing more than 40 years to reach 1 TW of installations, the wind industry will reach the next terawatt of installations within the next eight years, a significant acceleration of growth,” said Luke Lewandowski, Wood Mackenzie Research Director.

The global offshore wind sector is expected to account for a 26% share of total capacity over the 10-year outlook.

Europe and China will account for 81% of global offshore capacity additions over

WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT | 2024 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK

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the next decade, but nearly 30 countries are working on wind projects in waters.

Within the United States, data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission suggest that solar and wind will be neck and neck as the biggest renewable energy source in the country through 2026 (solar: 12.9% of the nation’s installed generation capacity; wind: 12.4%). But as more offshore wind gets through easier permitting and more of the supply chain gets localized at East Coast ports, the U.S. offshore wind market will be a significant contributor to the U.S. electrical grid. WPE

www.windpowerengineering.com

12/7/23 1:49 PM

What Does It Take To Keep Your Wind Farms Alive?

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Congratulations!

2023 leadership in

w i n d e n e r gy

Celebrating the companies and individuals leading the wind power industry.

Windpower Engineering & Development announces the winners of our Leadership in Wind program. Nominees were released in our February issue, and our user community voted on which companies they felt best exemplify wind leadership. Congratulations to the winners!

BOLTS

Aztec Bolting

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COMPONENTS Helukabel

SOLAR POWER WORLD | 2024 RENEWABLE ENERGY HANDBOOK

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DISTRIBUTOR Malloy Electric

LIGHTNING PROTECTION

PPG Engineered Materials

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Protect wind turbines from lightning strikes... with the Megger DLRO2X

Test busbar connections in windfarm networks with the Megger DLRO2 Standing hundreds of feet above ground, a wind turbine can be hit by lightning bolts every three seconds for hours-long periods. Why not have an instrument like the Megger DLRO2X for protection when needed.

The handheld DLRO2X can deliver up to 2 Amps of test current, meeting and surpassing the industry standard of 1 A for wind turbines. A dedicated test mode measures up to 3.2 ohms while eliminating complicated setup errors.

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Don’t let a lightning strike harm your turbines. Put the protection in your hands with the DLRO2X.

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collaboration

A case for regional collaboration among states in the new offshore wind economy

By Sam Schacht, Project Manager, Clean Energy States Alliance In 2022, U.S. state governments increased their collective procurements of offshore wind power to over 8,100 MW. While these collective procurement targets have the potential to transform electricity generation in the United States, states have so far come to these targets and approached offshore wind development more generally, on an individual basis. To fully realize the potential of offshore wind in the United States, states can leverage their significant power and influence over offshore wind policy and work together to promote offshore wind development at a regional level.

While states have begun a handful of collaborative efforts thus far, three areas ripe for collaboration have emerged: transmission, supply chains and equity.

Regional collaboration between offshore wind states has the power to

decrease consumer electricity costs, build and strengthen the domestic offshore wind supply chain and ensure that offshore wind development benefits historically disadvantaged communities, including communities hosting the development. As a starting point, U.S. states can look to Europe for models of governments working together toward a common vision of abundant offshore wind power.

Transmission Regional collaboration on offshore wind transmission is far superior to an everystate-for-itself approach. While it would require significant upfront investment, inter-state collaboration would create considerably cheaper outcomes for state governments, developers and ratepayers in the long-term.

Coordinated offshore wind

Roland Berger

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transmission planning includes many things, from consolidating onshore interconnection points or prebuilding dedicated offshore wind interconnection infrastructure to connecting multiple projects together to form an offshore energy grid. All options would require significant multiple states to collaborate to achieve three important outcomes: decreasing the number of costly onland transmission upgrades, creating offshore grid infrastructure unlikely to be damaged during storms and accidents and reducing disruption of onshore ecosystems when building new substations.

Regional transmission collaboration is already happening in Europe — several nations bordering the highly congested North Sea are developing so-called “joint projects” that connect two or more nations’ grids together.

While these projects are often the result of bilateral cooperation between nations, the European Commission has created a forum for all of its memberstates to make joint projects easier to develop in the future. The North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) — organized by several European nations including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the European Commission — dedicates a support group to developing joint and hybrid projects, which combine offshore wind generation and major transmission infrastructure to facilitate power sharing between national grids.

The support group’s priorities include

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collaboration

creating a regulatory framework for such projects and distributing the costs and benefits of the projects. Other European collaborations, including the Esbjerg Declaration and Baltic Market Interconnection Plan, include the development of joint and hybrid offshore energy projects in their long-term offshore wind development strategies.

States on the East and West coasts could create similar frameworks for collaboration, and there is already a promising plan in New England. A recent concept paper put out by a group of five New England states called the New England States Transmission Initiative (NESTI) is investigating how Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island can work together to build an integrated modular transmission infrastructure to help interconnect new offshore wind power. Recently, the NESTI states, along

with New York and New Jersey, sent a letter to the Dept. of Energy asking for funding and technical support to create a “Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission.” New York has also taken individual steps to ensure that future offshore wind projects off its coasts could connect to a regional offshore grid. New York’s 2022 OREC solicitation requires that projects be “meshed-ready” to be better integrated into New York’s independent system operator (NYISO)’s market or neighboring markets in New England or New Jersey (ISO-NE and PJM).

Meshed-ready projects are built the technical capability to connect to future offshore electric substations that would form the basis for a future “meshed network,” which would link multiple projects together via alternating current lines in order to minimize the number of land-based interconnection points. Mid-

Atlantic states could consider taking similar steps to “future-proof” offshore wind projects off their coasts and lay the foundation for future collaboration.

Other areas of collaboration include setting technical standards for transmission equipment, streamlined permitting for transmission and wholesale power market governance.

Two EU-funded research projects, PROMOTioN and InterOPERA, have tackled technical standards and policy and regulatory frameworks for a meshed high voltage direct current grid.

Supply chain Developing a robust offshore wind supply chain has the potential to create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and pour billions of dollars into state and regional economies. Offshore wind states are well aware of this potential, and they have dedicated

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WindEurope Offshore Wind Supply Chain Map.

considerable effort to attract industry to their shores. Collaboration to develop regional supply chains could help states in the long run by preventing the expensive duplication of supply chain infrastructure, leading to the more efficient and cost-effective siting of ports, manufacturing and fabrication.

Two efforts are underway along the East Coast to address this problem.

New York, New Jersey and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2019 to “enhance our domestic supply chain to support the orderly and expeditious development of a robust offshore wind industry.” New York, New Jersey and BOEM now meet quarterly to discuss progress, obstacles and further opportunities to collaborate toward creating a regional supply chain.

Farther south, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina have signed their own MOU called SMART-POWER, to “cooperatively promote, develop, and expand offshore wind energy generation and the accompanying industry supply chain and workforce.” Similar to the NY-NJ-BOEM agreement, SMARTPOWER members meet quarterly to discuss issues related to supply chain, 60

regulations, regional assets, regional promotion and best practices in offshore wind development. These efforts, in concert with dedicated federal initiatives, offer a platform for states to build supply chains collaboratively instead of competitively.

State collaboration on supply chains could benefit more than just coastal states. European leaders have discovered that a strong offshore wind industry can benefit inland nations as well. In Europe, the offshore wind technology industry stretches into landlocked European nations like Austria, Czechia and the inland regions of larger coastal nations like Spain, France, Germany and Poland. Although these nations and regions cannot participate in the commissioning or maintenance of offshore wind projects, they crucially host the manufacturing of turbine components and related industries. Already, some inland U.S. states are lending their industrial capacity to offshore wind projects. The nation’s first dedicated wind turbine installation vessel is under construction in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and American steel manufacturer Nucor is producing recycled heavy gauge steel plates specifically designed for offshore

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wind in Brandenburg, Kentucky. Many other inland states could provide their existing industries to the manufacture and fabrication of critical offshore wind components, spreading the benefits of offshore wind across the country.

Equity While offshore wind development promises to bring considerable investment and economic growth to coastal states, there must be guardrails and regulation in place to ensure that vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, including low-income communities, communities of color and Tribal communities benefit as well. States could consider collaborating to create broad, multi-state standards for increased community and stakeholder participation, generous community benefit agreements, strong labor protections and inclusive workforce development programs across their regions.

The NY-NJ-BOEM MOU is a good starting point. In that MOU, “BOEM, New York and New Jersey agree to coordinate in order to meet mutual regional offshore wind energy goals and objectives related to […] benefitting underserved, disadvantaged and overburdened communities.” They also agree to publish a set of best practices for identifying underserved communities, defining mitigation measures, utilizing existing regional coordination efforts and promoting accountability for developers.

Although many states are including equity provisions in their own offshore wind policies, there are no common standards across state lines.

Without collaboration on equity, developers may use the lax equity standards in one state as leverage to secure new projects with fewer protections and benefits for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities. To avoid this, states along both coasts could work together to set a common standard for protecting and including underserved communities in the

www.windpowerengineering.com

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See the latest wind power developments and U.S. project news on our website. Also find expert webinars and more from the leading

offshore wind economy by ensuring favorable project labor agreements, community benefits agreements and true community participation in the development process. Without such standards, offshore wind development may end up perpetuating the damage that fossil energy development has done to vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

Conclusion State governments have significant power to set policy in transmission, supply chain development and equity.

This allows states to respond to their communities, experiment with policies and set priorities that can directly benefit their residents. While the federal government has increased investment, speeding up offshore wind energy area leases and coordinating supply chain initiatives, it may not always support offshore wind development with the same vigor. It is therefore up to states to work together to create a stable and long-term environment supportive of offshore wind development while creating jobs, protecting communities and reducing emissions. WPE

wind power engineering magazine today.

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ADVERTORIAL

WIND SPOTLIGHT:

Looking back at a year of Thrive with ZF Wind Power ONE YEAR AGO, ZF Wind Power launched Thrive, an all-encompassing service concept for wind park operators. With us is Sivakumar Jayapal, chief service officer for ZF Wind Power.

A written portion of this podcast is below but be sure to listen to the full episode on your preferred podcast service.

Sivakumar, when you look back at one year of Thrive, are you a happy man?

ZF Wind Power is a global leader in gearbox and powertrain production for the wind industry, we aim to empower a sustainable future with our partners. Our service supports our products. When we launched Thrive, we felt the market needed an all-encompassing service approach that helps wind park operators, OEMs and consumers get the most from wind power.

When I look back on the last year, I can only confirm it was a good idea to pioneer the Thrive service agreements on this dynamic wind market. The fact we can deliver all types of services to guarantee continuous availability creates some peace of mind for our partners. Thrive is enabled by digital solutions and it offers worldwide field repair, workshop services, spare parts management, partner training and a gearbox pool. It’s a global concept, with a regional and personal approach.

Global and personal do not always go hand in hand. Can you explain how that works?

Sure, it starts with how we partner with our partners. We don’t see them as customers, we are business partners. We work as partners with our customers and tailor our offering to their preferences. There is no standard or fixed approach, we always develop a personalized package together with our partners which suits their business model, providing a choice to select any combination of our service offerings. If we feel our partner’s business only needs our support for spare parts management, we develop a spare parts package. You don’t need to pay for services your business doesn’t need, you only invest in these elements that make your business thrive. Thrive means “to prosper, to be fortunate,” and we embody that definition

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through the power of our service.

We even support our partners to work as independently as possible. We provide them with partner training, so they can serve their own business. Also, this training is not a standard training… it’s based on the needs of the partner. We have our own training centers where we welcome everyone for hands-on trainings from visual inspections to component exchanges. Or we travel to the wind site of our partner where we deliver on-site up-tower trainings. After every training the partner is fully certified, and he’ll be able to do to interventions at his own. This fastens the interventions and maximizes the turbine output.

So these personalized packages and personal partner training are your regional approach?

Oh no, this goes further. Our worldwide service is only possible thanks to strong and experienced local service centers and teams.

We have workshops spread all over the world, to guarantee short refurbish time. All of them are equipped with modern precision machineries, high class quality equipment and extremely skilled gearbox experts.

Years of experience combined with strategic planning and scientific forecasting offer a lead time of only 90 days on the high runner gearboxes and the same guarantee as a new gearbox. Our logistic scope includes the pickup of broken gearboxes and the delivery of refurbished gearboxes to anywhere in the world. We convert the complex logistical system to very simple and worry-free transportation of gearboxes for our partners.

Does the recent partnership between ZF Wind Power, Vestas and ABS Wind fit in this regional approach?

Yes, a few months ago the three of us joined forces to meet the demands of regional partners in South America. With ABS Wind in Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, we take advantage of local resources and qualified professionals. This not only strengthens the local economy, but also guarantees highquality service to partners in the region.

With the combination of global experience, regional resources and a commitment to sustainability, we offer high-quality services to enable continuous availability for our partners. WPE THIS ADVERTORIAL IS SPONSORED BY

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offshore market

Navigating challenges and charting growth for the U.S. offshore wind market

By Carsten Nielsen, CEO, K2 Management

Vineyard Wind

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As the United States’ energy transition rides the high of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Vineyard Wind 1 project, set to be the first gigawatt-scale offshore wind farm, marks the beginning of a new era for renewable energy in the country.

With a 15-GW pipeline of numerous other projects in pre-construction and procurement stages, including the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm, the industry is showing promising growth prospects.

However, while offshore wind is picking up speed, it still represents a relatively small part of the overall focus in the U.S. energy mix. The country’s onshore wind industry is highly matured and development is booming, attracting significant investment from local authorities and global players and consuming a substantial portion of the IRA’s budget.

The focus on onshore over offshore is likely not only due to the benefits of the low levelized cost of energy and relative convenience of leasing and siting in the former; but also some key challenges hindering the development of the latter.

One of the primary challenges for the expansion of offshore wind in the country is its geographic concentration on the East Coast, where, despite the prevalence of very high wind resource, there is a lack of existing port infrastructure to enable developers to fully take advantage of it. Along the Gulf of Mexico, where the offshore oil and gas industry has thrived for the past century, ports and harbors fit for sustained offshore stays and refueling, jack-up vessels and local shipbuilding are plentiful. To bolster maritime capabilities and facilitate the transportation of wind farm components, there is a strong

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offshore market

ongoing focus on establishing new logistical centers near the proposed offshore wind project sites, catching up on decades of lag on the East Coast.

Another factor is the Jones Act, a legacy U.S. shipbuilding policy that imposes strict local content requirements for vessels of all kinds, including those used in offshore wind operations.

Instated in the early 1900s to protect U.S. industry from unfair foreign competition, continued adherence to the Act is borne from desire to support domestic shipbuilding and crewing.

But its application can present challenges for the nascent offshore wind industry. Compliance and sensitive navigation of its requirements are essential for offshore wind operators to gain access to the market. To overcome the limitations posed by the Jones Act, there are three primary approaches.

The first would be to wait for or invest in the development of fully compliant vessels, but as of now, such vessels specifically designed for offshore wind are not readily available. The first Jones Act vessel is expected to be delivered in 2024, but it is already booked up for several projects.

Alternatively, developers can operate out of logistic harbors abroad, such as in Canada or Mexico, and transport the components to the U.S. coast. However, this option incurs much higher expenses and longer transit times and is not a sustainable long-term solution. The most common approach currently being employed involves the use of offshore ‘feeder’ vessels to transfer components from Jones Act-compliant barges to the main installation vessel. This workaround is the most viable option for the industry at present, ensuring that U.S. vessel and crewmembers still have a role to play, while progressing the wind farms at a consistent pace.

The Jones Act’s ultimate impact is a persistent focus on local content during the construction phase — but the true benefits of local content lie in the 20- to 25-year operational period of 66

the turbines themselves, which is when long-lasting employment opportunities will be created in the crew transfer, digital technology and turbine servicing sectors. It is essential to strike a balance between ensuring rigorously compliant vessels for long-term maritime viability and utilizing workarounds to expedite turbine construction to reap the benefits of fully mature projects. Too much emphasis on localizing construction will only slow projects down, damming the tidal wave of future green jobs.

Transmission is another significant challenge facing the entire offshore wind industry. This is not necessarily an offshore problem, as onshore faces its own grid issues; and it is certainly not a U.S. problem. Grid connection issues are present everywhere, including Europe. In Germany, for example, there is a severe lack of connection between the north and south of the country. The difference

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is that in the United States, the variations between states more closely resemble the diversity of separate countries entirely, in terms of their regulatory environments and grid interconnections.

This means that developers must carefully consider grid quality and availability when choosing project locations, and for offshore wind, the bottlenecks and supply chain constraints are exacerbated. Offshore cabling is highly expensive, and there are gaps in the local skills and jobs needed to effectively lay it. California, for example, is pioneering floating wind technology, even though it currently incurs higher costs. While there is a realistic sense of hope that energy prices will climb and render them profitable, the expenses associated with these projects in the short term are staggering. Adding to that is the sense that the contingent of professionals able to deliver such

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offshore market

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projects is undoubtedly strong, but likely too small to progress them in good time.

But despite the relative youth of offshore wind power in the United States, the country’s renewables industry is often more willing to explore in innovative directions than other global markets and lay the foundation for more effective project setups. The United States has taken great strides in colocation with energy storage, with a significant number of onshore projects incorporating storage elements early in their lifecycle — the lack of which is a constant talking point in Europe. Hybrid wind and solar projects are also gaining popularity, helping to mutually mitigate intermittency and create new diversified revenue streams for investors.

The U.S. and European offshore wind markets continue learning from each other’s strengths. While the United States has significantly more general offshore competence derived from its experience in the oil and gas industry, and a staggering number of onshore renewables projects compared to the rest of the world, Europe boasts a longer history of offshore wind energy.

It’s heartening to see a constant cycle of learning forming on the world stage — every market is exchanging knowledge and expertise through supply chains and developers that are increasingly international in scope — while leveraging the insights of globallyminded project advisors to optimize efficiency and longevity.

As the United States focuses on establishing a domestic renewables industry, forming partnerships with U.S. companies and navigating local content requirements will be of paramount importance for developers around the world. But it is also by continuing to recruit the insights of independent global experts that the United States can build a robust offshore wind industry that is a reliable, cost-effective and sustainable component of the U.S. energy mix. WPE

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floating wind

Floating offshore wind power could be the key to reaching decarbonization targets

By Ralph Kurth, Phaedra Taiarol and Ivor Shaw, Stantec The energy transition is driving the development of offshore wind power around the world to provide communities with reliable clean power and prevent harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from being released into the atmosphere.

In the United States, the development of offshore wind projects is more advanced on the East Coast due to the shallower water than on the West Coast. Wind resources are plentiful and water depths in the east drop off slowly, making the region optimal for the installation of wind turbines with fixed bottom foundations within 15 to 30 miles of shore. Fixed bottom foundations can be installed at water depths up to approximately 200 ft (~60 m).

Offshore wind leases were awarded on the West Coast at the end of 2022.

However, the development of offshore wind off California is a more challenging task, as the water depth increases more rapidly than on the East Coast and the offshore lease areas are in water too deep for fixed-bottom foundations.

Floating offshore wind turbines are the only feasible solution on the West Coast.

Floating offshore wind power Most offshore wind farms on the East Coast are planned for 15 to 30 miles from land because fixed turbine technology only allows for depths up to approximately 200 ft. On the West Coast, where water depths can reach to over 3,000 ft in some areas, floating turbines are needed.

The concept of floating offshore wind is fairly new – the world’s first floating wind 70

turbine was installed off the coast of Italy in the mid-2000s. Whereas fixed turbines have foundations that either rest or are driven into the seabed, floating turbines are mounted on structures that float atop the water and are stabilized through anchors to the seabed.

One may ask: How would floating turbines function in waters that deep?

Wouldn’t storms and massive waves affect power production? Luckily, the technology used to anchor floating turbines can withstand most conditions.

Floating offshore wind technology There are a few key types of floating offshore wind technology in the market.

The first is a mooring line stabilized platform. The mooring line stabilized platform functions with a tension leg platform by using mooring lines to anchor the turbine platform to the ocean floor. To put it more simply, it almost functions like a boat’s anchor.

The mooring line stabilized platform was the technology used for the first floating wind turbine in Italy.

The second type of floating wind turbine is a ballast stabilized system.

This system uses a spar buoy — a long cylindrical floating device — to maintain stability amid waves. Not unlike the tension leg platform, the spar buoy is tied to the seafloor using anchors.

The spar buoy is submersed deeper in the water than other modes and can provide increased stability.

The third form of floating wind turbine is a buoyancy stabilized platform. Also known as a barge system, the buoyancy stabilized

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platform is comprised of a large ‘barge’ or pontoon base that floats mostly atop the water. The barge uses mooring lines and anchors to stabilize the turbine platform. New systems are triangular, and some conceptual designs have been developed to have two wind turbines on the platform.

Barriers to adoption While there is an optimistic future ahead for floating offshore wind, there are still several challenges that will need to be addressed before mass adoption.

Environmental considerations: As with any energy project, environmental considerations also come into play for floating offshore wind farms. And

NREL

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12/7/23 3:04 PM

floating wind

there are a few concerns that must be addressed if we hope to see widespread adoption, including disruptions to the seafloor, protecting aquatic life and natural habitats and supporting the fishery industry and local communities.

Cost: As with any new and emerging technology, cost is a primary factor to consider with floating offshore wind farms. The price of the installation needed for floating offshore wind technology is still currently higher than that of fixed turbines. We expect these costs to come down over time.

Supply chain: One of the reasons for the higher cost of floating offshore wind materials is constraints in the supply chain. The supply chain was designed in a way that supports fixed turbines, but that is slowly changing over time. Furthermore, these turbines rely on precious minerals and metals that we will need to mine if we hope to expand the industry.

Transmission: Dynamic cables are required to transmit power from the floating wind turbines until cables can be laid on the seabed. The dynamic cables are used in the oil and gas industry, but higher voltage (and power) cables are required to connect to offshore wind farms. Floating platforms for the offshore electrical substations would also be required to collect and transmit the power from the wind turbines and are being developed for these applications.

Points of interconnection: One of the key challenges is finding points of interconnection onshore that can accommodate the large amounts of wind power and transmit it to the load centers. On the West Coast, most of the load centers are far from the offshore lease areas, and there are very few points of interconnection capable of handling large amounts of power located in close proximity to the shore.

So, the transmission system needs to be

built out to transmit the offshore wind power efficiently and reliably.

A future of floating wind farms As we press forward with the energy transition, we should be looking at offshore wind power as a viable means of reducing emissions. The offshore wind industry has kicked off on the East Coast, with many leasing areas already in various stages of development. Fixed bottom turbines are a great solution in that region, but they won’t be feasible on the West Coast.

That’s why we’re excited to see upcoming developments in floating offshore wind farms to support decarbonization in the west. With the right technology and expertise involved, we should be able to produce bountiful renewable energy and reduce the amount of GHG emissions being released into our atmosphere. WPE

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